Opportunity for Redemption for Wyatt Sanford

By: William Dumoulin

Photo Credit: Leah Hennel

It was July 24, 2021, in Tokyo. Wyatt Sanford was finally getting his chance to showcase his skills in the world's biggest sports tournament: the Olympic Games. After years spent in the Canadian amateur boxing system, facing the country's best like Mazlum Akdeniz, Arthur Biyarslanov, Joshua Frazer, Christopher Guerrero, and Junior Petanqui, Wyatt was finally at the Olympics. Unfortunately, he lost that day in his first bout of the tournament against Mauritian Merven Clair.

Since then, Sanford has been on a mission to ensure history does not repeat itself at the Paris Olympics. Hailing from Nova Scotia, he has not been idle on his journey to the Olympics, winning a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2022. The southpaw then defeated his compatriot Keoma-Ali Al-Almadieh to qualify for the 2023 Pan American Games. He went on to win a silver medal at the Pan American Championships before taking home the prestigious gold medal at the Pan American Games.

The 25-year-old boxer aims to reach the podium in Paris, an achievement he could not accomplish in Tokyo. If he succeeds, the 63.5 kg category boxer will be the first Canadian to medal in boxing at the Olympics since David Defiagbon, who won the silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. No Canadian has reached the podium since.

Wyatt's quest will begin on July 27 with the round of 32. The round of 16 will take place on July 29. The quarterfinals will be held on August 1, while the semifinal will take place on August 4. The grand final is scheduled for August 7.