Continental Championships

Karate heroes go for continental crown at Pan American Championships

2017-05-24

Karate heroes go for continental crown at Pan American Championships

Pan American Karate elite gather this week in Curaçao to clash for glory at the 31st edition of the continental championships. The question among Karate fans worldwide now is who will prevail in the Caribbean country this week and which karatekas will inscribe their names with gold in the history of the discipline.

Pan American Karate elite gather this week in Curaçao to clash for glory at the 31st edition of the continental championships. The question among Karate fans worldwide is who will prevail in the Caribbean country this week and who will inscribe their names with gold in the history of the discipline.

The competition in Female Kata will be determined by the quest of Sakura Kokumai to her their consecutive continental gold. The 24-year old Hawaiian karateka has prevailed in the last two editions of the tournament and has always appeared in the podium of the competition since 2012. Defending silver medallist Maria Dimitrova of Dominican Republic acts as her main rival, as the 3rd-Dan Shito Ryu Karateka hopes to regain the crown that the 31-year old athlete earned in 2014. 

ANTONIO DIAZ TO CONTINUE MAKING HISTORY

Meanwhile, in Male Kata all the eyes will be set on Venezuela’s Antonio Diaz. The Karate Star has been the biggest force of the category and has dominated the competition for over a decade. The 3rd-Dan Shito Ryu karateka has claimed the last nine titles to a total of 14 crowns in such an impressive career to become one of the best Kata karatekas of all times. Fellow Venezuelan karateka and 2016 silver medallist Cleiver Casanova and 2016 Bronze medallists Kenneth Lee of Canada and Joseph Martinez of the USA will try to shock the big favourite in the tournament. 

Also aiming at repeating continental title, Karate Star Douglas Brose hopes to earn the condition of one of the heroes of the event. In his debut in international competition this season, the two-time world champion has won three consecutive golds in the tournament, so his intention will be to extend his domination of the Male Kumite -60kg category

CLICK HERE to learn more about Douglas Brose in the “Getting to Know” series on WKF YouTube channel. 

After his victory in Karate 1-Premier League in Dubai, Karate Star Thomas Scott will also catch the attention of fans in Curaçao. The Wado Ryu karateka earned bronze last year and hopes to claim the title of Male Kumite -75kg that the World Ranking leader won in 2015. Defending champion Hernani Verissimo of Brazil and 2016 silver medallist Alexander Nicastro of Venezuela are other of the contenders in the category. 

BIG RIVALRIES IN CURAÇAO

Defending title holder Giuliana Novak of Argentina and World Championships runner-up Valeria Kumizaki of Brazil will star in an anticipated and disputed quest to gold in Female Kumite -55kg. Meanwhile, World Championships bronze medallist Andres Madera of Venezuela and 2016 Grand Winner Vinicius Figueira of Brazil will meet in the showdown of Male Kumite -67kg

Current champions Jorge Perez of Dominican Republic in Male Kumite -84kg, Rodrigo Rojas of Chile in Male Kumite +84kg and Ecuador’s Valeria Echever in Female Kumite +68kg will try to repeat titles in their categories. 

COMPETITION UP FOR GRABS

The rest of the competition in Curaçao will be up for grabs as no clear favourite is taking the spotlight ahead of the competition. In Female Kumite -50kg, out of the four karatekas taking the podium last year only Gabriela Bruna of Chile competes in Curaçao. The same situation occurs in Female Kumite -68kg, with only bronze medallist Marianth Cuervo of Venezuela participating in the event and in Female Kumite -61kg, with bronze medallist Gabriela Lopez of Peru among the list of participants. 

Brazil topped the medal table of the 2016 edition of the event which was held in Rio de Janeiro with a tally of 13 medals. Mexico and the Dominican Republic also finished with plenty of medals, to a total of eight and six awards respectively