He won 16 individual Pan American championships. That made him the only athlete in America who has achieved it in kata. He also has a world championship in combat and eight times he was champion of the World Karate Federation.
The name of Antonio Diaz transcends borders and it is common in karate to associate him with the word "legend", for his positive impact he has had on the discipline for more than 25 years. They do so in Venezuela and around the world. At the Tokyo Olympic Games, shortly after performing his last kata at the Nippon Budokan, an emblematic site for judo in Japan, his rivals almost in unison affirmed that the Venezuelan "opened a path for them".
He has been one of the greatest in history. In the World Karate Championships he achieved two gold in Belgrade 2010 and Paris 2012, one silver in 2008 and five bronze in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2014 and 2016. No one has achieved as many medals as he has. He holds the Guinness World Record as the male karateka with the most gold in individual competitions.
Today Carmelo de Grazia, president of the board of directors of Bancamiga, presented this five-time karate world champion and Olympic diploma in the Tokyo 2020 Games as the ambassador of this banking institution.
"I am very happy to be part of the Bancamiga family. Together we are going to do wonderful things and continue working for Venezuela. I identify with Bancamiga, because I also believe in innovation, in being close to the people and in seeking solutions for the citizen. That is why we make a great team," said Díaz.
It was at the age of six when, under the influence of his father, he began to practice karate and from the very beginning he dreamed of becoming a world champion and reaching the Olympic Games. He was able to do so. And that is why he does not hesitate to say that to achieve a goal you have to be constant, insist and have discipline.
He won 16 individual Pan American championships. That made him the only athlete in America who has achieved it in kata. He also has a world championship in combat and eight times he was champion of the World Karate Federation.
"On the way there are not only successes. There are also falls but the most important thing is to learn. Every defeat teaches and makes you grow in sport and in life," said Diaz, who represents some of the values that make up the DNA of Bancamiga such as integrity, commitment, responsibility and respect, which are undoubtedly intrinsic to what it is to be a good athlete and citizen.
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