Italy finished the European Karate Championships at the top of the standings after the finals in Frankfurt
The 2026 European Senior Karate Championships ended on Sunday, May 24, in Frankfurt, and the Italian national team left the competition as the most successful delegation of the tournament. According to the announcement by the European Karate Federation, Italy ultimately won seven gold medals and nine medals in total, taking first place in the overall medal standings. Turkey and Croatia finished behind it with six medals each, confirming that the finals in Germany brought a broad distribution of success among the leading European karate nations. The championship was held from May 20 to 24 at Eissporthalle Frankfurt, a multipurpose arena in the eastern part of the city, and according to the organizers’ announcement it brought together more than 500 athletes from 50 countries. The final day was devoted to team disciplines and the last para karate categories, while the individual final performances were held a day earlier.
The Italian national team marked the final day
The largest part of Italy’s dominance was confirmed precisely in the team disciplines, in which Italy won three of the four gold medals. According to the report by the European Karate Federation, the Italian men’s kata team defeated Turkey 6:1 in the final and thus went one step further compared with last year’s silver. In the women’s team kata, Italy was even more convincing, defeating Portugal 7:0. With this, the Italian women’s kata team, after last year’s bronze, reached the highest place on the winners’ podium and further strengthened its national team’s overall ranking.
Italy won its third team gold in the men’s team kumite. The European Karate Federation stated that the Italian team controlled the match in the final against Turkey and defended last year’s title. That result carries additional weight because it brought Italy a third consecutive European title in that discipline, confirming the continuity of its strength in the team combat programme. The only team gold that did not go to Italy was won by Germany, which defended the title in women’s team kumite against France on home tatami. According to the EKF, it was a repeat of last year’s final, and the home crowd in Frankfurt played an important role in the atmosphere of the closing contest.
Four individual Italian gold medals before the final stage
Italy’s success was not limited only to the team part of the championship. The day before the end of the tournament, on Saturday, May 23, Italy won four individual gold medals, laying the foundations for its later rise to the top of the overall standings. Clio Ferracuti became European champion in women’s kumite over 68 kilograms after defeating France’s Clémence Péa 10:2 in the final. The European Karate Federation highlighted that Ferracuti dominated from the beginning of the bout and won her first continental title after bronze in 2023.
Matteo Avanzini brought Italy gold in men’s kumite over 84 kilograms, defeating Turkish representative Uğur Aktaş 4:1. According to the EKF, the reigning world champion thus added the European crown to his world title, after winning bronze at European level last year. In men’s kumite up to 67 kilograms, Luca Maresca defeated France’s Younesse Salmi 6:4, claiming the title in his first European final. The fourth individual Italian gold came in women’s kata, where Terryana D’Onofrio defended her European title with a 4:3 victory against Spain’s Paola García Lozano.
Croatia among the most successful national teams
Croatia finished in Frankfurt among the national teams with the highest number of medals won, with a total of six medals. Ema Sgardelli stood out in particular, winning her third consecutive European title in the kumite category up to 50 kilograms. According to the report by the European Karate Federation, Sgardelli defeated Bulgaria’s Teodora Tsaneva 5:1 in the final and continued her streak of dominance in her category. That result further confirms her status as one of the most consistent competitors in European karate.
Croatia’s second gold in the individual section was won by Sadea Bećirović in the kumite category up to 68 kilograms. In her first continental final, she defeated France’s Thalya Sombe 4:1. The EKF stated that before this championship Bećirović had two silver medals from Karate One Series A tournaments, but in Frankfurt she achieved the greatest result of her career. Croatia continued its golden streak in para karate as well, where Daniela Topić defeated Slovakia’s Lucia Vlkova in the women’s K22 category by a score of 38.4 to 36.8. With that, Croatia finished as one of the outstanding national teams of the tournament, immediately behind leading Italy in the overall impression of the finals.
Frankfurt as Germany’s return to major karate competitions
The organization of the championship in Frankfurt also had a broader sporting context. According to the announcement by the European Karate Federation, with this tournament Germany returned to organizing major karate events after eight years, namely after the Karate One Premier League competition held in Berlin in 2018. Germany had previously hosted major karate events as well, including European championships and the 2014 World Championship in Bremen. Eissporthalle Frankfurt, an arena with more than 3,500 seats for spectators, served as the centre of the five-day competition.
The home national team used the advantage of performing in front of its own crowd in several key moments. The most visible result came in women’s team kumite, where Germany defended the European title against France. In para karate, Anna Thorwirth won gold in the K30 category for wheelchair athletes, defeating England’s Helen Marsh by a score of 40.0 to 38.7. The home celebration was completed by Mike Richter, who in the K21 category for men with intellectual impairments defeated Spain’s Carlos Huertas Ruiz by the narrowest of margins, 38.3 to 38.2. According to the EKF, it was one of the most suspenseful endings of the para karate programme.
