U.S. Olympic hopefuls in boxing and shooting began training inside an abandoned Macy’s last week, the latest adaptive move by athletes ramping up preparation for the Tokyo Games that open in less than six months.
“It kind of feels like you’re in a ‘Rocky’ movie,” said Richard Torrez Jr., a super heavyweight boxer who knows a thing or two about unorthodox training setups. His youth gym in Tulare, Calif., was converted by his grandfather from a broken-down fire station in 1975.
USA Boxing and USA Shooting made deals to use the space at The Citadel mall in Colorado Springs in part because the nearby U.