Canada needs to reverse its ring fortunes
20-year medal drought drains finances needed to develop fighters
Daniel Trepanier and everyone connected with amateur boxing in Canada knows they’re caught in the vice grip of a cold and unforgiving Catch-22.
The program, which once produced medallists the way Titleist produces golf balls, is in the throes of a 20-year medal drought. In order to end that dry spell, they need more money for training and development. But in order to draw that money from Own The Podium, they need medallists.
Canada has three boxers in Rio. At the 1984 Olympics in L.A., the Maple Leaf produced three medallists, then did it again at the ’88 Games in Seoul.
Trepanier, boxing’s team leader and one of its coaches, says they ’re hopeful of a medal this time around. But they’ve been saying that since the ’96 Games in Atlanta and, still, they wait.
“Even in the Americas, they’re putting more money into their programs and they’re catching us,” says Trepanier. “We have a lot of money for sport in Canada, but it doesn’t move and we get the same piece of the pie. We’re really looking for a medal here. The three athletes we have are the top athletes in the program, but the competition is getting tougher and we’re trying to keep up.”
On Thursday, the draw for the Olympic boxing tournament was held and the early results were encouraging for the trio of Canadians. Ariane Fortin, the most experienced fighter and a bronze medallist at the 2014 world championships, opens against Dariga Shakimova, a 38-year-old Kazakh, in the 75-kg class on Aug. 14.
Mandy Bujold, the gold medallist at last summer’s Pan Am Games, drew Yudgoroy Mirzaeva from Uzbekistan in the 51-kg class on Aug. 12. And Arthur Biyarslanov, another Pan Am gold champion, will meet Obadeh Al Kasbeh from Jordan in a 64-kg bout on Aug. 11.
“There’s no easy draw, but some are better than others,” said Trepanier. “For us it’s a good draw. They have winnable fights to start. It could be really good for them. Now they have to show up in the ring.”
Fortin, the 30-year-old from Quebec City, has been waiting more than four years for this shot. At the 2012 Canadian championships, she was outpointed by her training partner Mary Spencer. Spencer immediately became one of the Canadian Olympic team’s most recognizable faces in the runup to London, landing a wad of OTP cash as well as a makeup deal with Cover Girl.
She also lost her first-round bout at the 2012 Games.
“(Fortin) is so hungry,” Trepanier said. “She has a lot to prove. She’s had a medal in every major competition she’s been in. The only one she’s missing is the Olympics.“
Bujold, who’s ranked seventh in her weight class by IABA, doesn’t have as much name recognition as Fortin but Trepanier believes she could surprise in Rio. In 2011, she won gold at the Pan Ams in Guadalajara before she ripped through the field in Toronto last summer on her way to a second title.
“She has a chance to win a medal,” said the coach. “At her age (29), everything is coming together: the mental, the physical, the technical. I think she’s reaching her peak. “
Biyarslanov, finally, comes to Brazil as something of a wild card. Just 21, the Torontonian was born in Chechnya before moving with his family to Azerbaijan then to the Ontario capital when he was 10.
Biyarslanov also won a gold at the Pan Ams in Toronto and is ranked eighth in the world but, in Rio, he might be in the toughest weight division.
“He’s a young guy but he’s a good fighter,” said Trepanier. “He just needs some more experience.”
The next question is will he stick around long enough to get that experience. Again, follow the money.
My mum has recently suffered illness from cancer and I have her name (Yolanta) written on my wrist ... So, whenever I feel like my legs are burning, I just look at my wrist and remind myself that my mum is a fighter and I am going to fight for her as well. ELLIA GREEN, AUSTRALIA, WOMEN’S RUGBY SEVENS TEAM