Canadian boxers look to punch their ticket to Paris
Bantamweight Scarlett Delgado leads a team of nine Canadian boxers trying to fight their way into this summer’s Paris Olympic field at a last-ditch world qualification tournament in Bangkok.
Canada has already qualified two boxers for Paris, which features 13 weight classes — seven for men and six for women.
Middleweight Tammara Thibeault (75 kilograms) and welterweight Wyatt Sanford (63.5 kilograms) secured their Olympic berths via gold-medal performances at year’s Pan American Games. Both were members of Canada’s five-boxer team for the Tokyo Olympics.
The Bangkok qualifier, which starts Friday and runs through June 3 at the Indoor Stadium Huamark, will determine the final 51 quota places (23 for women and 28 for men) for the Paris Games.
The number of Olympic boxing divisions for men has gone down by one while the women’s competition has added one since Tokyo. But there will be parity in total numbers of athletes with 124 men and 124 women.
Olympic boxing qualification comes in the form of several steps. The first were five continental qualifiers, with the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, covering the Americas. A first World Qualification Tournament was then held in Busto Arzizio, Italy, from Feb. 29 to March 12. Competitors essentially had to finish in the top four in Italy to secure Olympic qualification, although that figure varied in some weight classes. Canada had two athletes finish in the top eight — Delgado and superheavyweight Alexis Barriere, who subsequently opted to focus on a pro career.
Just making the Olympic field is an accomplishment, given the sport’s popularity around the world and the fact each country can have no more than one competitor in a weight class. More than 75 countries took part in boxing at the Tokyo Games.
Competitors will again need to crack the top four in Bangkok to punch their ticket to Paris. That measuring stick can change, however, given host France is guaranteed a maximum of six quota places (three for women and three for men) so can claim a spot in a weight class even if it doesn’t qualify a fighter. That means some weight classes may require a top-three finish for Olympic qualification. It could also become top five if an already qualified competitor is injured or suspended.
Christopher Lindsay, Boxing Canada’s executive director, says Canada would be “very happy” to qualify one or two more boxers.
Delgado, a 28-year-old from Brampton, is seen as a leading contender in the 54-kilogram weight class. She was top-eight at the last qualifier, with the top four removed from the equation this time because they have already secured their place in Paris.
“Her ability to perform in highpressure situations is something that we have come to rely on in the past and has gone well for her,” said Lindsay.
Delgado, who competed in freestyle wrestling before boxing, has unique style that can be difficult for opponents to decipher, he added. But logic sometimes goes out the window depending on the draw.
A good number of the Canadian boxers in Bangkok are probably aiming more at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
There will be no title bouts at the qualifying tournament, with action in each weight class coming to a half when the final Olympic berths are determined.