Boxing Canada Nominates Seven Boxers to 2018 Commonwealth Games Team

Montreal – December 12^th, 2017.  Boxing Canada is proud to nominate the seven boxers who will represent Canada as they step into the ring at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia April 4-15, 2018. The dynamic group composed of three men and four women will set their sights on the podium come April.

The draw will be known on April 4^th and the boxing tournament will be held over ten days of competition from April 5-14 at Oxenford Studios, film studio and home to Hollywood blockbusters. The Canadian boxing delegation will field a stellar roster which combines veteran leadership and youthful pugilists. In addition, it will be the first multi-sports Games environment for five boxers on the team.

The Canadian boxers nominated to the 2018 Commonwealth Games Team are:

“It’s truly an honour and a privilege to have been nominated to the Commonwealth Games. After years of hard work and sacrifices, I’m fulfilling one of my biggest dreams - to represent my country in Olympic-style boxing at a major Games.” said Harley-David O’Reilly. “I am confident that we will obtain great performances with this amazing team and that each athlete has the potential to medal.”                                           

The vigorous team of Canadian boxers will be led by Olympian Mandy Bujold, who will attend the Commonwealth Games for the second time after winning bronze at Glasgow in 2014. The selected athletes have showcased themselves against world-class boxers in the last few months and Boxing Canada is confident that they will offer great chances to contribute to Canada’s medal count.

“It was a very difficult decision to select our team with the great number of boxers striving to represent Canada on the international stage. Our team, for the most part, is new as we start the pathway to Tokyo 2020.” said Pat Fiacco, Boxing Canada’s President. “Even though this team has limited international experience, each athlete is more than capable of winning medals and we see improvements every time they step in the ring. Mandy’s leadership will certainly elevate the team’s performance!”

A last training camp will take place at Smithy’s Gym in Toowoomba, Australia to put the final touches on their preparation and to acclimatize to the time difference. National Team coach João Carlos Barros and High Performance Director Daniel Trépanier will be leading the team in and out of the ring.

Historically, Boxing Canada has performed very well at the Commonwealth Games. At Glasgow 2014, the Canadian delegation claimed three medals with Samir El Mais (81Kg – gold), Ariane Fortin (75Kg – silver) and Mandy Bujold (51Kg – bronze).

"Boxing is always an exciting sport to watch and I look forward to welcoming and supporting the seven men and women nominated today by Boxing Canada to the 2018 Commonwealth Games," said Chef de Mission Claire Carver-Dias." With their triple-medal performance at the last Games, I know that they will be a podium threat once again next April."

The entire Canadian Team will be officially announced by Commonwealth Games Canada in March 2018.

The 2018 Games will take place April 4-15, 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia, with 70 participating countries and over 4000 athletes taking part.

ABOUT BOXING CANADA

Boxing Canada is the national governing body for the sport of Olympic boxing in the country recognized by the Canadian Olympic Committee. The goal of Boxing Canada is to promote, organize and coordinate the sport of Boxing for the advancement of the sport and its members of all levels and ages. The organization’s vision is to inspire Canadians to make Olympic boxing a major sport and physical activity while striving towards Canada being a dominant nation internationally. For more information, visit www.boxingcanada.org.

ABOUT COMMONWEALTH GAMES CANADA

Commonwealth Games Canada (CGC) is the international franchise holder for the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth movement in Canada, and an active, contributing member of the Canadian sport community. The mission of CGC is to strengthen sport within Canada and throughout the Commonwealth by participating in the Commonwealth Games and by using sport as a development tool. Visit www.commonwealthgames.ca for information.

-30-

For more information about Boxing Canada
Emilie Garneau
Marketing & Communication Manager
Boxing Canada
(514) 861-9325
egarneau@boxingcanada.org

For additional information on the Gold Coast 2018 Canadian Team or CGC:
Sylvie Bigras
Communications Chief
Team Canada – Gold Coast 2018
613 298 1625
sylvie@magma.ca

Our thanks to Cision for sponsoring this announcement.