Four Suburban Youth Win Big at Panamerican Karate Federation Championships in Ecuador
Team USA was the top gold medalist in the 2016 Panamerican Karate Federation (PKF) Junior Championships held in Guayaquil, Ecuador. The competition ran from August 22 through August 28, 2016.
The three Gold medalists in Kumite fighting who train with Illinois Shotokan Karate Clubs (ISKC) included:
•Dorian Pajor, 14, who resides in Round Lake and trains with ISKC at the Gurnee, Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg Park Districts.
•Gianna Pelzer, 13, of Naperville who trains with ISKC at the Bolingbrook, Naperville and Schaumburg Park Districts.
•Chandler Ury, 16, of Arlington Heights, who trains with ISKC at the Arlington Heights and Schaumburg Park Districts.
A Bronze medal, also in Kumite fighting, was received by Madison Malone, 15, of Mount Prospect who trains with ISKC at the Hoffman Estates Park District.
The PKF Championships are open only to Junior USA Team members. Becoming a team member requires years of training, and a serious commitment to discipline, skill-building and concentration that ISKC students work to master each day under their instructors.
"We are extremely proud to have trained four of the medal winners on Team USA this year," said John DiPasquale, president of the USA Karate Federation and founder of Illinois Shotokan Karate Clubs, which is headquartered in Palatine. "We are looking to so many of our students to be the karate leaders of tomorrow when the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan include karate as an official sport."
For more information, please visit www.ISKC.com or call 800-458-9797.