Introducing our newly appointed (recently approved by the IFMA Executive Board) IFMA Sport Director (Position to commence in 2024), the one and only, our lovely Janice Lyn from Canada.
She is no stranger to life as a top athlete. From track and field, and martial arts to nutrition and biology, Janice has enjoyed all aspects of a healthy lifestyle since her early childhood, prioritizing education and sport in a balanced way of life.
She finds herself at her home in the art and sport of muaythai and has evolved from a competitor and World Champion to coach, gym manager, administrator, holistic nutritionist and served the world of muaythai faithfully as the Chair of the IFMA Athletes’ Commission for two extremely successful terms.
She is a fearless, inspirational, and remarkable young leader on a mission to forge a path full of empowerment and inspiration. As a trailblazer, she Illuminates the path forward for her beloved community with an integrity, passion and honour that is irreplicable.
Her journey started as a rebellious child born of her Hong Kong mother and Jamaican Chinese dad who fled a crime infused Kingston in the mid 1970’s with a dream to build a bright future for their children. As a young child, Janice admired the hard work and relentless ambitions of her parents who owned multiple businesses throughout their careers. Growing up watching her father work day-in and day-out taught Janice a silent humility and humbleness. Witnessing her Mom’s strength of mind, confidence, and never accepting demeanor taught Janice to never expect anything but the best from her-self. A value she lives daily.
Her journey as an athlete started in grade school. She was quite competitive and could always push herself beyond the limits and expectations of her coaches. Janice played many sports including basketball, volleyball, swimming, badminton, and made her mark as a sprinter in track and field throughout her high school years. Her love of the environment and the prowess of the body led her to undertake studies in Biology at McMaster University.
During her years at university, Janice’s growing heart led her to travel abroad and lend her developing talents to much needed communities in Venezuela and India. She was a proud leader of a Global Youth Network project that facilitated groups of young dreamers to lend their hearts and hands to orphanages, and hospitals in India. During her travels abroad, Janice’s heart and eyes were opened. She quickly realized the need of others and her own undying need to give back to those around her. She made herself a promise. A promise that she would live a life of purpose and fulfillment through serving others and committing her heart to bettering the lives of those around her.
In 2008, while looking for a new sport to master, a good friend edged Janice to try a Muaythai class at an up and coming gym in Toronto called Krudar Muay Thai. Without even knowing, Janice committed herself to a vibrant and beautiful community of like-minded people on a mission to better themselves and those around them.
Janice has been practicing Muaythai for over 15 years. Her journey in the sport has taken her across the globe and back, in and outside the ring. Throughout her years, Janice’s passion and dedication has fostered an impressive collection of championship titles and belts as she climbed her way to the top.
Janice won her first pro fight in 2014 (with Mike Tyson in the audience), and continued to bring home some big wins ever since. In 2015, her passion for Muathai was noticed by IFMA where she has served as the Athletes’ Commission Chair and IFMA Executive Board member for two terms. As the current Chair of the IFMA Athletes’ Commission, she holds the trust and respect of athletes from over 150 countries.
As the IFMA Athletes’ Commission Chair, Janice has travelled to local and international events promoting muaythai and educating the athletes and athlete support personnel about the art and sport of muaythai alongside IFMA’s highest Thai Masters and individuals of the Olympic Movement through IFMA’s One Standard Muaythai curriculum promoting gender equality, grassroots development and the Olympic Values.
Busy in the ring and outside, Janice is a holistic nutritionist, coach, gym manager and is an Education Ambassador for the International Testing Agency. Her friendly demeanor, big heart, and relentless fighting spirit have paved the way for not only muaythai athletes but athletes around the world from various disciplines.
Through working closely with WADA and ITA over the last years, Janice stands for the protection of clean athletes on and off the field of play, has zero tolerance for cheating of any kind and is an advocate for education, particularly regarding some of the consequences of doping and effects on the athlete’s body through her capacity as a holistic nutritionist. Janice’s values align with the five pillars of muaythai: honor, respect, tradition, fair play and excellence.
It is with great honour that we announce the new IFMA Sport Director, the one and only beloved by all, Janice Lynn. Thank you Janice for accepting this position and all the hard work you have done thus far. We are sure there will be much more triumphs and challenges to come and have great faith in your ability to conquer them all.
“Clean Sport is important to me because it has a huge impact on the health and welfare of athletes and their right to fair competition. From a martial arts perspective, it is about taking what you learn and giving it back to the next generation. Clean sport offers hope and protection for the next generation of athletes. We owe it to them to rise up against doping, be a strong voice and educate one another so that the field of play remains untainted by negative influences, and athletes can continue to enjoy sport as it should be. My passion and motivation comes from my compassion to help and lead other athletes towards championing the Olympic Values and being advocates of Clean Sport. I use my experience from various standpoints to educate, build better role models, encourage the expression of the athlete voice and ensure that the youth especially, are empowered with the knowledge and values to pursue bright futures whatever sports discipline they may belong to.”
