2012 LONDON OLYMPICS: Canadian boxer Mary Spencer will be gracing the Olympic boxing ring and magazine pages as the CoverGirl pugilist was awarded a long-awaited wild-card ticket to the London Games Monday.
The Windsor, Ont., fighter received word of the International Amateur Boxing Association decision while she lay in bed around 8 a.m. and promptly fell back to sleep.
Spencer had been waiting several weeks to learn her fate after failing to clinch a spot at the women’s world championships last month in China.
In addition to being the new face of cosmetics giant CoverGirl, she is featured prominently in a splashy ad campaign from the Canadian Olympic Committee.
But Spencer would not comment during a media conference call on whether her highly publicized makeup deal had been contingent on a London berth, calling the question “irrelevant.”
She did say she’s relieved to finally know for sure she’ll be competing at the Games.
“I’m almost speechless actually. It’s a very exciting time for me and we’ve been waiting for this news for a while now,” Spencer said during the call.
“I’m just looking forward to these next few weeks getting ready for the Olympics.”
Spencer, who won two bouts against the German woman’s champion in Montreal and Trois-Rivieres over the weekend, said her concentration and training had not taken a hit during the protracted wait.
“I wouldn’t say that it has affected it at all. I’ve been able to stay focused and that comes a lot from my coach (Charlie Stewart) and the people around me,” she said.
“As soon as we got back (from China) the No. 1 thing was getting back in the gym and training for the Olympics. It seems like it could have been a hard thing to do but everything came together very well.”
The two weekend bouts, however, did leave her exhausted and even news that she had won the London ticket could not keep her from falling back to sleep, Spencer said.
While consciously uncertain about the decision, Spencer says she was never fretful during her wait.
“I had a lot of peace about it. I had no idea what the outcome would be but I just felt good about it,” she said.
“I just felt like everything is out of my hands the only thing that I can do and the best thing to do right now is to stay focused on training for the Olympics because if that answer is a ‘yes’ I need to be ready.”
Still, Spencer compared her wild card selection to her career in terms of its ability to change her life.
“It’s like a second chance and it reminds me of when I first started boxing I felt like I was given a second chance and I was able to prove myself through boxing,” she said.
“And now I feel like I’m in that position once again. I never expected to be but I feel like I am and I can’t wait to really make the most and the best of the situation.”
The three-time world champion has been touted as one of Canada’s top medal hopefuls in London and her absence would have been a huge blow to the Canadian team.
“This is excellent news for Mary and great news for the 2012 Canadian Olympic team,” Canadian chef de mission Mark Tewksbury said in a statement. “I wish her good luck in training and can’t wait to see her in the ring.”
The news wasn’t as good for fellow Canadians Mandy Bujold and Sandra Bizier. They also failed to qualify through the world championships but were denied wild-card spots Monday.
“We’re disappointed for…our other two athletes but in sport these things happen and we certainly hope that they will continue with their careers,” Boxing Canada president Pat Fiacco said in a media conference call.
Spencer, 27, was the top seed in her 75-kilogram weight class but she lost her opening bout at the world championships. The event served as the Olympic qualifier.
The five-foot-11 fighter won gold at the Pan American Games last fall in Mexico.
“There’s no question as a three-time world champion and someone that has really, really created a significant amount of interest and spotlight on women’s boxing in the world that Mary rightfully deserves this spot,” Fiacco said.
Her remarkable consistency took a hit earlier this spring when she dropped a 27-14 decision to Claressa Shields in the final of the American Boxing Confederation’s continental championships.
Fiacco said that the China qualifier proved that a great deal of parity had come to women’s boxing and that competition in London would be fierce.
Spencer, who was born in Wiarton, on the Bruce Peninsula, carried the Canadian flag at the Pan Am Games closing ceremonies.
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