This Kitchener, Ont., karate team is looking to ‘create history’ at the Pan American Games
A team of young athletes from a Kitchener, Ont., karate dojo is representing Team Canada on the world stage.
Gisselle Derousie, Logan Robertson, Eliyah Israilov and Mariana Guvrero are four of the 106 athletes taking part in the Pan American Games karate tournament in Chile.
“We’ve been preparing for this ever since the beginning of this year and we’re so excited to be representing Canada and our dojo,” said Eliyah Israilov, 16.
The team has been training both mind and body at the Karate Olympic Centre in Kitchener. CBC News caught up with them at the dojo just a few days before they set out for South America.
“The hardest part of training must be the time to genuinely think about the strength and the level it takes to be competing at such a high level,” said Gisselle Derousie, 12.
“You have to qualify to go to nationals. If you win nationals, only then do you get to go to an even higher level. And that’s what makes you become better mentally and physically, because it demands more training and it demands more in the mind.”
It’s the first time competing at the Pan American level for all of the participants, except Mariana Guvrero, who won last year in the under-14 category.
“Coming into Pan Ams this year, I’m really confident to compete and try my hardest,” Mariana said.
“I really, really hope that I’m able to get my second Pan American medal and possibly create history for Canada.”
Kids have star potential, says coach
Coach Hamoon Derafshipour is one of the kids’ biggest supporters.
He said they have huge potential to make it to the next level.
“These kids are stars and an investment for Canada,” he said. “They are a future for karate in Canada because they had a huge achievement in the past national championships.”
Derafshipour said the two youngest members of the team — Gisselle and Logan — have shown huge potential at just 12 years old.
“They are orange belts and they have less than a year of experience but they train hard,” he said.
“I was surprised when they were competing in national because with [other Pan Am athletes] who had experience, black belts for a few years — these two only have less than a year [of training] and gold in nationals.”
He’s excited to see how far the young athletes will go in their athletic careers, adding they’ve already got their eyes set on the Youth Olympic Games.
“We have an investment here,” he said. “We [want] to prepare them and we have a long term plan. They’re doing very well, step by step they’re achieving to succeed.”
