The video review was clear and the smile that appeared on Ahmed Solyman’s face from behind announced an outcome that had been in the works for minutes. The Egyptian coach, who has been the head coach of Karate in Chile for five years, was proud of the achievement that his pupil, the smartest in the class, Valentina Toro, was achieving. The 24-year-old Chilean thus closed the final of the 55 kilos in kumite in El Cairo Premier League, with a waza-ari that left the score 10-2 and gave her the most important title of her still young career. A perfect kick, with her right leg parallel to the floor and directly at the average height of her opponent, suddenly elevated her to the top of the world.
The athlete climbed to the top of the podium in her category in the main karate competition on the planet. Four dates make up the Premier League and only the 32 best competitors in the world participate in each of its events. Valentina had already threatened to be champion a month before, when the bronze achieved in Antalya, a stage prior to the day held in Egypt, only whetted her appetite to work towards the most important medal she has ever won.
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Valentina’s results are self-explanatory when you know all the effort that went into it. She is an only child, she grew up in Santiago, capital of Chile, where she learned about sports from a young age. Her father accompanied her to train from the age of six, in the first steps for what is now a world star in her discipline. It has not been easy. She even says that she got up at five in the morning to start his day with karate before going to school. As an athlete, she went through stages until he reached position 3 in the world ranking in his category. The best position of his career and which he achieved after his success in Cairo.
Valentina, however, has been dazzling the world of karate for some time. She was the under 19 world champion, she is the current champion in the specific Pan American and also a gold medalist at the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games, where she was able to compete at home and receive the support of a Chilean public that came en masse to each of the venues of the most important mega sporting event the country has ever hosted.
GRADUATE AND INFLUENCER
And so far we have only talked about sports, but Valentina is much more than that. In December 2023 and after having momentarily suspended her studies to focus on the Pan American Games, the karate fighter received her bachelor’s degree in Industrial Civil Engineering, which she studied at the University of Santiago de Chile. She is the first in her family to study at university, also accompanied by her great results in karate.
Furthermore, all of the above has been exposed by the same athlete on her social networks. With Santiago 2023 and her personal achievements, her figure has been enhanced and thousands have begun to follow her. She also responds to that exposure and publishes as an influencer. On Instagram he has 213 thousand followers, in a space where he posts personal photos and photos of his skills. She also has a YouTube channel with 2.4 thousand subscribers who enjoy her travel vlogs, where he has been able to get to know him better outside of the tatami. On TikTok, finally, he has 46.9 thousand followers and has received more than 1.4 million likes on his posts. In this network he interacts with the public, shows himself with sympathy, answers questions and joins fashion trends with dances and photos.
Beyond the tatami, the kicks and the medals, Valentina is a complete athlete. A well-rounded athlete, with a degree in engineering and an example for multitudes on social networks.
