Portugal won two gold medals and one bronze medal at the European Championships for junior cadets and under-21, held in Cyprus.
Guilherme Gonçalves won the first place in the men’s junior kumite category, in a final against the Cypriot athlete Charalambides Stravos. With this victory, the youngster from SC Braga became the first European champion from Portugal. He also consolidated his position as number 1 in the World Karate Federation world ranking, reaching an identical position in the “WKF All Time Ranking”, in the junior -68kg category.
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The trio formed by Bárbara Ribeiro, Lara Teixeira and Rita Marques also climbed the podium to receive the gold medal in the junior women’s team kata category. The Portuguese team faced and beat France in the decisive match. In the previous European championship, held in Prague in 2022, Bárbara Ribeiro and Lara Teixeira were part of the group that brought bronze home.
Natacha Fernandes collected her third medal in European championships, with the third place achieved in Larnaca. The athlete occupies the 8th position of the WKF ranking, in women’s under-21 kata.
The competition started this Saturday (3) and ended on Sunday (5), in the city of Larnaca, Cyprus. More than 1100 young people from 48 different countries participated. The next edition is scheduled for 2024 in Georgia.
