The World Karate Federation in collaboration with the International Olympic Committee and the Organising Committee of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games celebrated Karate’s Focus Day activity in Buenos Aires.  

The World Karate Federation in collaboration with the International Olympic Committee and the Organising Committee of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games celebrated Karate’s Focus Day activity in Buenos Aires.  

Ahead of the debut of the sport in the Youth Olympic Games, all Karate’s Youth Olympians, coaches, WKF representatives and the Athlete Role Models for the sport gathered in Buenos Aires for a celebration of Karate and sports values. The activity took place at Pabellon Europa sports hall, the Karate competition will take place from October 17 and 18. 

Karate’s Athlete Role Models Ivan Leal and Nassim Varasteh conducted the activity that was focused on promoting the interaction among the young athletes. WKF Athletes Commission chairman Davide Benetello supervised the activity that saw the new Youth Olympians getting ready for the debut of the sport in Buenos Aires. 

“The Focus Day activity was a great way to engage with the athletes. I really enjoyed exchanging our experiences with them and it was a great opportunity to share the Olympic dream,” said Athlete Role Model Nassim Varasteh. 

“When you come to a great event like this, you realise the humility and respect of all the athletes here. You understand that we all are part of something much bigger, you understand that we all share the courage, discipline, hard work and sacrifice that represent the Olympic dream,” added Varasteh. 

“We definitively showcased the true spirit of our sport. In a real familiar atmosphere, we showed how important values such as companionship, respect and honour are in our sport,” said Athlete Role Model Ivan Leal. 

“I felt like a kid. I felt like if I was one of the young athletes here. I am so thrilled for the opportunity of living this experience that I am enjoying each minute to the maximum. For me, the Focus Day was truly memorable,” added the Spanish legend. 

“Focus Day was a great experience for the athletes. For one hour, the athletes had the chance to take their minds away from the important and historic moment for the sport that is about to occur here. Also, we saw mixed teams, from different genders and ries interacting together, and this is very important for me as chairman of the Athletes Commission. We saw that the Olympic spirit was involved in this activity; we could also see that the spirit of these Games is quite different from the senior ones because here, everyone is part of a big family,” said Davide Benetello.