Bulgaria’s Valeri Dimitrov (-85kg, photo) won his 17th European Championship title at the European Shinkyokushin Championships held in Wroclaw (Poland) on May 12th-13th. 394 participants from 27 countries, took part in this event.

By Ludovic Mauchien

The competition. 394 Karatekas were registered for this 2018 edition of the European Championships. 217 Seniors, 167 Juniors. The largest delegations came from Poland (68), Lithuania (50), Ukraine (42), Hungary (37), Bulgaria (27), Romania (19), Spain (18), Georgia (16) and Azerbaijan (15).

The categories. In Seniors, there are 5 weight classes. -65 kg, -75 kg, -85 kg, -95 kg, +95 kg for men ; -50 kg, -55 kg, -60 kg, -65 kg, +65 kg for women. More one category Kata.

The star. Three times World champion, Bulgaria’s Valeri Dimitrov (-85 kg) is one of the stars of Kenji Midori's Shinkyokushin. In Wroclaw, he has not tarnished his reputation. At 36 years old, he won his 17th continental title. KOs from Poland's Mazur in the heavyweight final and Lithuania’s Gazauskas in the super-heavyweight category will also remain in the annals.

The medals. 12 nations left Wroclaw with a medal but only 7 have a gold one. In the ranking, Poland (3 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze), Lithuania (3, 2, 6) and Ukraine (2, 0, 3) are the European leaders.

The 2018 European champions

MALE

-65 kg : Zinchenko (Geo)

-75 kg : Svynarenko (Ukr)

-85 kg : Dimitrov (Bul)

-95 kg : Mazur (Pol)

+95 kg : Guzauskas (Lit)

Kata : Kozubowski (Pol)

FEMALE

-50 kg : Veresniak (Ukr)

-55 kg : Venckute (Lit)

-60 kg : Mikstaite (Lit)

-65 kg : Zielinska (Pol)

+65 kg : Merca (Rom)

Kata : Edin (Swe)