Para karate brought additional sporting stories to the finals
The final day of the championship in Frankfurt also brought several important results in para karate. French representative Nohan Dudon won gold in the K10 category for athletes with visual impairment, defeating Romanian representative Dorin Alexe by a score of 41.3 to 39.7. In the women’s K10 category, Veronika Kamenská of Czechia triumphed, defeating Turkish representative Suna Saraçoğlu 40.0 to 38.6. These results rounded off the para karate discipline programme, which was again an integral part of the European Senior Championships this year.
Turkey won gold in para karate through Berkay Uslu in the K30 category for wheelchair athletes. In an all-Turkish final, Uslu defeated Ahmet Kayra Ödemiş by a score of 42.0 to 41.1. A day earlier, Italy had additional reasons for satisfaction in para karate, as Federica Yakymashko won the title in the women’s K21 category, while Mattia Allesina triumphed in the men’s K22 category. The EKF described Yakymashko’s victory as a significant surprise because she defeated Hungarian favourite Olívia Kákosy in the final.
Turkey, France, Azerbaijan and Greece also reached European titles
Although Italy was the most successful national team, the finals in Frankfurt confirmed the breadth of European competition. Turkish kata athlete Enes Özdemir won his second consecutive European champion title in men’s kata, defeating Italy’s Alessio Ghinami. Turkey also reached gold through Ömer Faruk Yürür in men’s kumite up to 75 kilograms, where he won the final bout against France’s Kilian Ciz by a convincing score of 6:0. According to the EKF, Yürür arrived in Frankfurt as a finalist who had previously had several silver medals in Karate One Premier League competitions, and the European gold marked an important step forward in his career.
Azerbaijan’s Madina Sadigova won the title in women’s kumite up to 55 kilograms with a 9:6 victory against Turkish representative Zümre Rezzan Im. Greek representative Christos-Stefanos Xenos brought the European crown back in the category up to 60 kilograms, defeating Serbian competitor Aleksandar Vučković 7:0. The European Karate Federation stated that Xenos had already won the title in that category in 2024, and the result from Frankfurt confirmed his return to the top. In the category up to 84 kilograms, gold was won by Eduard Gasparian, who triumphed in the final against Greece’s Konstantinos Mastrogiannis after a 6:6 draw thanks to the senshu rule, meaning the first unanswered point.
The competition also had qualifying importance
This year’s European Championship was not important only because of medals. According to the announcement by the European Karate Federation, the team disciplines in Frankfurt also served as a qualifying route toward the Karate World Cup, which is held later during the season. Ahead of the tournament, the EKF stated that in the four team categories the best-ranked teams qualify, including gold, silver and bronze medallists and an additional fifth-placed team that was defeated by the eventual winner. Because of this, the team matches carried additional competitive weight, especially for national teams that arrived in Frankfurt with the aim of securing an appearance on the next major international stage.
According to the format, the tournament included 12 individual categories, four team disciplines and para karate categories. Eliminations were held from Wednesday to Friday, while medal bouts and finals were scheduled on Saturday and Sunday. Such a schedule made it possible for the final stage to build gradually toward the team finals, which in the end further emphasized Italy’s superiority. According to the EKF’s final report, Italy finished the championship with a total of nine medals and seven golds as the leading European karate nation in senior competition in 2026.
Medals confirmed change and continuity in European karate
The Frankfurt championship showed both the continuity of established names and the arrival of new champions. Terryana D’Onofrio, Enes Özdemir and Ema Sgardelli defended or continued their runs of European titles, while Clio Ferracuti, Luca Maresca, Sadea Bećirović and Altana Basangova achieved important breakthroughs in senior competition. According to the EKF, Basangova won gold in the category up to 61 kilograms in her first international appearance, defeating Croatian representative Mia Greta Zorko 6:4. Such results show that two important dynamics are taking place simultaneously in European karate: the confirmation of already known champions and the rapid rise of new competitors.
For Italy, the championship in Frankfurt ended almost ideally, as the national team combined individual successes, team dominance and results in para karate. For Germany, the tournament had additional value as a host’s return to the map of major international karate events, with gold medals won and strong public support. Croatia, with several titles and six medals in total, confirmed its place among the strongest European national teams. After five days of competition in Frankfurt, European senior karate gained new champions, but also a clear confirmation that the battle for the continental top will remain extremely even in the continuation of the season.
Sources:
- European Karate Federation – final report on the European Senior Championships in Frankfurt 2026 and the overall medal standings (link)
- European Karate Federation – report on the individual finals and para karate results from the fourth day of competition (link)
- European Karate Federation – announcement and basic information about the championship, location, schedule and qualifying importance of the team disciplines (link)