The first day of the 2023 PKF Senior Championships saw the USA Karate team dominate the competition, with Olympians Sakura Kokumai and Ariel Torres as standout performers. Sakura Kokumai claimed her ninth continental crown in the Female Kata, beating Jessica Kwong with a score of 41.1 to 39.8. Ariel Torres, an Olympic Games bronze medallist, won his fourth Pan-American gold in the All-American final of Male Kata, defeating Gakuji Tozaki with a score of 43.2 to 42.0.
The USA team also shone in the Kumite category. Skylar Lingl became the continental champion in Female Kumite -68kg, earning her second continental crown with an 8-3 victory over Wendy Mary Ann Mosquera of Colombia.
However, the day also saw victories for other countries. Rodrigo Rojas of Chile won the final of Male Kumite +84kg, narrowly defeating Olympian Brian Irr of the United States with a score of 4-3. Additionally, Jose Antonio Acevedo of Ecuador emerged as the new continental champion in Male Kumite -84kg, defeating Jorge Merino of El Salvador in the final.
In second day, the Chilean team had an impressive performance at the 2023 PKF Senior Championships, securing three titles. Enrique Villalon upset the Male Kumite -60kg category in his first international final, beating Maximiliano Larrosa of Uruguay 6-2 to win the continental title. Matias Rodriguez secured the second title for Chile in an all-Chilean final for Male Kumite -75kg, edging out teammate Joaquin Gonzalez 4-4 to win his second continental gold medal. Valentina Toro defended her title in Female Kumite -55kg, winning back-to-back titles with an 8-2 victory over Canada’s Hana Furumoto-Deshaies.
In addition, there were several surprising performances from first-time finalists. Yasmina Lahyanssa of Canada won her first continental title in Female Kumite -50kg with a 6-4 victory over Sofia Cardenas of Colombia. Pamela Rodriguez of the Dominican Republic won her first gold medal in Female Kumite +68kg, narrowly defeating Valeria Echever of Ecuador 6-5. In Female Kumite -61kg, Isadora Fernades of Brazil claimed the crown by defeating Laura Diaz of Argentina in the final with a score of 2-2.
On the final day of the competition, team categories and Para-Karate divisions were highlighted. In the Blind/Visually Impaired Male K10 division, the gold medal was won by Jose Roberto Gonzalez of Mexico, who defeated Emerson Garcia Rocha of Brazil.
In the Intellectually Impaired divisions, Canada took both titles in the Female categories. Patricia Wright won the K21 title, defeating Jamie Green of the United States, while Natalie Olson triumphed over Yenis Lanzas of Panama in the K22 division. The Male Intellectually Impaired titles were won by Cristian Reyes of Chile and Kevin Rodriguez of the United States.
In the Wheelchair K30 division, Darien Paula Ulloa of Chile won the female competition, while Jaime Ruiz of Brazil won the male division.
In the Team Kata divisions, Brazil and Peru took the titles. Brazil defeated Peru in the female category, and Peru returned the favor in the male competition.
The Female Team Kumite crown was claimed by Venezuela, defeating the United States in the final. Chile concluded their impressive performance by winning the Male Team Kumite title over the United States.
Overall, Chile topped the medal table with a total of 15 medals, including seven golds. The United States and Brazil followed, with 12 and 9 medals respectively.
The PKF Championships will continue, and it’s also a qualifying event for the upcoming ANOC Beach Games to be held in Bali, Indonesia, from August 6 to 7.