Tragedy and triumph

Lacroix wins national title in wake of coach’s son’s death

Janick Lacroix is a national champion. But he didn’t just do it for himself. Three days after the sudden death of his coach’s son, Lacroix beat Saskatchewan’s Thomas Gordon by unanimous decision Sunday to become the Canadian junior light middleweight boxing champion.

“With all that happened, I’ve been using it as motivation,” said Lacroix over the phone from Edmonton, where the event was held. “It was so relieving that I finally did it. I finally won. It was a great moment. I won’t forget that.”

After taking silver at last year’s championships, the Quebec-born, Saskatchewan-raised 16-year-old who moved to Medicine Hat after his former coach was killed entered the draw as the favourite.

Medicine Hat Boxing Club coach Kerry Fahlman did everything but say aloud he expected Lacroix to win gold. Nobody wanted to jinx it, especially the way judging can go in the sport: Fahlman felt Lacroix did enough to be the champ last year, and felt 10 years ago his son Kody was misjudged out of a national junior semifinal win.

On Wednesday, the same night Lacroix won his quarter-final bout, Kody was found unresponsive in his home by his wife. His heart had stopped beating. He was rushed to hospital by air ambulance. On Thursday, he was gone. Kody was 28 and has a ninemonth-old son.

“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a struggle,” said Kerry Fahlman of coaching the rest of the weekend. “I knew that’s what Kody would want. He wouldn’t want me sitting around pissing and moaning, he’d want me to go do it. So that’s why I did it.”

Heart heavy and with everyone in the boxing world knowing what had happened, Kerry coached the heck out of his prodigy, both of them trying to focus on each fight as it came but not letting the bigger picture out of the way, either.