Karate Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee have announced Canada’s karate team nominated to compete at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games.

Kathryn Campbell, Daniel Gaysinsky, Haya Jumaa and Rita Ha Thi Ngo qualified for Team Canada based on their performances at the 2019 North American Cup and the Pan American Games Qualifier that respectively took place on December 1 in Los Cabos, Mexico and on March 20 in Panama City, Panama. All four athletes have been benefiting from targeted Enhanced Excellence support over the last year through Karate Canada’s Team 2020 program, with generous support and funding from the Government of Canada.

“I am so humbled to once again have earned the opportunity to represent Canada at the Pan American Games,” said Kathryn Campbell, who was a silver medalist at the TORONTO2015 Pan Am Games. “I can honestly say the last Pan Am Games in which I participated was the experience of a lifetime, and I am so excited to represent karate at this level of international competition once more. Let’s do this Canada!”

“As a volunteer at the 2015 Pan Am Games, I held high the Canada sign and led the Canadian athletes onto the field of play,” added Haya Jumaa, ranked No. 7 in her division by the World Karate Federation. “I promised myself at that moment that in 2019, I would be on the other side of the board, competing for Canada. My dream has come true and I can’t wait to win a gold medal for my country!”

The three highest ranked gold medallists from the eight events at Lima 2019, who do not qualify through Olympic rankings or tournaments, will earn their places at Tokyo 2020.

The team’s last competition before the Pan Am Games will be held on homesoil, as Karate Canada will host, for the first time, a WKF Karate1 Series A event in Montreal from June 21-23. This will be an additional international experience for Team Canada before they leave for Peru, as well as a chance for Canadians to witness live karate from some of the best athletes in the world.

Karate will take place near the end of the Games on August 9 to 11 (Days 14 to 16), at the Polideportivo Villa El Salvador.

Lima 2019, which will run from July 26 to August 11, will bring together approximately 6,700 athletes from 41 nations of the Americas and feature 62 disciplines in 39 sports. It will be the largest sporting event ever held in Peru.

The athletes and coaches nominated are:

1. 1. KateCampbell (Fredericton, N.B.) – Women’s kumite -55kg
   2. Daniel Gaysinsky (Vaughan, Ont.) – Men’s kumite +84kg
   3. Haya Jumaa (Toronto, Ont.) – Women’s kumite -61kg
   4. Rita Ha Thi Ngo (Vancouver, B.C.) – Women’s kata
2. 1. Nassim Varasteh (Toronto, Ont.) – Kumite Head Coach
   2. Pam Ross (Cumberland, B.C.) – Kata Lead Coach

Prior to being named to Team Canada, all nominations are subject to approval by the COC’s Team Selection Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Federations in late June 2019.