Article content
Only days after the closing of the Paris Olympics, Canadian national boxing team co-head coach Samir El-Mais traded the French capital’s famed Champs-Elysees for Drouillard Road and a return to the Border City Boxing Club where it all began for him.
El-Mais offered the youngsters and coaches some pointers Saturday and shared his experiences at the Olympic Games, where he helped coach Nova Scotia’s Wyatt Sandford to a bronze medal. It’s the first Olympic medal of any kind a Canadian fighter has earned in 28 years.
Advertisement 2
Article content
“I want to support the club because this is where I come from,” said El-Mais, who was a seven-time national champion and won a gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and a bronze at the 2015 Pan-Am Games.
“It’s a family place for me where I always felt comfortable.
“The athletes and people here, they feel it’s not impossible to follow your dreams. I dreamed of doing this (a career in boxing) and getting paid.
“I have to give back.”
El-Mais, who came to Windsor over two decades ago from Abu Dhabi, moved to Montreal where the national program is now based in 2017. He has plenty of family who still call Windsor and Michigan home to draw him back to the area.
“Paris was an amazing experience,” said El-Mais, who started as a national team assistant coach in 2019 and became co-head coach in 2022.
“Walking around the athletes’ village, seeing people getting ready to compete. Seeing the NBA players and the top tennis players like (Raphael) Nadal, (Carlos) Alcaraz and (Naomi) Osaka was quite a rush, especially for a tennis guy like me.”
El-Mais said he’ll remember the Paris Olympics most for the rush of emotional memories that seemed to come each day.
Advertisement 3
Article content
The top highlight was sharing Sanford’s journey to the medal podium after five years of working together.
“There was a wonderful ceremony for medal winners in front of the Eiffel Tower with their families and in front of fans,” El-Mais said.
“Wayne invited me to join his family that night saying I deserved the medal as much as he did. I’ll never forget that.”
El-Mais admitted for the two weeks in France, he felt like an athlete again. The sense of routine and preparation, the rush of adrenaline and emotions, and the mental chess game of adjustments rolled back the years for the 43-year-old.
“I felt like I was competing,” El-Mais said.
“It was a great feeling. It really makes you feel alive.”
With a hectic schedule of preparations for the long boxing competition, El-Mais said he didn’t get to attend events.
However, he did have the unique experience of being part of the large gallery of Canadian athletes and officials cheering each other on and celebrating medal wins afterwards in the athlete’s village.
“There’d always be a large group of other Canadian athletes watching our athletes, whether it was judo, table tennis or boxing, and cheering them on,” El-Mais said. “It was a great feeling to share in that.
Advertisement 4
Article content
“Watching the two Canadian gold medalists from the hammer throw, (Ethan Katzburg) and (Camryn Rogers), walk in with their medals and how kind-hearted they were. You got to see athletes release the tension after competing and have some fun.
“That was really memorable.”
Following the games, El-Mais said he’s taking a couple of weeks off before a national team training camp begins in September. The national championships will follow at the end of November in Sarnia.
“We’re back to building our program with youth,” El-Mais said.
“We’ll be sharing a lot of intel with athletes and coaches to prepare to win more medals at the Los Angeles games (2028). We don’t want Wayne (Sanford) to still be holding that position as last winner in another 20 years.”
Article content
