The name of Antonio Díaz transcends borders and it is common for karate to associate him with the word “legend”, due to the positive impact he has had on the discipline for more than 25 years. This, in Venezuela and in the whole world. At the Tokyo Olympics, shortly after executing his last kata at the Nippon Budokan, an emblematic site for judo in Japan, his rivals almost in unison affirmed that the Venezuelan “opened a path for them.”
It has been one of the greatest in history. At the World Karate Championships he won two gold medals in Belgrade 2010 and Paris 2012, one silver medal in 2008 and five bronze medals in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2014 and 2016. No one has won as many medals as he has. He holds the Guinness Record as the male karate fighter with the most gold in individual competitions.
Today Bancamiga Banco Universal is proud to present this five-time world champion in karate and Olympic diploma at the Tokyo 2020 Games as its ambassador, the financial institution announced in a special statement.
“I am very happy to be part of the Bancamiga family. Together we are going to do wonderful things and continue working for Venezuela. I identify myself with Bancamiga, because I also believe in innovation, in being close to people and in seeking solutions for citizens. That’s why we make a great team.”
Antonio Díaz with Bancamiga: To achieve a goal you have to be constant, insist and have discipline
It was at the age of six when, due to the influence of his father, he began to practice karate and from the first moment he dreamed of being a world champion and reaching the Olympic Games. I can do it. And that is why he does not hesitate to state that to achieve a goal you have to be constant, insist and have discipline.
In his record he won 16 individual Pan American championships. That made him the only athlete in America to have done it in kata. He also has a world championship in combat and has been eight times champion of the World Karate Federation.
“On the road there are not only successes. There are also falls but the most important thing is to learn. Each one of the defeats teaches and makes you grow in sport and in life”, said Díaz, who represents some of the values that make up Bancamiga’s DNA, such as integrity, commitment, responsibility and respect, so without a doubt they are also intrinsic to what it means to be a good athlete and citizen.
With information from Bancamiga
