Cindy Ngamba, the trailblazing refugee boxer who reached the Olympic semi-finals, has opened up powerfully about her own mental-health struggles and the shifting culture in the sport.
The 26-year-old has admitted she has battled mental-health issues herself, but is adamant that speaking out is a sign of strength, not weakness.
“It’s not weakness to talk about it,” she stressed. “If you bottle things up, it’s very dangerous. If you don’t express how you feel, eventually it explodes.”
For Ngamba, finally sharing her feelings was transformative. “It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders,” she said.
Like many fighters, she long believed the old boxing code: tough it out alone, never complain, never explain. Admitting you were struggling risked being labelled weak or an attention-seeker. “For a long time I just tried to get on with it,” she admitted.
Now, however, she sees real change, especially among younger boxers who are far more willing to be open. Coaches are evolving too. “More of them take time to talk to you, to understand what’s going on in your life inside and outside the ring,” she noted.
Ngamba believes high-profile athletes being honest about their mental health gives permission to ordinary people to do the same. “When people like me speak out, it helps normal people feel it’s okay to talk too.
“Mental Health Has Been Cloaked In Stigma, And It’s Worrying”
In a sport built on the myth of unbreakable toughness and pushing through pain no matter what, her candour directly challenges the idea that vulnerability and resilience can’t coexist.
As a refugee who fled Cameroon and built a new life in the UK, Ngamba’s voice also brings vital intersectional perspective, showing athletes from marginalised backgrounds that seeking help is not surrender—it’s strength.
Through her honesty, Cindy Ngamba is becoming more than an Olympic medallist and rising boxing star; she is emerging as a powerful advocate for mental-health awareness in sport and beyond.
