| Host city |  Paris, France |
|---|---|
| Dates | 21–22 April |
| Main venue | Stade Pierre de Coubertin |
The 1972 World Karate Championships are the 2nd edition of the World Karate Championships, and were held in Stade Pierre de Coubertin, Paris, France on April 21 and April 22, 1972. [1] [2]
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ippon | Luiz Tasuke Watanabe  Brazil | Billy Higgins  Great Britain | Ištvan Šipter  Yugoslavia |
| Guy Sauvin France | |||
| Team | France |  Italy | Great Britain |
 Singapore |
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Brazil | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Great Britain | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | Italy | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | Singapore | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Yugoslavia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (6 entries) | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | |
Joe Lewis was an American martial artist, professional kickboxer and actor. Originally a practitioner of Shōrin-ryū karate and champion in point sparring competitions, he became one of the fathers of full contact karate and kickboxing in the United States, and is credited with popularizing the combat sport in North America.
The World Karate Federation (WKF) is an international governing body of sport karate with 198 member countries. It is the only karate organization recognised by the International Olympic Committee and has more than a hundred million members. The WKF organizes their Junior and Senior Karate World Championships, which are each held every other year. The President of the WKF is Antonio Espinós, and the headquarters are located in Madrid, Spain.
ZenQuest Martial Arts Center, formerly called the Okinawan Karate School, is a martial arts school located in Lenox, Massachusetts. The oldest martial arts school in Berkshire County, it was founded in 1972 as a dojo for Uechi-ryu karate. The school since expanded to include other martial arts, and currently provides instruction in Shohei-ryu karate, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, mixed martial arts, Muay Thai, boxing, wrestling, kobudo, and self-defense, and is the fastest growing martial arts community in Berkshire County. The school also contains a store which provides equipment, gear, and instructional media. It is affiliated with the Okinawan Karatedo Association, Demian Maia Jiu-Jitsu Association, and Team Sityodtong Boston, and is accredited by the North American Grappling Association. ZenQuest has received significant coverage by regional and local media in Berkshire County, including The Berkshire Eagle, Berkshires' Best Buys, Business, and Beyond, and Pittsfield Cable Television, for its regular youth tournaments and seminars with high-ranking officials from the school's parent organizations.
The 1976 European Karate Championships were held in Tehran from 5–7 May 1976 and were the 11th championship in the series. The event was organized by the European Karate Union.
Anita Arturivna Serogina is a Ukrainian karateka competing in the kumite 61 kg division and coach. She started karate training at the age of eleven with the coach Tonkoshkur Olexandr.
Sandra Sánchez Jaime is a retired Spanish karateka. She won the gold medal in the women's kata event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. She is a two-time gold medallist in the women's individual kata event at the World Karate Championships. She also won the gold medal in this event at the European Karate Championships in seven consecutive competitions. She is also recognised by Guinness World Records for winning the most medals in the Karate1 Premier League; she won 35 consecutive medals between January 2014 and February 2020.
Damián Hugo Quintero Capdevila is a Spanish karateka. He won the silver medal in the men's kata event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. He is also a four-time silver medalist in the individual kata event at the World Championships, a seven-time gold medalist in his event at the European Championships and a three-time gold medalist in this event at the European Games.
Steven Da Costa, sometimes written as Steven Dacosta is a French karateka. He won the gold medal in the men's 67 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. He is a three-time gold medalist in the men's 67 kg event at the World Karate Championships. He is also a three-time gold medalist in this event at the European Karate Championships.
Kiyou Shimizu is a Japanese karateka competing in the women's kata event. She won the silver medal in the women's kata event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Shimizu is also a two-time gold medalist at the World Karate Championships and a three-time gold medalist at the Asian Games.
Viviana Bottaro is an Italian karateka. She won one of the bronze medals in the women's kata event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Bottaro has also won numerous medals in the women's individual kata and women's team kata events at the World Karate Championships and the European Karate Championships. She is a three-time bronze medalist in the women's individual kata event at the World Karate Championships. She is also the 2014 European champion in this event.
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Miho Miyahara is a Japanese karateka. She is a two-time gold medalist in the women's kumite 50 kg event at the World Karate Championships. She also won the gold medal in this event at the 2018 Asian Karate Championships.
Irina Zaretska is a Ukrainian and Azerbaijani karateka. She won the silver medal in the women's +61 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. She is a three-time gold medalist in the women's 68 kg event at the World Karate Championships. Zaretska is also a two-time gold medalist in this event at the Islamic Solidarity Games and the European Games.
Silvia Semeraro is an Italian karateka. She won the gold medal in the women's kumite 68 kg event at the 2022 World Games held in Birmingham, United States. Semeraro also won the gold medal in the same event at the 2019 European Games held in Minsk, Belarus. She won the silver medal in the women's 68 kg event at the 2021 World Karate Championships held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Mattia Busato is an Italian karateka. He is a four-time bronze medalist at the World Karate Championships. He is also the gold medalist in the men's individual kata event at the 2014 European Karate Championships held in Tampere, Finland.
Wen Tzu-yun is a Taiwanese karateka. At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, she won one of the bronze medals in the women's 55 kg event. Wen is also a two-time gold medalist in the women's kumite 55 kg event at the Asian Games and a two-time bronze medalist in this event at the World Karate Championships.
Ivet Goranova is a Bulgarian karateka. She won the gold medal in the women's 55 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. She also won the gold medal in her event at the 2019 European Games held in Minsk, Belarus.
Grace Lau Mo-sheung is a Hong Kong karateka. She won bronze in the women’s kata event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, becoming the first Hong Kong athlete to win an Olympic medal in karate. She is a three-time medallist in the women's individual kata event at the World Karate Championships. She is also a medallist in this event at the Asian Games and the World Beach Games. She is a six-time medalist, including gold, at the Asian Karate Championships.
Alisa Theresa Buchinger is an Austrian karateka. She won the gold medal in the women's kumite 68 kg at the 2016 World Karate Championships in Linz, Austria. She is also a two-time gold medalist in this event at the European Karate Championships, both in 2015 and in 2017.
Giana Mohamed Farouk Lotfy is an Egyptian karateka. She won one of the bronze medals in the women's 61 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. She is a two-time gold medalist in the women's kumite 61 kg event at the World Karate Championships. She is also a gold medalist in her event at the African Games, the Islamic Solidarity Games and the Mediterranean Games.