Sakura Kokumai (born October 2, 1992) is an American

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 ...

ka. She won the gold medal in the women's individual kata event at the

2019 Pan American Games The 2019 Pan American Games (), officially the XVIII Pan American Games () and commonly known as Lima 2019, were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization held in Lima, Peru from July 26 to August 11, 2019, with preliminar ...

in Lima, Peru and the

2023 Pan American Games The 2023 Pan American Games (), officially the XIX Pan American Games () and commonly known as Santiago 2023, were an international multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, held in Santiago, Chile from 20 October to 5 Novem ...

in Santiago, Chile. She represented the United States in the women's kata event at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in Tokyo, Japan.

Career

In 2012, Kokumai won a bronze medal in the individual kata event at the

World Karate Championships The Karate World Championships, also known as the World Karate Championships, are the highest level of competition for karate organized by the World Karate Federation (WKF). The competition is held in a different city every two years. Championshi ...

held in Paris, France. The following year, she won the bronze medal in the women's kata event at the

2013 World Combat Games The 2013 World Combat Games were held in Saint Petersburg, Russia, from October 18 to 26, 2013. Venues Games Opening ceremony The opening ceremony was officially opened on October 18, 2013 at 20:30-22:00 local time. Sports Compared to the 5 ...

held in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In 2014, Kokumai won the gold medal in the women's kata event at the

Pan American Sports Festival The Pan American Sports Festival () is a multi-sport event organized by the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO) for athletes from the Americas. The event is held in co-ordination with ACODEPA (Asociación de Confederaciones Deportivas Panameric ...

held in Tlaxcala, Mexico. She won the silver medal in her event at the

2016 World University Karate Championships The 2016 World University Karate Championships was the 10th edition of World University Karate Championships and took place in Braga, Portugal between August 10 and August 13, 2016. Medalists Men Women Medal count table See also ...

held in Braga, Portugal. At the

2017 World Games The 2017 World Games (), also known as Wrocław 2017, was the tenth edition of the World Games, held from 20 to 30 July 2017 in Wrocław, Poland. The World Games were organized by the Wrocław Organizing Committee. Wrocław was selected as the h ...

held in Wrocław, Poland, Kokumai lost her bronze medal match against Sandy Scordo of France in the women's kata event. In 2018, she competed in the women's individual kata event at the

held in Madrid, Spain where she was eliminated in her third match by

Viviana Bottaro Viviana Bottaro (born 2 September 1987) 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 wome ...

of Italy. Kokumai won the gold medal in the women's individual kata event at the

held in Lima, Peru. She competed in the women's individual kata event at the

2019 World Beach Games The 2019 World Beach Games, () officially known as the ANOC World Beach Games Qatar 2019 and commonly known as Qatar 2019, was the inaugural edition of the international beach and water multi-sport event organized by the Association of National ...

held in Doha, Qatar without winning a medal. She finished in 5th place. In April 2021, during a training session, Kokumai was subjected to anti-Asian harassment, of which she captured the incident via Instagram. At the

in Tokyo, Japan, Kokumai competed in the women's kata where she lost her bronze medal match against

of Italy. 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 The 2021 World Karate Championships were held from 16 to 21 November 2021 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Medal table Medalists Men Women References External linksResults book
{{World championships in 2021 World Karate Championship ...

held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Kokumai competed in the women's kata event at the

2022 World Games The 2022 World Games, commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event held from July 7 to 17, 2022, in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. They were the 11th World Games, a multi-sport event featuring disciplines ...

held in Birmingham, United States. In 2023, she lost her bronze medal match in the women's individual kata event at the

held in Budapest, Hungary. A week later, Kokumai won the gold medal in her event at the

held in Santiago, Chile.

Achievements

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kokumai, Sakura Living people 1992 births American female karateka Shitō-ryū practitioners Waseda University alumni Martial artists from Honolulu American sportspeople of Japanese descent Competitors at the 2017 World Games Competitors at the 2022 World Games Karateka at the 2019 Pan American Games Karateka at the 2023 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2023 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in karate Racially motivated violence against Asian Americans Karateka at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic karateka for the United States 21st-century American sportswomen