Canadian boxers Tammara Thibeault, Wyatt Sanford punch Olympic tickets at Pan Am Games
Toronto 10m air pistol shooter Tugrul Özer also books spot at Paris 2024 with gold
Canada's Tammara Thibeault and Wyatt Sanford are headed back to the Olympic boxing ring.
Thibeault beat Mexico's Citlalli Ortiz through a unanimous points decision (5-0) in the 75-kilogram semifinals at the Pan Am Games on Thursday in Santiago, Chile. The victory booked Thibeault's spot for both Paris 2024 and in Friday's championship bout.
Sanford will join Thibeault in Paris, having secured his spot with a unanimous decision (5-0) over Brazil's Yuri Falcão in the men's 63.5 kg semifinals.
Thibeault, a 26-year old from Shawinigan, Que., fell one victory short of Canada's first-ever Olympic women's boxing medal at Tokyo 2020 when she lost in the quarterfinals. At the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, she dropped her semifinal bout to settle for bronze, but was later upgraded to silver when her opponent was caught doping.
Now, she'll have a chance to right both wrongs.
"In Lima 2019, I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth, but this time around I am determined and ready for whatever obstacle I have to face in order to be at my best and punch my way to Paris 2024 and bring home a gold medal," Thibeault told Boxing Canada when she was named to the team in Chile.
WATCH | Thibeault wins way into Olympics:
Thibeault, the reigning world and Commonwealth Games gold medallist, will face Panama's Atheyna Bylon for the Pan Am title in a rematch from the world championships.
"I still have a fight tomorrow. Enjoy this for a little bit. Recover, rest and then get back on it tomorrow," Thibeault said.
Semifinal victors were awarded white and gold souvenir tickets.
"An actual ticket, so I'm very excited," Thibeault said. "I'm ready to go home and frame it, so pretty happy about it. It's just the first step. We still have a lot of work to do before we get to Paris."
WATCH l Thibeault discusses clinching an Olympic berth:
Sanford was relentless in his attack throughout the light welterweight bout later on Thursday, overwhelming his Brazilian opponent with quick combinations as he took control.
"That felt so good to have that ticket to Paris," Sanford said. "It's been a lot of years, the majority of my life working for this."
The 24-year-old from Kennetcook, N.S., will face Mexico's Miguel Angel Martinez in Friday's final.
WATCH l Sanford qualifies for Paris 2024 with semifinal win:
Sanford was the lone man on Canada's boxing team at the Tokyo Olympics, where he was eliminated in the Round of 32.
Montreal's Junior Petanqui missed his opportunity to qualify for the Olympics when he dropped the men's 71 kg semifinal to Ecuador's Jose Rodriguez in a split decision (4-1).
Petanqui, 25, will leave Santiago with a bronze medal as two are awarded for the losers of each semifinal in each weight class. His career record falls to 28-10.
"I'm disappointed, but I know I'm going to come back strong that's for sure," Petanqui said.
WATCH | Early highlights from Thursday's action at the Pan Am Games:
Victoria's Bryan Colwell, didn't compete in his semifinal. The 33-year-old lost his men's 92 kg semifinal in a walkover.
He was deemed medically ineligible to compete because of a cut over his right eye sustained in his quarterfinal bout.
"I have put in 15 years to get here. It's been a long time coming," Colwell said. "Not the way we wanted it to go down, but I still have two more opportunities to qualify. Puts me in a good position within the program."
McKenzie Wright of Oakville, Ont., was also eliminated in the semifinals. The 33-year-old lost through unanimous decision (5-0) against Jennifer Lozano of the U.S. in the women's 50 kg division.
Meanwhile, Canada locked up another Olympic spot when Toronto's Tugrul Özer won gold in the men's 10-metre air pistol event.
The 36-year-old, competing in his first multi-sport Games, set a Pan Am record in the discipline with 240.5 points.
Özer, who was born in Turkey, will now aim to become the first Canadian to win an Olympic shooting medal since Linda Thom was victorious in the women's 25m pistol at the Los Angeles Games in 1984.
Canada last qualified a male pistol shooter for the Olympics in 1992.
WATCH | Özer wins gold in Santiago:
The Canadian beach volleyball duo of Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson have advanced to the women's gold-medal match.
Canada's flag-bearers at the opening ceremonies in Santiago swept Argentina's Ana Maria Gallay and Gabriela Fernanda Pereyra 2-0 (21-15, 21-15) in the semifinal.
The Toronto athletes will face world No. 1 Brazilians Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Eduarda "Duda" Santos Lisboa, who posted a 2-0 (21-11, 21-18) win over the American duo of Nicole Quiggle and Sarah Schermerhorn Murphy.
Medal matches are set for Friday.
In track cycling, Canada earned a berth in Friday's gold-medal final in men's team pursuit.
Chris Ernst of Kitchener, Ont., Michael Foley of Milton, Ont., Carson Mattern of Ancaster, Ont., and Vancouver's Sean Richardson set a new Pan Am record with a qualifying time of three minutes 55.981 seconds.
Live coverage of the Pan Am Games continues Friday at 8:20 a.m. ET on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.
With files from The Canadian Press
