Yamina Lahyanssa

Biography

• Won -50kg kumite gold at the 2023 Pan American Championships, her first podium finish at a senior international event 
• Made her debut on the Karate1 Series A tour in June 2022; reached her first quarterfinal on the circuit in April 2023 in Richmond, B.C. 
• Won -50kg gold at the first ever Junior Pan American Games at Cali-Valle 2021, securing her qualification for Santiago 2023  
• Achieved an early career highlight at her second ever international tournament, winning silver in the cadet -47kg kumite event at the 2017 Pan American Junior Championships 
• Represented Canada at the WKF World Junior Championships in 2017, 2019 and 2022; finished fifth in the U21 -50kg event in 2022 

A Little More About Yamina

Getting into the Sport: Started doing karate at age 7 and began competing at 9, following in her siblings’ and mother’s footsteps… Won her first national championship at age 13 which led her to specialize in kumite… Outside Interests: Studying Commerce at John Abbott College… Would like to pursue a career in finance… Odds and Ends: Always brings her favourite teddy bear with her to competitions… Favourite motto: “Train hard, fight easy”… Biggest athletic inspiration is five-time world champion, Alexandra Recchia of France…