Boxing Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee have announced the roster of Team Canada boxing athletes nominated to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The athletes are:
Wyatt Sanford (Kennetcook, N.S) – Men’s 63.5kg
Tammara Thibeault (Shawinigan, Que.) – Women’s 75kg
Both athletes qualified for Paris 2024 when they won their respective weight classes at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games.
Thibeault, who lives and trains in Montreal, will make her second Olympic appearance. At Tokyo 2020, she advanced to the quarterfinals, matching Canada’s best Olympic result in any women’s boxing event. The reigning Commonwealth Games champion and 2022 World champion also captured gold at the 2023 AMBC Continental Championships. At the Lima 2019 Pan American Games, Thibeault initially came home with a bronze medal but was later upgraded to silver after her semifinal opponent was disqualified for doping.
This will be the second Olympic appearance for Sanford, who was also the only male boxer on Team Canada’s Tokyo 2020 team. The 25-year-old, originally from Kennetcook, N.S., moved to Montreal in 2017 where he currently trains full-time at Boxing Canada’s National Training Centre. Sanford won bronze at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and advanced to the round of 16 at the 2019 World Championships.
Boxing will take place July 27 to August 10 (Day 1 to 15), with preliminary rounds at the North Paris Arena and finals at Roland Garros Stadium (Philippe-Chatrier).
“Congratulations to Tammara and Wyatt who punched their ticket for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Our boxers have worked tirelessly to be there, and they are ready to do whatever it takes to defend Canada’s colours and step on the Olympic podium,” said Bruny Surin, Team Canada’s Paris 2024 Chef de Mission. ”Dodge the punches, achieve your goals, and show the world the power of Team Canada.”
Team Canada’s boxing team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games also includes the following coaches and support staff:
Samir El Mais (Montreal, Que.) – Coach
Being a former national team athlete who has competed at cruiserweight for 7 years, Samir has a lot of international experience in the amateur boxing circuit. He won the gold medal at the Commonwealth games in 2014, and after finishing his career as an athlete, he focused his time coaching the national team, bringing his previous experience as an athlete to the new members. His journey as an athlete imbues him with invaluable experience, understanding the demands and triumphs of elite-level competition.
Samir El Mais brings a wealth of knowledge and a deep-rooted passion for the sport. His leadership proved pivotal in securing Olympic tickets for Tammara Thibeault and Wyatt Sanford at the Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile, last year, alongside Vincent Auclair.
Vincent Auclair (Montreal, Que.) – Coach
Having started coaching in 2012, Vincent has extensive experience coaching athletes at the highest levels of competition. In 2013, he had one of his boxers become his first national champion and throughout the following years, he has had more than 10 boxers become national champions as well.
Vincent had a team of professional boxers, and has also helped with the preparation of Marc Ramsey’s professional athletes. Holding a bachelor in sports intervention, he not only brings in-field experience, since joining Boxing Canada as a national coach for the past year. Working alongside Samir, he’s helped Tammara Thibeault and Wyatt Sanford secure their ticket to Paris.
Dr. Alexis Gagnon-Dolbec (Montreal, Que.) – Mental Performance Consultant
Dr. Alexis Gagnon-Dolbec is a sport psychologist who has been supporting high-level athletes since 2019. He previously specialized in the treatment of anxiety, working at the anxiety clinic of the Douglas Mental Health Institute for 3 years. Although he continues to be involved with athletes from different sports, his primary practice now focuses on national team athletes from Boxing Canada and Short-track Speed Skating.
On a personal side, Alexis is a seasoned lacrosse player in all three versions of the sport. He has competed at the national and university levels, and has represented Canada at 5 World Championships. He even played for Norway during one international competition. This might explain why he always travels with his lacrosse stick.
Kraig Devlin (Victoria, B.C.) – Team Leader
Kraig has been Boxing Canada’s High Performance Director for the last two years and leading teams at his second Olympics. Kraig led Karate Canada’s Olympic Team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Originally coming from the sport of Karate, Kraig was an athlete for the Canadian national team and subsequently coached nationally with the team for 14 years before becoming Karate Canada’s first High Performance Director in 2019. Kraig holds a master degree in High Performance Coaching and Technical Leadership for the University of British Columbia.
As Tammara and Wyatt will face off against the world’s best, both athletes embody the heart and soul of Canadian boxing. Their pursuit of medals is a testament to their grit and the relentless pursuit of their dreams.
Don’t miss a moment of the action as Tammara Thibeault and Wyatt Sanford write the next chapter in their Olympic journey. Tune in, cheer them on, and witness history in the making. This summer, let’s rally behind our champions as they aim to etch their names among the boxing greats in Paris.
You can send the team and the athletes your best wishes and words of encouragement at the following link here.
Do not miss out! Keep an eye on the schedule to cheer on Boxing Canada!
For media inquiries, contact: clindsay@boxingcanada.org
Comments