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Thomas: Fighter
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French flyweight Jerome Thomas is eyeing a remarkable gold medal in Beijing after once being labelled too weak to be a boxer.
The 29-year-old does not present himself as a typically powerful fighter, being surprisingly skinny even for a man in his weight class.
Thomas has a left arm shorter than his right and has needed seven operations on a hand problem and initially doctors told him he would not be able to fight.
However, the gallant Frenchman has since proved the medics wrong.
"For my first international fight, at the pre-fight examination, the doctor told me I couldn't box," Thomas said.
"My trainer convinced him I could. After a few wins, nobody argued whether I could box."
Champion
Not only did Thomas manage a few wins but he also became France's first world amateur champion in 2001.
An Olympic bronze medal followed in Sydney in 2000 and he progressed to a silver medal four years later in Athens, and now Thomas wants to complete the full set in Beijing.
"I want gold and nothing else," he said.
Thomas only took up boxing after a judo class he wanted to take was full, and he first laced up the gloves at aged 10 - although he did not seem destined for success because he could not separate the fingers of his left hand.
After a flurry of operations to correct that problem, Thomas can now fight and although his left-hand jabs are weaker due to his hand problem, his longer right arm give him a secret weapon.
"I have to work harder than others but I don't mind, I like that," he said.
The Frenchman was due to turn professional after Athens but put off his plans in order to have a shot at winning the prized Olympic gold.
