Ryo Kiyuna (喜友名諒, ''Kiyuna Ryō'', born 12 July 1990) is an Okinawan karateka. He won the gold medal in the men's kata event 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 1 ...

in Tokyo, Japan. He is also a four-time gold medalist in the men's kata event 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. Championsh ...

and a two-time gold medalist in the men's team kata event, alongside Arata Kinjo and Takuya Uemura. He has also won multiple gold medals in both the individual and team kata events at the

Asian Karate Championships The Asian Karatedo Championships are the highest level of competition for sport karate in Asia. The competition is held in a different country every two years organized by the Asian Karatedo Federation (AKF) under the supervision of World Kara ...

Career

At the 2012 World Karate Championships held in Paris, France, he won one of the bronze medals in the men's individual kata event. The following year, he represented Japan at the

2013 World Games The 2013 World Games ( es, Juegos Mundiales 2013), the ninth World Games, were an international multi-sport event held in the city of Cali, Colombia, from July 25 to August 4. Host city allocation history The 2013 World Games were initially all ...

in Cali, Colombia and he won the bronze medal in the men's kata event. In 2014, at the

held in Bremen, Germany, he won the gold medal in the men's individual kata event. At the 2016 World Karate Championships held in Linz, Austria, he won the gold medal in both the men's individual and men's team kata events. In 2017, he won the gold medal in the men's kata 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. In the final, he defeated Damián Quintero of Spain. At the

2018 Asian Karate Championships The 2018 Asian Karate Championships were the 15th edition of the Asian Karate Championships, and were held in Amman, Jordan from July 13 to July 15, 2018. Medalists Men Women Medal table ReferencesResults A month later, he won the gold medal in the men's kata event at the

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 Augus ...

held in Jakarta, Indonesia. In the final, he defeated Wang Yi-ta of Taiwan. In 2019, at the

held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, he won the gold medal in both the men's individual kata and men's team kata events. He represented Japan at the

in Tokyo, Japan. He won the gold medal in the men's kata event, becoming Japan's first gold medalist from Okinawa. In the final, he defeated Damián Quintero of Spain. He was also the flag bearer for Japan 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.

. A few months after the Olympics, he won the gold medal in the men's kata event at the 2021 World Karate Championships held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In December 2021, he won the gold medal in both the men's individual and men's team kata events at the

held in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Personal life

He studied at

Okinawa International University , is a private university in Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1959, and it was chartered as a university in 1972. The current President is Eiken Maetsu. Alumni * Ryo Kiyuna (born 1990), Japanese karateka Ext ...

. In December 2020, he contracted

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

. Kiyuna's mother died in 2019 at the age of 57. At the gold medal ceremony for kata at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Kiyuna paid tribute to his mother's support by carrying a framed picture of her during the proceedings.

Achievements

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kiyuna, Ryo 1990 births Living people Japanese male karateka Karateka at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in karate Asian Games gold medalists for Japan Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games Competitors at the 2013 World Games Competitors at the 2017 World Games World Games medalists in karate World Games gold medalists World Games bronze medalists People from Okinawa Island Karateka at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic karateka of Japan Olympic medalists in karate Olympic gold medalists for Japan Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics 21st-century Japanese people