From 25 to 27 April 2025, the SKIF European Karate Championships were held in Heraklion, Crete (Greece).
The competition was attended by 779 athletes from 17 countries.
The national team of Ukraine included three representatives of the Sokil club of the Chervonohrad-Sokal Karate-Do Shotokan Federation: students of Sokal Lyceum No. 3 and Zhvyrkiv Secondary School.
The journey to Greece was not easy – two days of hard travelling, a day of recovery and three intense days of competition. The enormous emotional and physical strain paid off with moments of pride during the award ceremony accompanied by the Ukrainian national anthem.
Our athletes won three medals for the Ukrainian national team:
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Anastasia Gorbach (Zhvyrkiv Secondary School) won a silver medal in the women’s category born in 2009 (43 participants), losing in the final to a rival from the Czech Republic.
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Vladyslav Martynyuk (Sokal Lyceum №3) also won a silver medal in the men’s category born in 2007, weight over 75 kg (31 participants), losing in the final match to a representative of Denmark. In addition, Vladyslav became a champion in the team kumite for 16-17 year olds, winning a gold medal as part of a team formed from athletes of the Cheetah Club.
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Daria Savaliuk (Sokal Lyceum №3) won 4th place in team kumite, took 17th place in individual kata and 9th place in kumite among 43 participants.
Thanks to the efforts of the entire team, the Ukrainian national team took 5th place in the team competition.
One gold and two silver medals is an impressive achievement for our young karateka at the European level! We sincerely congratulate the athletes and wish them further sporting achievements!