Mexicans Daniel Cruz and Valeria Juárez take home medals from World Karate Championships
Nineteen-year-old Daniel Cruz is the first Mexican in 11 years to reach the final of a world junior championship in the under-60 kg kumite category. The post Mexicans Daniel Cruz and Valeria Juárez take home medals from World Karate Championships appeared first on Mexico News Daily
Daniel Alejandro Cruz Romero and Valeria Linett Juárez Martínez of Mexico secured medals at the World Karate Championships in Bielsko-Biała, Poland. Cruz claimed a silver medal in the U-21 division's under-60 kg kumite category after narrowly losing to Belgium's Amin Abdelmalki in the final. The 19-year-old from Baja California became the world runner-up in his weight class.
Juárez, 17, earned a bronze medal in the junior kumite category (over 66 kg) after defeating Canadian Mariana Guerrero in the third-place match. The bronze marked her second world-level bronze, following an earlier one in Venice, Italy, in 2024. The Mexican team also included Tomás Acosta Aparicio, who finished fifth in the under-57 kg category, but was ultimately defeated in the third-place bout by Italy's Giuliani Achille.
The medals in Poland add to recent success for Mexican karate athletes on the international stage, with Mexico securing 13 medals, including three gold, five silver, and five bronze, at the 2026 Pan American Senior and U-21 Championships in Rio de Janeiro.
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