Biography
Shawn O’Sullivan grew up in Leaside playing baseball and hockey here. When he started running in senior public school his endurance and athletic prowess came to the fore and soon after he began training with the Cabbagetown Boxing Club.
Shawn’s amateur record of 94-6 was outstanding. As a 16-year-old, he won the Canadian Junior title in Whitehorse. In 1981, at age 19, he defeated Olympic gold medalist Armando Martinez twice, won the gold medal as a light middleweight in the World Amateur Championships, and was named Canada’s Athlete of the Year. In 1984 at the Los Angeles Olympics, Shawn won the Silver medal. Upon returning to Leaside he received a hero’s welcome. He turned pro immediately afterwards. When retiring from boxing, he had recorded 23 wins, 16 of them by knockouts.
Shawn carried the 2010 Olympic torch on a stretch through Vancouver. In 2015, he was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.