World Champions Hold Their Ground at Budapest 2023
The 26th edition of the World Senior Karate Championship was held from October 24th to October 29th in Budapest, Hungary.
This championship marked the second time that athletes with intellectual impairments participated, following the event in Dubai in 2021.
K21 category
Olivia Kakosy, the current World and European champion of Intellectually Impaired Female K21, was poised to defend her title on home turf in Budapest. The local Para-Karate star earned her spot in the final after dominating the elimination pool with an impressive score of 39.9. Her opponent in the final was Lucia Sanchez of Spain, who holds the current 2023 Virtus Global Games title, World Championships bronze medal and Continental Championships runner-up titles. Sanchez secured her place in the final by topping her pool with a score of 40.4.
Olivia Kakosy at Budapest 2023. Photo Credit: World Karate Federation
The home crowd had the chance to celebrate Olivia Kakosy’s victory. The Hungarian karateka delivered an outstanding performance, outscoring Lucia Sanchez with a final score of 41.4 to 40.5.
The Male K21 category featured Albert Singer of Germany and Carlos Huertas Ruiz of Spain, GG2023 Champion in the final. Carlos Huertas of Spain emerged as one of the heroes of the day in Para-Karate, claiming his second consecutive World title in the Male K21 category.
As for the K21 bronze medals, they were awarded to Elise Reedjik of The Netherlands, Federica Yakymashko of Italy, Antonio Pereira of Portugal, and Moustafa Hassan of Egypt.
K22 category
Salma Alaaeldin Ebrahim at 2023 Virtus Global Games. Photo Credit: Luc-Percival. © Virtus Sport
The Female K22 category set the stage for an all-Egyptian duel between Nadin Youssef and Salma Alaaeldin Ebrahim, both in contention for the gold. Youssef, the current World Championships bronze medalist, led her pool with a score of 38.7, while Ebrahim, the defending titleholder, also earned a score of 38.7 in the elimination pool.
In an intense showdown in the finals, the defending champion Salma emerged victorious with a final score of 40.2 to 38.1, securing the gold and her second world title.
Budapest 2023 K22 Silver medalist, Mattia Allesina in action at GG2023. Photo Credit: Luc Percival. © Virtus Sport
The Male K22 final featured a battle between Italy’s Mattia Allesina and Egypt’s Ahmed Elbeltagy where Ahmed claimed the crown, defeating Italy’s Mattia Alessina in the final with scores of 38.8 to 36.7, retaining his World title.
The K22 bronze medals were awarded to Natalia Olson of Canada, Daniela Topic of Croatia, Hazem Elsabbagh of Egypt, and Joao Estrela Azevedo of Portugal.
