Sandra Sanchez (ESP) is the reigning World Champion in karate, and last week in Croatia she won the European Championships for the sixth time. After the European Championships, she was chosen to be among the first qualified karateka for the Olympic Games 2021 in Tokyo, where karate makes its Olympic debut.
Sandra Sanchez started with karate at the age of four. However, it took a long time and lots of perseverance for her to get to the level she enjoys now. She earned her place in the national team at 32 years of age, but at 33 in 2016 she was told she was too old to succeed further. In 2017, however, she won a silver medal at The World Games, and in 2018 she became World Champion in the women's individual karate event on home soil in Madrid, Spain. She has also won the gold medal at the European Karate Championships for six consecutive years (2015 – 2021).
Sanchez is recognized by Guinness World Records for winning the most medals in the Karate1 Premier League; she won 35 consecutive medals between January 2014 and February 2020. She is the current World Ranking leader.
Congratulations to Sandra on being named May’s Athlete of the Month, and we’re looking forward to cheering you on in the future!
Read more about Sandra and previous Athlete of the Month honorees on The World Games website.
