Boxing world champion Tammara Thibeault: Linguistics and learning helped me become a better athlete
Middleweight boxing world champion Thibeault tells Olympics.com how losing was a catalyst to her success, and about her goal to become Canada's first female Olympic boxing gold medallist.
Boxing
Tammara Thibeault is a rare kind of boxing talent.
Canada's 2022 middleweight world champion is fluent in three languages, and even completed a degree in urban planning alongside her rigorous training schedule.
Thibeault speaks English, French and Spanish, and studied Mandarin Chinese for a period in college. Her flair for languages is such that she also helps the national boxing team as a part-time translator when they compete in Central and Southern America.
*“*My life is family, school, boxing… in that order!” she revealed to Olympics.com.
*“*I think that in sport, if you have a smart individual, you'll have a smarter athlete. And I also think it's a question of growing. I think it’s really important to always keep on learning.”
But rather than distract her from boxing, the six-foot (1.83m) southpaw in fact attributes her success to her studies.
“It’s been that way since I was very young, and my studies give me so much balance," she said.
“I love boxing but there are also other parts of who I am that I love as well. I love that I can get lost in that side of my personality when I need a break from boxing.
“It’s another lifeboat that I can jump to if I need a release.”
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - AUGUST 06: Caitlin Anne Parker (Red) of Team Australia competes with Tammara Thibeault of Team Canada during the Women’s Over 70kg-75kg (Middleweight) - Semi-Final 2 fight on day nine of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games at NEC Arena on August 06, 2022 on the Birmingham, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Tammara Thibeault: "Bouncing back from those disappointments means that now I can count on me."
Thibeault knows all about the highs and lows of elite sport, and how important a distraction can be.
Her first major disappointment in the ring came in the semi-finals of the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, where she entered the tournament as continental champion.
Her bronze was later upgraded to a silver after original gold medallist - Colombia's Jessica Caicedo - who beat Thibeault in the semi-finals - was stripped of her title for doping.
She then took bronze at the 2019 World Championships, going down in the semi-finals to experienced Dutchwoman Nouchka Fontijn.
Much was expected of the Quebec native going into Tokyo 2020 in 2021 with no Canadian woman having previously won an Olympic boxing medal.
After a promising start, Thibeault suffered the agony of a quarter-final defeat to Fontijn leaving her one win away from a medal.
With Fontijn retiring after Tokyo and middleweight gold medallist Lauren Price turning pro, there was a real opportunity for Thibeault to challenge for top honours.
And she grasped it with both hands at the 2022 Worlds, beating Panama's Atheyna Bylon to take the title, before claiming the Commonwealth Games crown.
But she says her losses and dark days in the run-up to that success were the most pivotal factors behind improving her mindset.
“Before, I used to try so hard to be perfect,” the 26-year-old admitted.
“I definitely became more patient both with myself and with others around me. I learnt that there is a process and that you need to make mistakes to become great.”
“The most important lesson came with trusting myself. Bouncing back from those disappointments means that now I can count on me.
“I know my 'Why?' now and I'm a lot more resilient. I'm not quite ready to share it yet but it’s bigger than fame and glory.”
Outside the ring, Thibeault oozes joyful energy and an ear-to-ear smile.
But beneath that happy exterior is a relentless and determined competitor who combines explosive power with excellent boxing IQ to defeat her opponents.
Watching her in action, it’s clear that the boxing ring is where Thibeault can truly express herself, and feels most at home.
“As a boxer you have to have a few screws loose! But when I do the sport, it’s a special feeling and I just feel like myself,” she continued.
“I immerse myself in that universe and I feel at home. It’s my safe space. I do it for the love of the sport.
"I really, really enjoy what I do. That’s why I think it’s a privilege to have this kind of pressure as not everybody gets to have it. I don’t crack and I rise to it.”
Developing mental resilience in boxing
This attitude is reflected in Thibeault’s every movement in the ring.
She whips in punches with pinpoint accuracy and, unconventionally, refuses to take the stool between rounds.
While she insists that this is a result of her height and simply what makes her comfortable, there is no denying the message that is also sent to her opponent.
*“*The mental side is the hardest thing about boxing,” she said.
“We all get nervous, we all get butterflies, and I think that it's important to normalise those emotions and embrace them.
“For me, I ensure that I stay in the moment, which helps me to have fun and avoid getting distracted.
“I believe that when you do things out of love for something or for someone, that's when you're going to be at your best.”
Thibeault is a process-driven individual.
Once she has established her goals and motivations, she is able to pursue them with relentless intensity - and often success.
True to form, with the Olympic Games Paris 2024 around the corner she is resolute in her mission.
“I want to be an Olympic champion. I want to bring a gold medal home for Canada and I want to be the first woman to do it.”
Watch Tammara in action in the 2023 Pan American Games live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app.