Since the age of five Mark Simmons has dreamed about competing at the Olympic Games and a broken left hand wasn't going to deny him his opportunity. That was the case at the Olympic trials in Mexico as the four-time Canadian heavyweight champion defeated a Brazilian fighter in the final despite the injury.

  Simmons is a technically sound boxer who is tight defensively and can counter punch effectively. His first major triumph was at the 1998 Commonwealth Games where he won the gold medal. At the 1999 Pan Ams, again suffering from a hand injury, he took the silver losing to a Cuban in the final.

  He is in his last year at York University in kinesiology and health sciences and also works part time for the Liquor Commission Board of Ontario. He was ranked sixth in the world after reaching the quarter finals at the 1997 world championships. He lost there to multiple world champion Felix Savon of Cuba, regarded by many as the world's greatest boxer, amateur or professional.

  His brother Paul Simmons is also an outstanding athlete and scholar. He rows competitively for Oxford University in London where he is completing his PhD in metallurgical and materials science.

2000 Games
Sept. 26: Heavyweight (91-kg): Mark Simmons, Toronto, lost 16-1 on points to Sebastien Kober, Germany, in quarter-final bout.
Sept. 21: Heavyweight (91-kg): Mark Simmons, Toronto, def. Rohoulah Houseini, 11-6 on points in opening-round bout.


Photos
Kober sends a left to Canada's Simmons
Canada's Mark Simmons
Sunshine Boy Mark Simmons

2000 Games Boxing Coverage