Tri-C Graduate Is Heading to the Olympics

Morelle McCane is first female boxer from Cleveland to compete

Morelle McCane, a boxer and Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C®) graduate, is heading to Paris for the Summer Olympics.

McCane is the first female boxer from Cleveland to compete in the Olympic Games.

“I wouldn’t be here without my community,” she said at a City Club of Cleveland event, Morelle McCane vs. The World, on May 30.

McCane started boxing when she was 17 at the Bob Davis Boxing Club in Glenville. She left boxing behind when she moved to Atlanta after graduating from high school, but in 2013, the death of her brother brought her back to Cleveland — and back to boxing.

McCane’s sisters encouraged her to start working out again. Training, she said, helped her deal with the loss of her brother.

The City Club of Cleveland event also doubled as a fundraiser for the Cleveland Black Equity and Humanity Fund. The money raised will help McCane’s family travel to Paris to watch her compete.

Before becoming an Olympic boxer, McCane graduated with an Associate of Applied Business from Tri-C in 2017. After graduation, she opened her mobile fitness company, MoFitt The Movement. Her work at a preschool inspired the company, which focuses on creative exercise routines for children and adults and promotes a healthy lifestyle.

“Tri-C opened my eyes to what is possible,” she said. “I never thought I’d open my own business.”

McCane won a silver medal in the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile. That competition clinched her spot in the 2024 Olympics.

McCane also threw out the first pitch at the June 1 Guardians game while she was in Cleveland.

The Olympics will be held July 27 – Aug. 10 in Paris.

June 05, 2024

By Dylanne Weese, 216-987-4281 or dylanne.weese@tri-c.edu