Karate Canada – Rio de Janeiro, May 29, 2016 – Canada’s national karate team is celebrating two additional bronze medal wins in Rio de Janeiro, at the 30^th Senior Pan American Championships. On Saturday, May 28^th, the final day of competition, Canadian athletes finished in third place in two separate events.

In the women’s team kata category, athletes Daphné Trahan-Perreault, Hidemi Uchiage, and Sumi Uchiage defeated the Mexican team 3-2, before losing to the team from the Dominican Republic, who then went on to claim the silver medal.

In the men’s team kumite category, athletes Patrice Boily-Martineau, Alexandre Benjamin Rivest, Nicholas Patrick Rivest, Carl Rodrigue, Sarmen Sinani and Philippe Soucy defeated very strong teams from Columbia and the Dominican Republic, before losing by a very narrow gap (3-2) to Venezuela, whose team went on to claim the silver medal. In a heated repechage face-off, the Canadian male kumite team defeated the Argentinian team 2-1 for the bronze.

This brings Canada’s final medal tally at this event to three bronze medals, with two top 5 and two top 7 results as well. In light of recent injuries suffered by some of the team’s top-ranked athletes and usual medal contenders, and in light of the fact that two of the three medals acquired were in team events, there appears to be growing depth within the team, and these results seem to suggest evidence of new talent emerging in the Senior ranks, as well as marked progress in the kata program.

 

As this competition concludes, Canadian karate athletes are setting their sights toward the German Open Premier League Karate-1 Championships (September). This event will constitute the team’s final international preparation event before the Senior World Championships, which will occur in the city of Linz, Austria, in October 2016. Just beyond this horizon is the probable inclusion of karate in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, which will be held in Tokyo, Japan.

About Karate Canada:

Karate Canada is a not-for-profit corporation constituted under Part II of the Canada Corporations Act, with the objective of describing and incorporating all activities related to the promotion, organization, regulation and popularization of the sport of karate all over Canada, of protecting the physical and emotional health of athletes, and of promoting the interests of karate throughout Canada. Karate Canada and its 10 member Provincial and Territorial Associations assemble roughly 16,000 participants nationwide. Furthermore, Karate Canada is a proud member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, the World Karate Federation and the Pan American Karate Federation. See more at www.karatecanada.org.