The Karate Dojo
A kumite competitor roars in celebration at the Karate1 Series A in Guadalajara

Karate1 Series A

Guadalajara 2026: hosts Mexico strike gold twice as the Series A crosses the Atlantic

The Karate1 Series A made a rare stop in the Americas, and the home crowd in Guadalajara got what it came for. Mexico took two kumite golds, Algeria's women struck twice of their own, and Japan left with more medals than anyone.

By The Karate Dojo 3 min read

The Karate1 Series A is a mostly European and Asian affair, so a stop in Guadalajara from 17 to 19 July was a rare chance for the Americas to host the senior circuit, and for a Mexican crowd at the Complejo Panamericano de Gimnasia to roar a home team on. Across thirteen senior divisions they got two golden moments, while the medals themselves scattered across four continents.

Full resultsKarate1 Series A Guadalajara 202614divisions56medalsMexico220Open the medal tables

🇲🇽 The hosts strike gold twice

Mexico saved its best for the kumite mats. In the Male Kumite -60 kg final it was a guaranteed home gold either way: Daniel Alejandro Cruz Romero beat compatriot Andre Salvador Rebolledo Bravo in an all-Mexican showdown. Later, in the heaviest men’s class, Jesus Francisco Garcia Garcia added the +84 kg title in front of the same crowd. A silver for the women’s team kata rounded off a strong weekend for the hosts.

A kumite exchange at full stretch on the tatami in Guadalajara

Kumite at full tilt in Guadalajara. Photo: WKF.

🇩🇿 Algeria’s golden women

Algeria answered Mexico’s two golds with two of their own, both in the women’s kumite. Rayane Sekkour won the -50 kg title ahead of Ukraine’s Daria Pylypiuk, and Karima Mekkaoui took -68 kg gold over Egypt’s Jana Elghafary. No nation won more than those two golds all weekend.

🥋 Kata: a Portuguese and Dominican weekend

The kata mats leaned Iberian and Caribbean. The Dominican Republic’s Maria Dimitrova took Female Kata gold ahead of Portugal’s Rita Marques, with Venezuela locking out both bronzes through Diana Valentina Oligino and Daniela Garcia. Portugal hit back in the team event: the trio of the Centro de Karate Goju-Ryu do Porto won Female Team Kata gold, and in the men’s Male Kata it was Japan’s Ryuki Takao who came out on top, ahead of the United States’ Rey Chinen. Macau claimed Male Team Kata gold.

A dramatic kumite counter lands at the Karate1 Series A in Guadalajara

Split-second timing on the Guadalajara tatami. Photo: WKF.

🌍 Around the mats

There was plenty for the travelling contenders. Portugal’s Diogo Ribeiro reached the Male Kumite -67 kg final before falling to Morocco’s Samir Sadini, Uruguay’s Juan Macedo won -75 kg gold, and Canada’s Hamza Labid took the -84 kg title. Brazil’s Brenda Pereira won the women’s 68+ kg class, France’s Silya Abdesselem took -55 kg, and in the -61 kg division neutral athlete Anna Rodina struck gold under the WKF flag.

When the medals were counted, it was Japan who left with the most: five in total, built on Takao’s kata gold and four kumite bronzes through Maria Chiba, Karen Nishikawa, Keisei Sakiyama and Yosuke Abe. Mexico and Algeria topped the gold count with two apiece.

Every podium from all thirteen divisions is in our results database: the full Guadalajara 2026 medal tables.

Sources

  • Official results, Karate1 Series A Guadalajara 2026 (17 to 19 July 2026): WKF / sportdata

Reporting on the Karate1 Series A Guadalajara 2026. All names, categories and finishing positions are drawn from the official results. Action photos: WKF.