Elena Quirici (born 16 February 1994) is a Swiss

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 ...

ka. She is a two-time medalist at the

World Karate Championships The Karate World Championships, also known as the World Karate Championships, are the highest level of competition for karate organized by the World Karate Federation (WKF). The competition is held in a different city every two years. Championshi ...

and a six-time medalist, including four golds, at the

European Karate Championships The European Karate Championships are organised by the European Karate Federation each year. History Events from 1966 to 1996 were organized by the European Karate Union. In 1961, Jacques Delcourt was appointed President of French Karate, whic ...

. Quirici represented Switzerland at 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 competed in the women's +61kg event. Quirici is also a two-time medalist at the European Games.

Career

At the

2012 World Karate Championships The 2012 World Karate Championships are the 21st edition of the World Karate Championships, and were held in Paris, France from November 21 to November 25, 2012. Medalists Men Women Medal table Participating nations 990 athletes from 1 ...

held in Paris, France, Quirici won one of the bronze medals in the women's kumite 61kg event. In 2015, she won the silver medal in the women's kumite 68kg event at the

held in Istanbul, Turkey. In that same year, Quirici lost her bronze medal match in the women's kumite 68kg event at the

2015 European Games The 2015 European Games, also known as Baku 2015 or Baku 2015 European Games ( az, Bakı 2015 Avropa Oyunları), were the inaugural edition of the European Games, an international multi-sport event for athletes representing the National Olympic ...

held in Baku, Azerbaijan. The following year, she won the gold medal in this event at the

2016 European Karate Championships The 2016 European Karate Championships, the 51st edition, was held at Montpellier in France from 5 to 8 May 2016. A total of 508 competitors from 46 countries participated at the event. Medalists Men's competition Individual Team Women's comp ...

held in Montpellier, France. In 2017, Quirici competed in the women's kumite 68kg event at the

World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...

held in Wrocław, Poland. She lost two matches and drew one match in the elimination round and she did not advance to the semi-finals. At the

2018 European Karate Championships The 2018 European Karate Championships were the 53rd edition of the European Karate Championships, and were held in Novi Sad, Serbia from 10 to 13 May 2018. Medalists Men Women Medal table Participating nations 532 athletes from 52 n ...

held in Novi Sad, Serbia, she won the gold medal in the women's kumite 68kg event and also the gold medal in the women's team kumite event. Quirici won one of the bronze medals in the women's kumite 68kg event at the

2019 European Games , translation: Time for bright victories! , nations participating = 50 , athletes participating = 4,082 , events = 200 in 15 sports , opening ceremony = 21 June , closing ceremony = 30 June , officially opened ...

held in Minsk, Belarus. Four years earlier, she lost her bronze medal match in the women's kumite 68kg event at the

held in Baku, Azerbaijan. In March 2020, Quirici was scheduled to represent Switzerland in karate at the

in Tokyo, Japan. This changed in March 2021 after the World Karate Federation revised the system for Olympic qualification. In June 2021, she was able to regain her qualification status at the World Olympic Qualification Tournament held in Paris, France. Quirici finished in third place in her pool during the pool stage in the women's +61kg event and she did not advance to compete in the semifinals. She was the flag bearer for Switzerland during the

closing ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

of the 2020 Summer Olympics. In November 2021, she competed in the women's 68kg event at the

held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates where she was eliminated in her third match by Alisa Buchinger of Austria. Quirici competed in the women's kumite 68kg event at the

2022 European Karate Championships The 2022 European Karate Championships was the 57th edition of the European Karate Championships and 4th European Para Karate Championships, held in Gaziantep, Turkey from 25 to 29 May 2022. Medal table Medalists Men Women Participating na ...

held in Gaziantep, Turkey. She was eliminated in her second match by eventual bronze medalist Vasiliki Panetsidou of Greece. Quirici also competed in the women's kumite 68kg event at the

2022 World Games The 2022 World Games were an international multi-sport event held from July 7 to 17, 2022, in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. They were the 11th World Games, a multi-sport event featuring disciplines of Olympic sports and other competitions ...

held in Birmingham, United States. Quirici won the gold medal in the women's 68kg event at the

2023 European Karate Championships The 2023 European Karate Championships was the 58th edition of the European Karate Championships and 5th European Para Karate Championships and were held in Guadalajara, Spain from 22 to 26 March 2023. Medal table Medalists Men Women Pa ...

held in Guadalajara, Spain. She defeated Irina Zaretska of Azerbaijan in her gold medal match. A few months later, Quirici lost against Irina Zaretska in the final of the women's 68kg event at the

2023 European Games The 3rd European Games ( pl, III Igrzyska Europejskie, Igrzyska Europejskie 2023), informally known as Kraków-Małopolska 2023, is a scheduled international sporting event to be held in Kraków and Małopolska, Poland in 2023. All Olympic sports h ...

held in Poland. She won the silver medal in the women's 68kg event at the

held in Budapest, Hungary.

Achievements

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quirici, Elena Living people 1994 births Place of birth missing (living people) Swiss female karateka Karateka at the 2015 European Games Karateka at the 2019 European Games Karateka at the 2023 European Games European Games medalists in karate European Games silver medalists for Switzerland European Games bronze medalists for Switzerland Competitors at the 2017 World Games Competitors at the 2022 World Games Karateka at the 2020 Summer Olympics 21st-century Swiss women