It took a while but World’s top e-kata karateka James De Los Santos finally clinched his 37th gold of the year, in effect taking one better of his 36 titles from last year with the conclusion of the sixth leg of the Athletes’ E-Tournament, Friday.
The two-time ISKF world champion bested long-time rival Matias Moreno Dormont of Switzerland, 25.66-25, in the final to get the record-setting win.
“I have this feeling of relief. At long last, I finally surpassed my previous record of 36 gold medals from 2020, ” De Los Santos said.
The two-time Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist earlier dominated Sergio De Cabo of Spain in the pool stage, 26.12-23.92, to advance to yet another gold medal match with Moreno Dormont.
It was not a smooth ride similar to last year, as De Los Santos missed out on some competitions and lost some of the ones he entered in. “But that pushed me to train and join more tournaments,” he shared.
Nonetheless, the job is not yet done.
“But I won’t stop at 37,” the 31-year-old veteran internationalist stressed.
“There are still a few tournaments left for this year. I’m aiming to win more.”
