Mexicans Daniel Cruz and Valeria Juárez take home medals from World Karate Championships

Daniel Alejandro Cruz Romero won a silver medal and Valeria Linett Juárez Martínez won a bronze medal at the World Karate Championships in Bielsko-Biała, Poland, a five-day event that finished on Sunday.

The karate athletes’ performances in their U-21 division placed Mexico on the podium at the international competition, which brought together competitors from the cadet, junior and U-21 divisions.

Originally from Baja California, Cruz, 19, became the world runner-up in the under-60 kg kumite category after a tightly contested final against Belgium’s Amin Abdelmalki. The match ended with a 5-4 score in favor of the European athlete, who claimed the gold medal.

Cruz’s results, however, made him the first Mexican in 11 years to reach the final of a world junior championship in the discipline. 

Meanwhile, Juárez, 17, won her bronze medal in the junior kumite category (over 66 kg) after defeating Canadian Mariana Guerrero in the match for third place.

The medal marked her second world-level bronze, following the one she earned in Venice, Italy, in 2024. With this latest result, the Mexican athlete has established herself as a top contender in her division.

The Mexican contingent also included Tomás Acosta Aparicio, from Oaxaca, who finished in fifth place in the under-57 kg category. He reached the third-place bout but was ultimately defeated by Italy’s Giuliani Achille.

The medals in Poland add to other recent results for Mexican karate in international competitions, the most recent being the 2026 Pan American Senior and U-21 Championships held in Rio de Janeiro, in which the national delegation secured 13 medals: three gold, five silver and five bronze.