PARIS — Hey, Wyatt Sanford, you just won an Olympic bronze medal in boxing, what are you doing next?
“Tomorrow, I’m going to Disneyland with the wife,” said Sanford, who is married to two-time Olympian Pamela Ware. “We’re going to celebrate our last few days in Paris in the best way possible, and that’s being with family.”
The big lug.
Sanford, 25, won his first two bouts in the 63.5-kilogram weight division against fighters from Bulgaria and Uzbekistan to guarantee himself a medal, but dropped a 4-1 decision to Sofiane Oumiha of France on Sunday, ending his competition. Olynpic boxing awards two bronze medals to the semifinal losers rather than stage a fight for third place.
Sanford lost the first round on all five judges’ cards, split the second and won the third in convincing fashion, but it wasn’t enough to advance to the gold medal bout.
“I’m at peace with the bronze,” he said. “In my opinion, as long as you give 100 per cent and you leave nothing behind, the result doesn’t matter; it’s the performance you give. And I know we had one hell of a performance in that ring today, and I’m just super happy we were able to do that.”
He was also happy to give credit to his opponent.
“He’s a wonderful boxer with a lot of skill and it just took me a little bit longer than I would have liked to make the adjustments,” Sanford said. “But that’s the way the sport goes. After the third round, I felt great. I knew I gave everything I had in the ring.”
He enjoyed his Olympic debut and leaves Paris better for the experience. It confirmed everything he knows and says about keeping his nose to the grindstone.
“I learned that years of hard work and dedication pay off at some point,” he said. “I think that bronze medal shows the changes that Boxing Canada has made over the years and what a great coaching staff that they now have. It’s been wonderful working with the staff in past competitions and here at the Olympic Games. Also, I know the style that I have now and the adjustments I have made over the years wouldn’t be the same. So I’m super happy we can bring home that medal.”
Sanford has big plans for that chunk of bronze once he gets home to Nova Scotia. People in his hometown hosted early-morning watch parties for all three of his fights, and he appreciated the flood of support.
“I think that medal will be spending a lot of time in Kennetcook,” he said. “I’m sure it might get into a few pictures with the community back home. Maybe we’ll have to get a big crowd together for a celebration.”
Sanford ended Canada’s Olympic medal drought in the sport that stretched over the past six Games. The previous Canadian boxer to step on the podium had been David Defiagbon, who took heavyweight silver at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.
dbarnes@postmediacom