Ana Josefa Villanueva Fabián (born March 20, 1982 in

Cotuí Cotuí is a city in the central region of the Dominican Republic and is one of the oldest cities of the New World. It is the capital of Sánchez Ramírez Province in the Cibao. According to the Population and Housing Census, the municipality had ...

) is a

karateka (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

from the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

who won the gold medal at the

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

and

2015 Pan American Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...

Early age and personal life

Villanueva started practicing

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

. She is a student of

Accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...

at Universidad Organización y Método and is a member of the

Dominican Air Force The Air Force of the Dominican Republic ( es, Fuerza Aérea de República Dominicana), is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Dominican Republic, together with the Army and the Navy. History At the end of the United States ...

; there she received the promotion to sergeant major in 2011. Ana took the money she collected after the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

winning, to repay the

mortgage loan A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any p ...

over her family house. They used the

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any pu ...

fund Fund may refer to: * Funding is the act of providing resources, usually in form of money, or other values such as effort or time, for a project, a person, a business, or any other private or public institution ** The process of soliciting and gathe ...

the

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

treatment for one of Villanueva's brothers. She received an apartment from the government in 2017.

Career

Villanueva win the gold medal at the team kumite competition during the

2006 Central American and Caribbean Games The 20th edition of the Central American and Caribbean Games was held in the city of Cartagena, Colombia. The tournament began on July 15 and ended on July 30. Host city *Main host city **Cartagena de Indias *Subsites: **Barranquilla, Colombia ( ...

, held in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. At the 2009 Central American and Caribbean Championship held in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

, Ana win the old medal at the Team Kumite category and the silver at the under 50 kg. The next year, she took the gold medal in under 50 kg and bronze in the open category medal at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Championships Ana took two bronze medals at the

2010 Central American and Caribbean Games The 21st Central American and Caribbean Games (Spanish: ''XXI Juegos Centroamericanos y del Caribe, Mayagüez 2010'') took place in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, from 18 July 2010 to 1 August 2010. Bid It was understood that Mayagüez was going to b ...

, one in the under 50 kg, and the other at the team kumite competition.

2011

Villanueva won the gold medal in the kumite –50 at the Ibero-American Championship, held in

Managua ) , settlement_type = Capital city , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Nicara ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

. Three months later, at the

, Ana win the under 50 kg gold medal, defeating the

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an Gabriela Bruna in the final match. For this winning she collected a RD$500,000 (approx. US$13,017 in November 2011) award by the

President of the Dominican Republic The president of the Dominican Republic ( es, Presidente de la República Dominicana) is both the head of state and head of government of the Dominican Republic. The presidential system was established in 1844, following the proclamation of th ...

, Mr. Leonel Fernández.

2012

For her achievements during 2011, Ana was selected in February along with

Dionicio Gustavo Dionicio Gustavo (born January 18, 1983 in Santo Domingo) is a karateka from the Dominican Republic who twice won the gold medal at the Pan American Games. Early age and personal life Gustavo started practicing karate at the age of six and joine ...

, Karate Athlete of the year. She was also one of the 10 nominees for the Dominican Republic Athlete of the Year, finally won by Luguelín Santos. In March 2012, her hometown

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

awarded Ana for making them proud for her achievements.

2013

Villanueva won the silver medal of the IV Iberoamerican Championship after losing to Venezuelan Aurimer Campos 3-4. The then won the bronze medal in kumite -50 kg and gold in team kumite.

2021

In 2021, she competed at the World Olympic Qualification Tournament held in Paris, France hoping to qualify for the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

in Tokyo, Japan. She was eliminated in her first match by Bakhriniso Babaeva of Uzbekistan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Villanueva, Ana 1982 births Living people Dominican Republic female karateka Karateka at the 2011 Pan American Games Karateka at the 2015 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the Dominican Republic Pan American Games medalists in karate Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for the Dominican Republic Central American and Caribbean Games silver medalists for the Dominican Republic Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for the Dominican Republic Competitors at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in karate Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games 20th-century Dominican Republic women 21st-century Dominican Republic women