(Paris) Five days have passed since Tammara Thibeault lost her first fight at the Paris Olympics. The dust has settled, but the emotions are still there. And the defeat, still as painful. How could it be otherwise?
“I’m disappointed with my performance. Not all of it, but some of it. I worked really hard. I’m really sad,” the boxer told The PressSunday.
“Honestly, I’m heartbroken.”
Thibeault was seen as a medal hopeful, if not a gold medalist. She was the third seed in the 75 kg category. She had not lost a single fight since the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, which she finished fifth.
On July 31, she faced Cindy Winner Djankey Ngamba, of the Refugee Olympic Team, at the Arena Paris Nord. An opponent who is not even among the top 50 of the International Boxing Association. Thibeault lost by split decision (3-2). It turns out that Djankey Ngamba ultimately reached the semi-finals.
“I didn’t watch the fight, but I’m aware of what I’m capable of doing and what I normally do,” said the Shawinigan woman.
Honestly, I had a bad day at the office and maybe it wasn’t the right day for this to happen.
Tammara Thibeault
“It wasn’t a fight where I got dominated, it could have gone either way. It just so happened that this time, [les juges] didn’t give it to me.”
Asked if she agreed with the outcome, Thibeault paused before answering. “I think I did enough to get the decision, but the judges thought otherwise,” she said simply.
Right now, the boxer is struggling to find answers to all our questions. According to her, the pressure may have played a role in this result. Because the preparation, no doubt it was on point, she says.
PHOTO MOHD RASFAN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Tammara Thibeault
“I was so well prepared, but of course, at some point, the pressure… I don’t blame anyone. I put pressure on myself too. My coaches put pressure on themselves, because we got there.
“That pressure is good for a reason, and it’s not a bad thing, but it’s definitely a lot. But it comes with it. Nine times out of ten, it would have worked. But the fact remains that I’m a human being. Even great athletes have bad days.”
“I have to get up”
Tammara Thibeault is in Paris until August 11. Accompanied by her boyfriend and her parents, she is giving herself the time she needs to get back on her feet.
“I try to stay in the moment and be grateful for everything. I’m healthy, I have a family that loves me. At the end of the day, it’s still that I lost a very close fight.”
“It’s hard because I said I wanted to accomplish something for myself,” she adds. “Others expected me to accomplish it, and so did I.”
I need to talk to myself. I need to get up.
Tammara Thibeault
In the coming weeks, Thibeault plans to spend some time at home and unwind. “I’m going to go live a little. It’s been three years… Not even, it’s been eight years that I’ve been non-stop. I need a little break, even if it’s just a few weeks. It’s not too much to ask.”
She will also resume her courses in urban planning. “I am an athlete, but I am also several things at the same time,” she recalls.
On the boxing side, she is refraining from making a decision for the next Summer Games, in 2028 in Los Angeles, even if she “doesn’t want [son] story ends like this.” After all, so many things can happen in three years.
The next step in her career remains the same as it was a few weeks ago: making the jump to the professional ranks.
A few weeks before the Games, Thibeault explained to us what an Olympic medal represented for a female boxer: “It’s prestige,” she described. “It means that: look, I’m worth so much because of the accomplishments I’ve made in amateur sport, which is the previous step.”
“I still have a lot to give”
Now that the Olympics are behind her, and she doesn’t come away with a medal, the Quebecer must change her way of looking at things. “There are a lot of great athletes in professional boxing who have done incredible things and who don’t have medals around their necks, unfortunately,” she notes.
“I am still a very good athlete, I have accomplished many things, I am still young, I still have a lot to give.”
The Shawinigan woman is “sad, but not discouraged.”
“I’m just going to keep moving forward, that’s all. I have to prove myself, like everyone else. We’re going to get back up, it’s just going to make me better, really. […] I am a resilient person, I will find a way. I am equipped. We will deal with it.”