Montreal – March 19, 2021. Following last year’s cancelled events and the postponement of the Olympic Games, Boxing Canada is getting ready for round 2 of the Road to Tokyo. With seven weeks to go, 13 Canadians are nominated to compete in the upcoming Americas Olympic Qualification set to take place May 10-16 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Here are the nominated athletes:
MEN
52 kg Justin Parina
57 kg Jonathan Bourget
63 kg Thomas Blumenfeld
69 kg Wyatt Sanford
75 kg Jaquan Carty
81 kg John Michael Bianco
91 kg Satwinder Thind
91+ kg Christophe Bernier
WOMEN
51 kg Mandy Bujold
57 kg Caroline Veyre
60 kg Irene Fiolek
69 kg Myriam Da Silva
75 kg Tammara Thibeault
Organized by the IOC Boxing task force, the Americas Olympic Qualification will be the only qualifying event for the Canadian pugilists looking to secure a spot ahead of the Olympic Games as the final World Qualification event has been cancelled. A total of 49 quota places will be allocated for the eight men’s weight categories and the five women’s weight categories, as follows:
• Men’s: 52 kg: 5 quotas / 57 kg: 5 quotas / 63 kg : 5 quotas / 69 kg : 4 quotas / 75 kg : 4 quotas / 81 kg : 4 quotas / 91 kg : 4 quotas / 91+ kg : 4 quotas
• Women’s: 51 kg: 4 quotas / 57 kg : 3 quotas / 60 kg : 3 quotas / 69 kg : 3 quotas / 75 kg : 3 quotas
The Asian & African Continental Qualification Events had already taken place last year prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving the Americas Olympic Qualification to take place in May and the European Olympic Qualification to resume in June (the European Qualifier had been suspended after three days of competition last March due to the pandemic).
“We acknowledge it’s a very challenging situation with the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s not how we would select athletes in normal circumstances, but given the situation, we had to make selections based on revised nomination procedures,” said Daniel Trépanier, Boxing Canada’s High Performance Director. “Boxing Canada had to make some difficult decisions this year in unpredictable circumstances. We recognize that this has had an impact and we hope that the future will bring back some of our predictability when health and safety protocols allow.”
“The pandemic continues to have deep impacts on all our lives and has affected our normal ways of doing things. We understand this may be difficult for some athletes, and it has also been hard for our staff and team who work very hard to support them,” mentions Roy Halpin, Boxing Canada’s Executive Director.
Strict measures and protocols are in place to ensure the safety of all participants at the competition. For more information, visit Boxing Canada’s Event Webpage for the Americas Olympic Qualification where all details will be updated throughout the competition.
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Boxing Canada
Marketing & Communication Manager
egarneau@boxingcanada.org
O: (514) 861-9325 | C: (514) 466-0455