Athlete: 2017

Hailig from Gatinea, Que., Philippe Poirier enjoyed a successful karate career that spanned two decades. From his karate beginnings at the age of 10 until 2002, Philippe competed on the International Traditional Karate Federation (ITKF) shotokan karate competition circuit. He took part in several national and international circuit competitions, winning the ITKF Canadian Championship title in 2000 and took part in the Pan American Championships in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Santiago, Chile. He also took part in the ITKF World Championship in Bologna, Italy. Philippe and his club joined Karate Canada in 2002 where he won his first Canadian Championship that year to mark his debut on the senior national team. A National Team member from 2002-09, Philippe competed around the world regularly taking part in Pan American Championships. A bronze medal at the 2004 event in El Salvador earned him his first start at the World Karate Federation (WKF) World Championships. He won a bronze medal at the 2005 World Games. The pinnacle of his career came at the 2006 World Championships where he won the bronze medal in Tampere, Finland. He backed that up with a bronze the following year at the Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro. Philippe retired from competition at the age of 28 following the Pan-American Championship in Caraçao (2009). He then joined the National Karate Team as a coach (2009-10) where he guided many Junior and Senior teams to international competitions including the Senior World Championship in Belgrade.