Flyweight (≤51 kilograms), Men

Yuriorkis Gamboa could hardly have had a more difficult pathway to the Olympic final. In successive fights he beat 2003 World champion Somjit Jongjohor, European champion Georgiy Balakshin and Rustam Rahimov, another world championship medallist, to reach the gold medal bout against Frenchman Jérôme Thomas. In contrast 2001 World champion Thomas had reached the final without testing himself against any of the big names in the division.

Gamboa’s major assets were speed of both hands and feet and he used them to strong effect as he comfortably outpointed his French opponent to claim the gold medal. The Cuban dominated the second of the four rounds to build up a lead that Thomas never looked like closing. This meant Cuba began the second session of finals, as it had the first session, with a gold medal.

In late 2006 Gamboa and two of his team mates defected during a tournament in Venezuela. He based himself in the USA and began a career as a professional which, though 2013, has seen him remain unbeaten and win a world title in the featherweight division.

Thomas’s Olympic medal wins in 2000 and 2004 were achieved despite him suffering from a condition called “Poland Syndrome”, a birth defect in which, among other deformities, his chest muscle is missing from one side of the body. In his case his left arm and hand are smaller than his right.