Canada's Tammara Thibeault, left, punches Netherlands' Nouchka Fontijn during their women's middleweight 75-kg boxing match at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 31, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. Thibeault qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris by advancing to the final at the Pan American Games. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Themba Hadebe
SANTIAGO – Canadian boxer Tammara Thibeault qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris by advancing to the final at the Pan American Games.
The 26-year-old from Shawinigan, Que., defeated Vanessa Ortiz of Mexico in Thursday’s semifinal by unanimous decision to advance to the gold-medal bout in the women’s 75-kilogram class.
Thibeault will face Panama’s Athena Bylon for the Pan Am Games title Friday.
Thibeault won a world title in 2022 and reached the quarterfinal round of Tokyo’s Olympic Games two years ago.
She’s among five Canadian boxers in Pan Am Games semifinals attempting to punch their ticket to Paris. The top two in each weight class qualify.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2023.