By Canadian Press

Bujold, Canadian teammates in isolation after camp cut short due to COVID-19 case

Feb 25, 2021 | 8:56 AM

Eleven-time national boxing champion Mandy Bujold is in isolation in Kitchener, Ont., after the Canadian team training camp in Montreal was cut short due to a positive COVID-19 case.

In a post on her website, Bujold said she was in isolation in a friend’s empty house in Kitchener after driving home Wednesday from Montreal.

“It’s not fun but I guess it’s part of the process,” Bujold said in the post. “It’s unfortunate the camp ended early. We didn’t get to do the test matches and the things we went there to do.

“But . . . it’s actually a pretty important lesson for us. We now realize how hard it is to manage a group of that size and what each person is doing individually, while you’re in that environment. It’s a lesson that’s better for us to learn right now before we get too close to our qualifiers.”

Nineteen athletes were in camp in Montreal, working in small groups. The identity of the boxer who tested positive hasn’t been revealed. 

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The 33-year-old Bujold said she was in close contact with the athlete on Monday. She has since tested negative but is following quarantine protocols. 

Boxing Canada said in a release that it was informed of a potential COVID-19 case within its training camp on Monday.

“There is an ongoing investigation and Boxing Canada has immediately taken necessary actions to protect everyone, including an interruption of all activities, preventive isolation and further testing,” the organization said.

“The collective health, well-being and safety of all our members remains our top priority and the measures are in place to mitigate the risks associated with COVID-19.”

Bujold said the positive test “could have happened to any one of us.” The worst part, she added, was being unable to see her husband Reid or daughter Kate Olympia. 

It’s the latest setback for Bujold and her Canadian teammates, who have yet to clinch spots in the Tokyo Olympics. The continental qualifiers, scrapped last year due to the global pandemic, have finally been rescheduled to May 10-16 in Argentina. But being forced to isolate makes training difficult. 

Bujold, a two-time Pan American Games champion, hopes to be the first female to box for Canada at consecutive Olympics.

An illness derailed Bujold’s dreams at the 2016 Rio Games. Hours before her quarterfinal loss to China’s Ren Cancan, she was in hospital on an I.V.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2021.

The Canadian Press