James De Los Santos nabbed his fourth gold in the e-kata season while resetting his personal best mark.
The world number 1 e-kata karateka smashed his own record when he defeated Switzerland’s Matias Moreno Dormont in the gold medal match of the 2021 edition of the tournament’s first leg, as results came in Monday morning.
The karateka out of Maharlika Karatedo Kai of the Philippines International had a score of 26.64. He smashed his previous mark of 26.1 in the Katana Intercontinental tournament last October.
De Los Santos received a weighted average of 18.48 on technical scores and 8.16 on athletic performance, with 9’s all over.
The two-time ISKF champion advanced into the gold medal contest after topping Pool 1 with a score of 24.72.
Alfredo Bustamante of USA and David Brierly of England completed the group with 23.4 and 22.16, respectively.
In the other group, Moreno Dormont won over Slovenia’s Nejc Strenisa, 23.84-23.36, to set a showdown with De Los Santos.
This is the 31-year-old veteran internationalist’s fourth gold this year. He continues padding the lead over his foe and closest pursuer Moreno Dormont.
De Los Santos has 19,470 points, while the Swiss has 10,020 as of the first tournament counted for the year.
