The best karatekas in the world will compete at the Tokyo 2020 Games in 2021: Who will become the first Olympic champion in history? When and where will karate take place at the Olympics? Find out here.
6 minBy Lorena Encabo
Karate
New sport on the block! Karate is one of the new sports you will be able to watch at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in 2021.
Japan is the birth nation of this ancient martial art, which is one of the most popular sports in the world.
Here is your definitive guide to understanding the key things in Olympic karate at the Games.
New Sport on the Block 2020: Karate
Top Olympic karatekas at Tokyo 2020
There will be 80 athletes in total at theTokyo 2020 Games in 2021: 60 competing in the Kumite event and 20 in the Kata event. Both divisions will have an equal split of men and women competing.
Spaniards are on top of the kata world ranking in both male and female: Sandra Sánchez and Damián Quintero will be among the favourites in the event.
39-year-old Sánchez is 2018 World Champion, five-time European champion, and just entered the record books as the karateka with the most medals in the history of the international circuit.
The WKF called her the 'greatest of all time.'
Anything else?
Sandra shared with the Olympic Channel how she did a workout at home during the lockdown in Spain:
Home Workout with Sandra Sanchez - Karate training at home
Her main rival at Tokyo will have the support of the home crowd: Kiyou Shimizu. The Japanese star is a two-time world champion and three-time Asian queen.
The battle in the kata men's event will also be between Spain and Japan. Ryo Kiyuna and Damián Quintero are both tipped to clinch the first-ever Olympic title.
Kiyuna beat Quintero in the final of the World Championships in 2018 and 2016. The duel between each other is already a classic in the kata world!
2018 Karate World Championships - Behind the scenes with kata medallists
In kumite, there will be six different events at Tokyo: three weights on the men's side and another three for the women's competitors.
France will be represented by world champion Steve Dacosta in the men's -67kg category, where PanAmerican gold medallist Vinicius Figueira will compete too.
The world's top 3 in the -75kg category secured their qualification early: Rafael Aghayev of Azerbaijan, Bahman Asgari Ghoncheh of Iran, and Luigi Busa of Italy,
European champion Ugur Aktas of Turkey, as world No. 1 in the +75kg, category is one of the favourites to win gold.
On the women's side, Anzhelika Terliuga of Ukraine will be the one to beat in the -55kg event. The 28-year-old is three-time European champ and World Number 1.
Serbia's Jovana Prekovic won gold at the 2018 World Championships and wants to repeat that success at Tokyo. Her rival in the final was Xiaoyan Yin of China, who also has the ticket to compete at the Olympic Games.
And in the -61kg event, all the eyes will be set on world champion Irina Zaretska of Azerbaijan.
Olympic karate competition format at Tokyo 2020
There are two different disciplines with medals up for grabs: kata and kumite.
KUMITE
There are three weight classes each for men and women. Competitors each only compete in one class.
Two karatekas face each other, trying to land blows on their opponent in an 8m x 8m area over three minutes.
Kicks and punches with good form, power and control earn between one and three points. A competitor wins by earning eight points more than their opponent within the duration of the bout or by gaining more points than their opponent.
What happens if there is a tie? The athlete who scored the first point is the winner.
And if there is a scoreless bout? The judges will decide who is the winner.
Karate Kata & Kumite Finals - The World Games Wroclaw 2017
KATA
The main difference is that the competitors don't face each other. Instead they stand alone in the arena, doing a demonstration of forms ('kata' in Japanese).
These include offensive and defensive movements, targeting a virtual opponent.
There are 102 'katas' recognised by the WKF and the karateka chooses which kata he / she will demonstrate in front of the crowd and, of course, of the seven judges.
There is a point-based system: the scores awarded by three of the seven judges are added then applied to a separate calculation formula to determine the winner.
Coaches tips: Karate - Nijushiho Kata
Olympic karate schedule at Tokyo 2020
The karate event will make its first appearance in an Olympic Games on August 5th 2021, at the start of three days to determine the first ever Olympic champions.
The full schedule here:
*All times in Japan Standard Time (JST)
THURSDAY 5TH AUGUST 2021
10:00 - 14:45
- Women's Kata Elimination Round
- Women's Kata Ranking Round
- Men's Kumite -67 kg Elimination Round
17:00 - 21:40
- Women's Kumite -55 kg Elimination Round
- Women's Kata Bronze Medal Bouts
- Women's Kata Final Bout
- Men's Kumite -67 kg Semifinals
- Women's Kumite -55 kg Semifinals
- Men's Kumite -67 kg Final
- Women's Kumite -55 kg Final
- Women's Kata Victory Ceremony
- Men's Kumite -67 kg Victory Ceremony
- Women's Kumite -55 kg Victory Ceremony
FRIDAY 6TH AUGUST 2021
10:00 - 14:45
- Men's Kata Elimination Round
- Men's Kata Ranking Round
- Women's Kumite -61 kg Elimination Round
17:00 - 21:40
- Men's Kumite -75 kg Elimination Round
- Men's Kata Bronze Medal Bouts
- Men's Kata Final Bout
- Women's Kumite -61 kg Semifinals
- Men's Kumite -75 kg Semifinals
- Women's Kumite -61 kg Final
- Men's Kumite -75 kg Final
- Men's Kata Victory Ceremony
- Women's Kumite -61 kg Victory Ceremony
- Men's Kumite -75 kg Victory Ceremony
SATURDAY 7TH AUGUST 2021
14:00 - 20:35
- Women's Kumite +61 kg Elimination Round
- Men's Kumite +75 kg Elimination Round
- Women's Kumite +61 kg Semifinals
- Men's Kumite +75 kg Semifinals
- Women's Kumite +61 kg Final
- Men's Kumite +75 kg Final
- Women's Kumite +61 kg Victory Ceremony
- Men's Kumite +75 kg Victory Ceremony
Olympic karate history
On August 3rd 2016, during the Rio Games, the 129 IOC session approved to include four new competitions at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: Sport climbing, surfing, skateboarding, and karate.
Karate was included in the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games, to a positive response in Argentina.
Karate will not be included in the official programme of Paris 2024.
Olympic karate venue at Tokyo 2020
The Nippon Budokan (Martial Arts Hall in English) will be the location of the Olympic debut of karate in 2021. Judo will take place in same place.
The venue was built for the judo competition in the 1964 Olympic Games, when judo made its official debut. The Nippon Budokan, known as the spiritual home of Japanese martial arts, is located in the district of Chiyoda, in the center of Tokyo and very close to the Imperial Palace.
Did you know that The Beatles played here in 1966? The English musicians were the first rock band to perform here.
After them, other big names like ABBA, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, and now the worlds top karate practitioners.
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Karate at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics
Karate is one of the new sports that will be featured at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which will take place in 2021 due to the postponement caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Japan, being the birth nation of karate, is hosting this ancient martial art as part of the Olympic Games [[6]].
Karate Events and Participants
At the Tokyo 2020 Games, there will be a total of 80 karate athletes competing. The competition will consist of two disciplines: Kumite and Kata. In the Kumite event, there will be 60 athletes competing, divided equally between men and women. In the Kata event, there will be 20 athletes, again with an equal split between men and women [[6]].
Top Karatekas at Tokyo 2020
In the Kata event, the top-ranked karatekas from Spain, Sandra Sánchez and Damián Quintero, are among the favorites to win. Sandra Sánchez, a 39-year-old karateka, is the 2018 World Champion and has won five European championships. She holds the record for the most medals in the history of the international circuit [[6]].
In the Kumite event, there will be six different weight categories for both men and women. Some notable competitors include Steve Dacosta from France, who is the world champion in the men's -67kg category, and Anzhelika Terliuga from Ukraine, who is a three-time European champion and the top-ranked karateka in the women's -55kg category [[6]].
Olympic Karate Competition Format
In the Kumite event, two karatekas face each other in an 8m x 8m area, aiming to land blows on their opponent. The competition lasts for three minutes, and points are awarded for kicks and punches with good form, power, and control. A competitor can win by earning eight points more than their opponent within the duration of the bout or by gaining more points than their opponent. If there is a tie, the athlete who scored the first point is declared the winner. If there is a scoreless bout, the judges will decide the winner [[6]].
In the Kata event, competitors do not face each other. Instead, they perform a demonstration of forms ('kata' in Japanese) individually. Offensive and defensive movements are showcased, targeting a virtual opponent. There are 102 recognized 'katas,' and the karateka chooses which one to demonstrate. The scores awarded by three of the seven judges are added and applied to a separate calculation formula to determine the winner [[6]].
Olympic Karate Schedule and Venue
The karate event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will take place from August 5th to August 7th, 2021. The competition will be held at the Nippon Budokan, also known as the Martial Arts Hall, in Tokyo. The Nippon Budokan is a historic venue that was built for the judo competition during the 1964 Olympic Games. It is considered the spiritual home of Japanese martial arts and has hosted various renowned musicians and artists over the years [[6]].
I hope this information provides you with a better understanding of karate at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!
