Canadian National Team members were in Santiago, Chile, this past weekend, for the 2018 Senior Pan American Championships held from June 15th-17th. The Canadian delegation included 27 athletes, accompanied by five coaches, a number of sports organization representatives, and sixteen officials. This event saw a number of impressive performances on the part of Canadian athletes, with twelve top-5 finishes, including one gold and four bronze medals in individual kumite, a gold and a silver medal in para-karate, an individual bronze medal in kata, and a historic first gold medal in men’s team kumite.

Olivier Pineau, Executive Director of Karate Canada, notes that “the Canadian karate team is once again demonstrating marked and rapid progress on the international stage.And we concluded the tournament on a very high note, by winning gold in men’s Team Kumite, a division where results are generally considered to be a testament to the depth and overall success of a country’s national team program.” His statement is echoed by Karate Canada President Craig Vokey, who remarked upon the “excellent performance by the senior team”, declaring that “this is a young team with a bright future.“

Furthermore, eleven officials acquired or updated their Pan American license(s) while in Santiago. Congratulations to Djibril Ba (Kata Judge B, Kumite Judge B), Samir Baccouche (Kata Judge C, Kumite Judge C), Chantale Boileau (Kata Judge A), Yannick Charles (Kata Judge C, Kumite Judge C), Aristhène Clairméus (Kata Judge C, Kumite Judge C), Thomas De Freyman (Kumite Referee A), Barry Gaudet (Kumite Judge B), Patricia Karl (Kumite Judge C), Yogen Mungroosing (Kumite Referee A), Maria Salmeron (Kata Judge C, Kumite Judge C) and Michael Wai Song (Kumite Judge C).

To read the press release in its entirety, please click here.