María Dimitrova (born October 11, 1985) is a Bulgarian born, Dominican martial artist who practices karate.

Early life

She was born in

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

to father Valeri Dimitrov and mother Maya Ivanova, both citizens of that same country. At the age of 6, her family made the trip to the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

and settled for good in Sosua, Puerto Plata. A friend of the family had recommended the country to them. María started to practice

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

when she was four years old, as her father was a

Karateka (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts. While moder ...

as well. The "Karate Princess" (as she's called much due to her looks and ability in

Martial Art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the pres ...

) has been ranked among the best in the world in

Female An organism's sex is female ( symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and ...

Kata ''Kata'' is a Japanese word ( 型 or 形) meaning "form". It refers to a detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements. It can also be reviewed within groups and in unison when training. It is practiced in Japanese martial arts ...

since 2005, when she won the gold medal at the ''XVI Pan-American Junior Karate Championship'' in

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. That same year, she also won her first world medal at the WKF World Junior Karate Championship, Cyprus.

Career

In 2006, Dimitrova began to travel to Japan for special training with 7 times World Champions – brothers Hasegawa senseis. That year, as a result of the training in Japan, she was able to win the gold medal at the

2006 Central American and Caribbean Games The 20th edition of the Central American and Caribbean Games was held in the city of Cartagena, Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, in ...

Cartagena de Indias Cartagena ( ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Region of Colombia, Caribbean Coast Region, along the Caribbean Sea. Cartagena's past ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, and became one of the Top Athletes for the Dominican Olympics Committee. In 2008, she ranked 5th place at the World Senior Karate Championship in Japan. That same year, she became Senior Panamerican Champion, and repeated that gold medal in 2009, 2010, and 2014 in Female Kata. In 2009, Dimitrova qualified for the World Games in representation of the American continent, finished in 2nd place, and made history for Karate in the Dominican Republic and Female Kata in America. In 2009, Dimitrova decided to form a Team Kata with two of her students (Franchell Velazquez and Heydi Reynoso), and three years later, the team became Panamerican Champion in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Awards and honors

Dimitrova has been given the award of Karate Athlete of The Year, in recognition from the Dominican Federation of Karate (FEDOKARATE), the Sports Writers Association (ACD) and the Dominican

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

Committee (COD) six times already, in 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013. Thanks to her international achievements in Karate, she has been set as an example for the youth of the Dominican Republic. She has been nominated and finalist for the National Youth Award in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, given by the Ministry of the National Youth of the Dominican Republic. She is not only known as one of the top Kata Athletes in the world, but Dimitrova has also achieved great recognition as an Instructor. In January 2015, she was named National Junior Kata Coach by the Dominican Karate Federation. She is also Chief Instructor of the Dominican Karate Air Force Team since 2010. She has conducted International Seminars in USA, Mexico, Peru, Bulgaria, Guatemala, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

Personal life

Dimitrova earned her bachelor Business Administration degree at Grantham University in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

, United States. She's also an entrepreneur, as she started her own company under ''Martial Arts & Sportquip'', and currently owns two Karate Dojos under the name ´´Dimitrova Dojo´´
www.dimitrovadojo.com
At the age of 15, Dimitrova started working in a TV show in Dominican Republic as the main host, and later on became the show's producer. During her TV production time, she was able to sign a contract with a European TV Satellite carrier to carry tourism programming to 24 countries in three languages. She describes a passion for TV production, but emphasizes that it's a time-consuming task with a heavy toll of dedication for success, just like Karate, which made it very difficult for her to carry on with both projects. She is married to two-time Olympic gold medalist Felix Sanchez.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dimitrova, Maria 1985 births Living people Dominican Republic female karateka World Games medalists in karate World Games silver medalists Pan American Games gold medalists in karate Pan American Games silver medalists in karate Pan American Games gold medalists for the Dominican Republic Pan American Games silver medalists for the Dominican Republic Karateka at the 2019 Pan American Games Karateka at the 2023 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Grantham University alumni Bulgarian emigrants to the Dominican Republic Medalists at the 2009 World Games 21st-century Dominican Republic sportswomen