Friday/Day 5: Our Final Day of Competition!!
I am so excited to be announcing Team Canada's Medal count!! Canada won 205 medals at this year's World Karate Championships - 61 Golds; 56 Silver; 88 Bronze. Can you believe these numbers???? What an amazing achievement for all of our Athletes.
Today's Bernardo Karate student results:
Today, Alexa started the day off with her Junior Girls, 13-17 years, Weapons (with music) division. I was over at another ring when I heard the song 'Disco Inferno mixed with Kick Start my Heart' blarring on the speaker....I knew I had to get my butt over to Ring #1 to see Alexa's blazing Bo form. She was awesome!! Alexa won her second Gold medal of these Championships and quickly had to get changed and ready for her Girls 13-17 years, -50 kg light contact kickboxing division. I've always respected Alexa's ability to spar, but today, I also came to respect how much 'heart' she has when she competes. Alexa had a tough final against an English competitor, and despite being down after the first round, Alexa pressed forward and battled the English girl right to the very end, never once giving up. Alexa finished with a Silver medal and we could not be more proud of Alexa's performance. Alexa next had to prepare for her final event; Team Freestyle forms with Canadian Team member Mark Santoro from Windsor, Ontario. Alexa and Mark were completely 'in-sync' for their performance and clinched the Gold medal edging out two other Canadian Teams and an English Team. Alexa finishes these World Championships with 3 Gold Medals and 2 Silver medals. Congratulations Alexa! This is such an impressive achievement! Way to go!
Gilles Doiron was up next in his Men's, -70 kg light contact kickboxing division final against a German Competitor. Every one was gearing up for what was to be one of the most exciting fights of these Championships. We had watched the German competitor in the elimination rounds and knew his fight with Gilles was going to be amazing to watch. These two fighers did not disappoint. Gilles was amazing with his movement and finished every combination with quick, powerful round kicks to the body. Gilles also scored some amazing Axe kicks! The German kept pressing and kept Gilles busy for the entire 4 minutes (2 minutes each round). Gilles was clearly the better-conditioned athlete, moving around the ring, looking energized at the end of the match while the results were being calculated. In the red corner, the German was bent over, exhausted, trying to catch his breath. It was so exciting to watch and when the fight was complete it seemed 'like forever' before the results were announced and Gilles' arm was raised in Victory!! Gilles trained very hard for this Gold medal - and he totally deserves it! Congratulations Gilles on your first ever WKA Gold medal!! We're so excited and happy for you!
Our final student competing for the day was Mitchell Triplett....and talk about being on a mission! Mitchell looked totally pumped in the Boys 12 and under Team Point fighting championships. Mitchell knew if he won his match, the boys would have their Team Gold medal in their hands. Mitchell stepped into the ring calm and cool and was a blitzing machine! His timing was amazing and he scored numerous 'reverse punches' to help the Boys Team win their Gold medal. Congratulations Mitchell on a great victory for your Team.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, Shihan and I have had such an amazing time coaching our students and Team Canada members. This week seems to have flown by even though we have had over 35 hours of competition. We hope our students are pleased with their results, as Shihan and I are very proud of each and every one of you!
There is one more exciting thing to report.....out of 5 Team Fighting events, Team Canada won 4 of them; Men's Team Fighting; boys 12 and under; junior boys 13-17 years; girls 12 and under; junior girls 13-17. Our Women's Team won the silver medal today and only lost by two points!! I had the pleasure of coaching our Women's Team this year. Congratulations Ladies.
Tonight after dinner, we came out of the restaurant and watched the Space shuttle launch (visible from Cape Canaveral). What an amazing thing to experience. The space shuttle lit up the entire sky and we watched it disappear into 'thin air'.....something I'll never forget (shoot! I didn't have my camera with me!)
I've updated 30 or so more pictures to the photo gallery. I hope you have all enjoyed our daily blog at the World Championships. It's been fun for me to update you all on our students amazing results. I'll see you all back at the club on Monday.
Special thanks to Florence and Nasrudeen for my Mickey Mouse t-shirt! Haven't had one of these since I was a kid! :-)
Congratulations Bernardo Karate and Team Canada!
Signing off from Orlando, Florida, Disneyland.
Sempai Tammy
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