Kennetcook Celebrates Nova Scotia Boxer’s Bronze Medal at Paris Olympics
In a soggy baseball field near the Bay of Fundy, over 400 of Wyatt Sanford’s neighbors cheered on Sunday as the Nova Scotia boxer appeared on the big screen and secured a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics. Sanford’s achievement marked Canada’s first Olympic boxing medal since the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games.
The 25-year-old southpaw from the tiny village of Kennetcook, N.S., lost a close match against Sofiane Oumiha of France at the North Paris Arena, but Sanford was still guaranteed a bronze medal under Olympic rules. In Kennetcook’s Findley Park, the crowd, dressed in red and waving Canadian flags, roared every time Sanford landed a punch, but fell silent as it became clear he would not advance to the gold medal match.
“This means the world to our small community,” said local resident Eric White, who helped organize the event. “What Wyatt has done, we’re all so proud of him.”
However, the mood quickly shifted to one of pride and celebration when the crowd learned that Sanford had won the bronze, and would soon be welcomed home with a party in Kennetcook, a community of just 150 people.
Sanford, known as the “Kennetcook Kid,” has had an impressive boxing career, winning four Canadian youth championships and his first senior title in 2018. He competed at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and won gold at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. Outside the ring, he has studied Criminology and Psychology at St. Mary’s University in Halifax and expressed a desire to become a police officer.
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