Balfour’s battles far tougher out of wrestling ring
Jevon Balfour is a wrestler, but he feels like he’s been punched in the gut.
On Feb. 8 at the Jack Simpson Gym at the University of Calgary, the 25-year-old from Brock University defeated Jasmit Phulka of the Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club, 11-0 and 6-5, to earn the right to represent Canada in the 74-kilogram division at the Pan-american Olympic qualification tournament March 13-15 in Ottawa. A top 2 finish in Ottawa would mean that Balfour’s dream of competing at an Olympics would finally be realized after he just missed making the team for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
“The last Olympic cycle, I was the alternate. I lost to a guy I beat at nationals, so that was pretty heartbreaking then,” the Scarborough, Ont., said.
It’s even more heartbreaking now. Despite beating Phulka at the wrestle-off, Balfour has been informed by Wrestling Canada that he will not be allowed to compete at the Pan-am Olympic qualifying meet and his results from Calgary have been nullified. Because of that, the 2014 Commonwealth Games silver medallist will lose his carding (government financial support) from Sport Canada.
He’s been sucker-punched twice. Actually, three times. In a letter he received from Wrestling Canada, Balfour’s been told he can’t wrestle anymore, period.
The unfortunate situation started when Balfour had eye surgery Sept. 4 to fix a detached retina. He has limited vision in the one eye but doesn’t believe the problem interferes with his ability to compete at his best — which was proved by his results against Phulka. At the wrestle-off, Balfour had to wear eye goggles, which was approved by Wrestling Canada. However, United World Wrestling — the international governing body for amateur wrestling — has ruled that Balfour cannot wear goggles at the Olympic trials.
Balfour said he’s happy to wrestle at the trials without goggles and is willing to sign a waiver or any other legal document that would absolve UWW and Wrestling Canada of any responsibility should he hurt his eye — not that the chances of that are high. Eye injuries in wrestling are uncommon. Balfour doesn’t believe the detached retina was the result of anything that happened while wrestling. In fact, he’s not sure how it happened. Balfour said he was told that the UWW is worried that his goggles could be used as a weapon, which he finds ridiculous.
Balfour is caught between a rock and a hard place. It’s typical. Sports governing bodies not wanting to expose themselves to any legal entanglements and it’s the athlete who suffers.
In a letter Balfour received, WC high performance director Lucas O’ceallachain said: “We received a final confirmation from UWW in relation to the request for approval of protective eyewear. As part of the request we submitted photos of you wrestling in the goggles, research papers supporting their use, the testing standards of World Rugby and the expert opinion of our chief medical officer.
“(UWW) consulted with their medical commission and their insurance company, reviewed all the evidence we supplied and unfortunately came to the conclusion to maintain their original decision of Feb. 4 to reject the request. Despite our best efforts, UWW believe that a prolonged period of study, research and testing is required, which will unfortunately take years rather than months.”
“Given the decision from UWW in relation to goggles and the lack of medical clearance for you to compete, you are no longer eligible for nomination for the Olympic qualification process as per the internal nomination procedures for Tokyo 2020.
“(Furthermore), based on the expert medical advice and the absence of approval for protective eyewear, you are no longer (eligible) to compete domestically or internationally.”
Basically, he is being told that his career is over.
In the meantime, Balfour plans to keep training in the hopes that he’ll somehow get the chance to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
His dream of competing for Canada at the Olympics has become a nightmare, but Balfour won’t go down without a fight.