POLAND SYNDROME BOXER **JEROME THOMAS**

Jérôme Thomas (born January 20, 1979 in Saint-Quentin, Aisne) is a boxer from France, competing in the flyweight (– 51 kg) division.

He was born with a condition, Poland syndrome: his left hand is smaller than the right one, his left arm is shorter than the right one, and he has almost no left pectoral muscle.

He represented his native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 2000 in Sydney, Australia, and won a bronze (2000) and a silver medal (2004) against Yuriorkis Gamboa Toledano.

His biggest achievement as an amateur so far was winning the world title at the 2001 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was runner-up in 2003 as he lost to local hero Somjit Jongjohor.

He qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics by ending up in second place at the 2nd AIBA European 2004 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Warsaw, Poland. In 2007 he lost early against European Champion Georgy Balakshin. At the 2008 Summer Olympics he lost in the first round.

Olympic results

2000

• Defeated Erle Wiltshire (Australia) 13-1

• Defeated Drissa Tou (Burkina Faso) RSC-2

• Defeated José Navarro (United States) 23-12

• Lost to Bulat Jumadilov (Kazakhstan) 16-22

2004

• Defeated Akhil Kumar (India) 37-16

• Defeated Juan Carlos Payano (Dominican Republic) 36-17

• Defeated Tulashboy Doniyorov (Uzbekistan) 25-16

• Defeated Fuad Aslanov (Azerbaijan) 23-18

• Lost to Yuriorkis Gamboa (Cuba) 23-38

2008

• Lost to Juan Carlos Payano (Dominican Republic) 6-10