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 The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

Early age and personal life

Gustavo started practicing

karate (; ; 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 ...

at the age of six and joined the National team in 1999. He was influenced by Jackie Chan and

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

s. He suffered a minor gunshot wound in his right thigh in 2001 during a robbery.

Career

Gustavo won the gold medal in the

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

and 2006 Pan American Karate Championships, the silver medal at the

2002 Central American and Caribbean Games The 19th Central American and Caribbean Games were held in San Salvador, El Salvador from November 22 to December 8, 2002 and included 4,301 competitors from 31 nations, competing in 32 sports. The main stadium for these championships was the Est ...

after losing to Emilio Oviedo in the gold medal round, and the bronze medal at the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America. Al ...

. He also won the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Com ...

gold medal in the 75 kg category. This win was accompanied by a promise of a house for his mother who lost her home in 1998 because of Hurricane Georges. For his successful year in 2007, the

Dominican Republic Olympic Committee '' , logo = Dominican Republic Olympic Committee logo.jpg , size = 150px , country = Dominican Republic , code = DOM , created = 1946 , recognized = 1954 , association = PASO , headquarters = Santo Domingo , president = Luis Mejía Ovied ...

awarded him ''Karate Athlete of the Year'' in 2008. While fighting Chilean

David Dubó David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, Gustavo suffered an injury in his left eye during the 2009 Pan American Karate Championship in Willemstad,

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

. He would later receive full support from the Dominican Republic Minister of Sports for full recovery. Alongside

María Dimitrova María Dimitrova (born October 11, 1985) is a Bulgarian-Dominican martial artist who practices karate. Early life She was born in Bulgaria to father Valeri Dimitrov and mother Maya Ivanova, both citizens of that same country. At the age of ...

, Gustavo was awarded ''Karate Athlete of the Year'' in 2010 by the

National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...

. That same year he won the gold medal in under 75 kg and the bronze in kumite 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 ...

. For this medal he was recognized by the Chief of Staff of the Dominican Navy, where he had the Ensign rank. On January 31, 2011, Gustavo was awarded by the Dominican Republic Youth Ministry as the National Youth Award for Sport Merits. The Dominican Republic Sports Minister gave him a house in Monte Plata, just before he departed to

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

, Mexico, to compete at the Pan American Games. He was selected to replace

Gabriel Mercedes Yulis Gabriel Mercedes Reyes (born November 12, 1979 in Monte Plata, Monte Plata Province) is a Dominican taekwondo practitioner and Olympic medalist. He won a silver medal in the – 58 kg class at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijin ...

as the Dominican Republic flag bearer, because Mercedes had to compete the next day following the inaugural parade. He not only carried the national flag, but won the gold medal, defeating the American

Thomas Scott Thomas Scott may refer to: Australia * Thomas Hobbes Scott (1783–1860), Anglican clergyman and first Archdeacon of New South Wales * Thomas Scott (Australian politician) (1865–1946), member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Thomas Sco ...

in the final match. The medal was dedicated to the Sport Minister, Mr. Jay Payano, for his support to the athletes and the national sport. Gustavo has also been competing in full contact karate with the

Karate Combat ''Karate Combat'' is a brand which promotes the first professional, full-contact karate league, hosting worldwide events since April 2018. The private company is headquartered in New York and was founded by Michael DePietro and Robert Bryan. The ...

organization and has a record of 2-1-0 as of 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gustavo, Dionicio 1983 births Living people Shooting survivors Dominican Republic male karateka Karateka at the 2007 Pan American Games Karateka at the 2011 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the Dominican Republic Pan American Games bronze 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 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in karate Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Karateka at the 2015 Pan American Games 21st-century Dominican Republic people