Venezuela’s Antonio Diaz continues writing new chapters in the history of the sport. The Karate Star claimed his 16th continental title this weekend thus confirming his status of Pan American’s most awarded karateka of all times. The Venezuelan Kata master was one of the heroes of the 32nd Pan American Karate Championships which were held this past weekend in Chile, with representatives of team USA and Brazilian delegations also taking the spotlight at the tournament. 

Venezuela’s Antonio Diaz continues writing new chapters in the history of the sport. The Karate Star claimed his 16th continental title this weekend thus confirming his status of Pan American’s most awarded karateka of all times. The Venezuelan Kata master was one of the heroes of the 32nd Pan American Karate Championships which were held this past weekend in Chile. Representatives of team USA and Brazilian delegations also took the spotlight at the tournament. 

Antonio Diaz of Venezuela further established his era of domination of the kata competition at the Pan American Championships with a record-breaking performance. The two-time World champion earned his 16th continental crown after prevailing in the Male Kata category in Chile. The Venezuelan Karate Star defeated fellow team-mate Cleiver Casanova by unanimous decision 5-0 in the final, so to win his 11th consecutive gold medal to a total of 16 titles. Never before in the history of the sport a karateka has claimed such a tally of continental titles. 

Antonio Diaz’s outstanding performance was one of the highlights of the event which took place in Santiago (Chile). US karatekas also showed power since the representatives of the North American country topped the medal table of the tournament. Thomas Scott headed the way to gold of Team USA since the Karate Star prevailed in Male Kumite -75kg. The 28-year-old athlete defeated Venezuela’s Jhosed Ortuno by an impressive 7-2 in the final, so to win his fourth continental title. 

Sakura Kokumai also extended her domination in Female Kata and won her fourth consecutive Pan American crown. The Hawaiian karateka beat Maria Dimitrova of the Dominican Republic in the final by unanimous decision. Joane Orbon and Brian Irr completed the list of gold medallist for team USA. Orbon became new Pan American champion in Female Kumite -61kg after defeating Peru’s Alexandra Grande (4-0) while Irr won gold in Male Kumite +84kg following his victory in the final over Rodrigo Rojas of Chile (4-2). 

Brazil with eight medals including two golds and Venezuela with eight medals and two golds also finished the tournament on a high note. Vinicius Figueira and Valeria Kumizaki confirmed their front-runner status with victories in Male Kumite -67kg and Female Kumite -55kg respectively while the Venezuelan Female Team Kumite added their gold to Antonio Diaz’s victory. 

The PKF Karate Championships also saw the best Pan American para-karatekas showing their remarkable and inspiring abilities. Brazil’s Debora Knihs and Panama’s Mario Moore in Blind/Visually impaired, Canada’s Patricia Wright and Chile’s Cristian Reyes in Intellectually impaired and Chile’s Jocelyn Torres and Cesar Ricardo Becerril of Mexico in Wheelchair user became the new continental Para-karate champions. 

(Pictures: Servolle Xavier / Chile Karate Federation)