Luca Maresca Explained

Luca Maresca
Birth Date:28 December 1993
Birth Place:Naples, Italy
Country:Italy
Sport:Karate
Weight Class:67 kg
Club:Fiamme Oro[1]

Luca Maresca (born 28 December 1993)[2] is an Italian karateka. He won the gold medal in the men's kumite 67 kg event at the 2019 European Games held in Minsk, Belarus.[3] [4] Four years earlier, he won the silver medal in the men's kumite 60kg event at the 2015 European Games held in Baku, Azerbaijan.[5]

Career

In 2013, Maresca represented Italy at the Mediterranean Games held in Mersin, Turkey and he won the gold medal in the men's kumite 60kg event. He also competed at the 2018 Mediterranean Games held in Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain but did not win a medal this time; he finished in 5th place.[6]

At the 2015 European Karate Championships held in Istanbul, Turkey, he won the gold medal in the men's kumite 60kg event. In 2018, Maresca competed in the men's 67kg event at the World Karate Championships held in Madrid, Spain.[7] He won his first match against Rory Kavanagh of Ireland but lost his next match against Ali Elsawy of Egypt.

Maresca won the silver medal in the men's 67kg event at the 2022 Mediterranean Games held in Oran, Algeria.[8] [9] In the final, he lost against Dionysios Xenos of Greece.[10] Maresca lost his bronze medal match in the men's 67kg event at the 2023 European Karate Championships held in Guadalajara, Spain.

Achievements

Year Competition Venue Rank Event
2013Mediterranean GamesMersin, Turkey1stKumite 60 kg
2015European ChampionshipsIstanbul, Turkey1stKumite 60 kg
European GamesBaku, Azerbaijan2ndKumite 60kg
2018World ChampionshipsMadrid, Spain3rdTeam kumite
2019European GamesMinsk, Belarus1stKumite 67kg
2021World ChampionshipsDubai, United Arab Emirates1stTeam kumite
2022Mediterranean GamesOran, Algeria2ndKumite 67 kg
2023World ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary3rdTeam kumite
2024European ChampionshipsZadar, Croatia1stTeam kumite

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Fiamme Oro discipline sportive - Karate. poliziadistato.it. it. 14 May 2020.
  2. Web site: Giochi del Mediterraneo Tarragona 2018 – Luca Maresca. tarragona2018.coni.it. Italian National Olympic Committee. 12 June 2021. Italian.
  3. Web site: Karate Medalists. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200815093537/https://www.sportdata.org/wkf/ausschreibungen/281/C93%20-%20Karate%20-%20Medalists%20by%20Event%20%28Sun,%2030%20Jun%202019%20-%2018_19%29.pdf. 15 August 2020. 15 August 2020. 2019 European Games.
  4. News: Italy's Maresca earns dramatic win as Ukraine take two golds in karate finale at Minsk 2019. Rowbottom. Mike. 30 June 2019. InsideTheGames.biz. 1 February 2020. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200322133858/https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1081429/italys-maresca-earns-dramatic-win-as-ukraine-take-two-golds-in-karate-finale-at-minsk-2019. 22 March 2020.
  5. News: Azerbaijan scoop double karate gold on opening night of European Games. Butler. Nick. 13 June 2015. InsideTheGames.biz. 2 February 2020.
  6. Web site: 2018 Mediterranean Games. World Karate Federation. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200426191043/https://www.wkf.net/imagenes/campeonatos/-resultados-mediterranean-games-003.pdf. 26 April 2020. 26 April 2020.
  7. Web site: Results Book. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201126042620/https://www.sportdata.org/wkf/ausschreibungen/188/ResultBook_188_20190309_072813-compressed.pdf. 26 November 2020. 30 December 2020. 2018 World Karate Championships.
  8. News: Lloyd . Owen . 26 June 2022 . Ouikene secures first Algerian gold medal of Oran 2022 Mediterranean Games . . 26 June 2022.
  9. News: 27 June 2022 . Algerian karatekas lead way to medals on Day 1 of Mediterranean Games . World Karate Federation . 27 June 2022.
  10. Web site: Karate Results Book . https://web.archive.org/web/20220705100714/https://gdm2022-pdf.microplustimingservices.com/KTE/ResultBook/GDM2022_KTE_v1.0.pdf . 5 July 2022 . 5 July 2022 . 2022 Mediterranean Games.