Smaller than expected Canadian boxing team has big Olympic medal hopes
MONTREAL — Any disappointment in having only three Canadian boxers at the 2016 Olympics is offset by the fact that Arthur Biyarslanov, Mandy Bujold and Ariane Fortin are all medal contenders.
That’s how head coach Daniel Trepanier sees it, anyway.
“Right now, with the support of the Canadian Olympic Committee and Own The Podium, it’s getting better each year and we see our program evolving,” Trepanier said Thursday at the team’s training base, the East Boxing Club. “We had good results at the 2012 Olympics, but when we got there our athletes were not contenders.
“Four years later, we’re going with the same number, but we’ve got three contenders for medals. We’re not only looking at the number, it’s the quality that we develop and bring to the Olympics. For us, it’s more important to have one boxer who brings back a medal than having 13 that won’t win anything. In the end, it’s medals that bring you funding.”