Karateka suffers a dramatic injury: the cry of pain stops the golden dream

Saturday 7 August 2021

Karateka suffers a dramatic injury
The cry of pain stopped the golden dream

In the Olympic bid, gold must be produced immediately. World Karate Champion Jonathan Horn travels to Tokyo with this amazing goal. But the competition is very bitter: the 32-year-old seriously injured his elbow and had to give up in the second duel.

World champion Jonathan Horn has no chance of winning Germany’s first medal in the sport after a dramatic injury at the Olympic premiere of karate in Tokyo. In his second preliminary fight at the over 75kg Kumite against Georgian Gogita Arkania, the 32-year-old injured his right forearm five seconds before the end. Then he remained on the carpet, his face in pain and screaming, and had to be treated for a few minutes. Finally he was carried out of the hall on a stretcher.

“Johnny has sustained a severe elbow injury, and it’s possible that his elbow is dislocated,” said the German Karate Association’s (DKV) athletic director Christian Groen, and confirmed Horns Os. Village.” There, an x-ray should be used to determine “to what extent the bones are also affected and what the ligaments look like.”

Previously, Horn had finished his first fight against Danigar Goldashu of Kazakhstan at the Nippon Budokan martial arts temple with a 4-4 draw. In Tokyo, he was considered one of the favorites to win the Olympics.

A victory he achieved for himself. The guy from Kaiserslautern has won everything that can be won in kumite, where there is direct competition, unlike kata – the free style -. He became the European champion, world champion and number one in the world. Now that victory must also come from the Olympic bid. Horn also hoped his sport would be well publicized: “Right now, karate is still very much associated with cutting boards.”

Horn could no longer care about advertising himself. Nobody else from the German national team. Before him, the other three Tokyo players had already retired: Jasmine Guttner and Elijah Smurgner in the kata as well as the third European Championship Noah Beach in the kumite up to 75kg.

Karate in Tokyo for the first time in the Olympic program – and for the last time also, in Paris 2024, the Japanese martial art is no longer part of it.