Ema Sgardelli accomplished a triple-triple
Croatian super star Ema Sgardelli makes history as the first female athlete to sweep three consecutive -50kg European crowns.
FRANKFURT, GERMANY — They say third time's a charm, but for Croatia’s Ema Sgardelli, it was pure, unadulterated dominance.
Croatian super star cemented her status as an all-time karate legend by capturing the European individual Female Kumite -50kg title for the third consecutive year.
In a masterclass of defensive and offensive precision, Sgardelli dismantled Teodora Tsanova 5-1 in today's final. The victory capped off a staggering tournament run where she conceded only a single point across the entire championships.
With this golden hat-trick—spanning Zadar 2024, Yerevan 2025, and now Frankfurt 2026- she becomes the first female athlete to win three consecutive European golds in this division (Female Kumite -50kg) since its introduction in 2009.
The bronze medal bouts provided equal theater.
Italy’s veteran force Erminia Perfetto put on a scoring clinic, routing Elizaveta Grigoreva 15-7 to secure her fifth career European individual medal.
Meanwhile, a dramatic second bronze-medal clash saw 19-year-old Patricia Nastas make history of her own, fighting through the pressure to claim a historic, first-ever medal in this category for Romania.
Written by Artificial Intelligence