Sakura Kokumai Explained

Sakura Kokumai
Birth Date:2 October 1992
Birth Place:Honolulu, Hawaii, US
Education:Doshisha University[1]
Alma Mater:Waseda University
Country:United States
Sport:Shitō-ryū Karate
Rank:4th Degree Black Belt
Event:Individual kata
Highestranking:5th

Sakura Kokumai (born October 2, 1992) is an American karateka. She won the gold medal in the women's individual kata event at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru and the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. She represented the United States in the women's kata event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.[2] [3]

Career

In 2012, Kokumai won a bronze medal in the individual kata event at the World Karate Championships held in Paris, France.[4] The following year, she won the bronze medal in the women's kata event at the 2013 World Combat Games held in Saint Petersburg, Russia.[5] In 2014, Kokumai won the gold medal in the women's kata event at the Pan American Sports Festival held in Tlaxcala, Mexico.[6] She won the silver medal in her event at the 2016 World University Karate Championships held in Braga, Portugal.[7] [8]

At the 2017 World Games held in Wrocław, Poland, Kokumai lost her bronze medal match against Sandy Scordo of France in the women's kata event.[9] In 2018, she competed in the women's individual kata event at the World Karate Championships held in Madrid, Spain where she was eliminated in her third match by Viviana Bottaro of Italy.[10]

Kokumai won the gold medal in the women's individual kata event at the 2019 Pan American Games held in Lima, Peru.[11] [12] She competed in the women's individual kata event at the 2019 World Beach Games held in Doha, Qatar without winning a medal.[13] She finished in 5th place.[13]

In April 2021, during a training session, Kokumai was subjected to anti-Asian harassment, of which she captured the incident[14] via Instagram.[15] [16] [17]

At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, Kokumai competed in the women's kata where she lost her bronze medal match against Viviana Bottaro of Italy.[18] A few months after the Olympics, she also lost her bronze medal match against Bottaro in the women's individual kata event at the 2021 World Karate Championships held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.[19]

Kokumai competed in the women's kata event at the 2022 World Games held in Birmingham, United States.[20] In 2023, she lost her bronze medal match in the women's individual kata event at the World Karate Championships held in Budapest, Hungary.[21] A week later, Kokumai won the gold medal in her event at the 2023 Pan American Games held in Santiago, Chile.[22]

Achievements

Year Competition Venue RankEvent
2012World ChampionshipsParis, France3rdIndividual kata
2013World Combat GamesSaint Petersburg, Russia3rdIndividual kata
2019Pan American GamesLima, Peru1stIndividual kata
2023Pan American GamesSantiago, Chile1stIndividual kata

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Olympics: Kokumai is U.S. Karate's Best Hope to Not Leave Empty Handed. Team USA. June 28, 2020.
  2. News: WKF announces first qualified athletes for Tokyo 2020. 18 March 2020. World Karate Federation. 18 April 2020.
  3. Web site: Price. Karen. September 1, 2020. For Sakura Kokumai, Team USA's First Karate Olympian, The Sport Is More About Art Than Aggression. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20200902013902/https://www.teamusa.org/News/2020/September/01/For-Sakura-Kokumai-Team-USAs-First-Karate-Olympian-The-Sport-Is-More-About-Art-Than-Aggression. September 2, 2020. December 11, 2020. Team USA.
  4. Web site: Sakura Kokumai. https://web.archive.org/web/20141018014903/http://www.teamusa.org/usa-karate/athletes/Sakura-Kokumai. dead. October 18, 2014. Team USA. April 15, 2020.
  5. News: 4 November 2013. SportAccord World Combat Games 2013. World Karate Federation. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190605175515/https://www.wkf.net/news-center-new/sportaccord-world-combat-games/18/. 5 June 2019.
  6. Web site: Karate Medalists. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141213015617/http://www.wkf.net/pdf/news/results_for_each_category.pdf. 13 December 2014. 22 August 2020. 2014 Pan American Sports Festival.
  7. News: Morgan . Liam . 13 August 2016 . Agier lays down marker with victory over rival Buchinger at World University Karate Championship . . 23 August 2022.
  8. Web site: 2016 World University Karate Championships Results Book. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201015224326/https://www.fisu.net/medias/fichiers/2016_WUC_Karate_results.pdf. 15 October 2020. 16 November 2021. Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire.
  9. Web site: Karate Results. 2017 World Games. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200424114313/https://worldgames2017.sportresult.com/hide/en/-120/Pdf/GetResultbookPdf?filename=Karate.pdf. 24 April 2020. 24 April 2020.
  10. 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.
  11. Web site: Karate Results. 2019 Pan American Games. live. April 15, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200602230633/https://wrsd.lima2019.pe/panam/resPAG2019/pdf/PAG2019/KTE/PAG2019_KTE_C93_KTE-------------------------------.pdf. 2 June 2020.
  12. News: Lima 2019: Ingrid Aranda consigue la medalla de bronce en karate. 9 August 2019. Agencia Peruana de Noticias. 17 April 2020. es.
  13. Web site: Karate Results Book. 2019 World Beach Games. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200601183633/https://back.awbg2019.bornan.net/pdfs/KTE/RBK.KTE-------------------------------_1_0.pdf. 1 June 2020. 1 June 2020.
  14. Web site: Couldn't stop thinking about what happened yesterday.. 2 April 2021. 21 April 2021. Sakura Kokumai.
  15. Web site: Burke . Minyvonne . Olympic athlete Sakura Kokumai targeted in anti-Asian rant at park . April 9, 2021 . NBC . 21 April 2021.
  16. Web site: Elderly Korean couple attacked in Orange park by same man who harassed Olympian, police say. 19 April 2021. 21 April 2021. Faith E.. Pinho. Los Angeles Times.
  17. Web site: Olympic athlete targeted in anti-Asian attack in Orange County. 6 April 2021. 21 April 2021. Los Angeles Times. Hayley. Smith.
  18. News: Costantini. Lisa. August 5, 2021. Sakura Kokumai Finishes Fifth In Karate's Olympic Debut. Team USA. August 10, 2021.
  19. Web site: 2021 World Karate Championships Results Book. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20211121193114/https://www.wkf.net/imagenes/campeonatos/world-championshipsresultados-25th-world-championships-dubai-001.pdf. 21 November 2021. 21 November 2021. World Karate Federation.
  20. Web site: Karate Results Book . https://web.archive.org/web/20220710164133/https://swog2022.sportresult.com/hide/en/Pdf/GetResultbookPdf?filename=Karate.pdf . 10 July 2022 . 10 July 2022 . 2022 World Games.
  21. Web site: 2023 World Karate Championships Results Book . https://web.archive.org/web/20231029174223/https://cdn.sportdata.org/543dcb8c-0cba-4652-a6cf-cbde494cd953/ . 29 October 2023 . 30 October 2023 . Sportdata.org.
  22. Web site: 2023 Pan American Games Karate Results Book . https://web.archive.org/web/20231227171340/https://wrs-panam2023-resources.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/santiago/reports/KTE-------------------------------.RBK_1_0.pdf . 27 December 2023 . 12 March 2024 . 2023 Pan American Games.

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