Irene Colomar has arrived and kissed the saint. The Sant Antoni (April 18, 1986) triumphed for more than a decade on the tatamis around the world, but it has not been until now, in her new role as Senior National Coach, when a Spanish karateka under her guidance has managed to become a world kumite champion. Last weekend Maria Torres from Malaga, made history in Dubai for Spanish karate at the hand of a proud Irene Colomar who, in this interview, shares the emotions experienced in the Arab Emirates and her first year in charge of the women’s national combat team.
Can you confirm that you’ve coached the first gold medal in women’s kumite for the Spanish Karate in a World Championship?
Yes [laughs]. It is the first time in the history of women’s karate and I am very proud because I backed a young team and the results are coming, I am very happy with the work I’ve done.
Can you tell us how you experienced that historic moment in Dubai?
I’m still digesting it. I was aware that both Maria and Carlota had the potential to fight for the medals. For Maria was her first individual World Championship and in the qualification rounds she was showing promise. This was an added pressure, but she had a very focused championship. We had a very difficult passage to the final against Kazakhstan, Olympic medalist and one of the first in the world ranking. The result was fantastic and in the final with the Egyptian, the strategy for combat we had worked on also came out, so I was very happy because you go through a lot of nerves. It could have gone the other way but Maria fought very smart and then we also got it right with the cards and the video review.
The sensations must be very different to being out on the tatami. More nerves?
The truth is that there are definitely more nerves. Competing was very cold, but when I’m in the chair I can set guidelines but the one who fights is the competitor. There are nerves, there is a lot of responsibility, I have backed a very young team and things are going well. But things could have gone wrong, as they did in the European Championships.
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