Elena Quirici

Elena Quirici (born 16 February 1994)[1] is a Swiss karateka. She is a bronze medalist at the World Karate Championships and a six-time medalist, including four golds, at the European Karate Championships.

Elena Quirici
Elena Quirici in 2018
Personal information
Born (1994-02-16) 16 February 1994
Sport
CountrySwitzerland
SportKarate
Weight class68 kg
Event(s)Kumite
Medal record
Women's karate
Representing   Switzerland
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place2012 ParisKumite 61 kg
European Games
Silver medal – second place2023 Kraków-MałopolskaKumite 68 kg
Bronze medal – third place2019 MinskKumite 68 kg
European Championships
Gold medal – first place2016 MontpellierKumite 68 kg
Gold medal – first place2018 Novi SadKumite 68 kg
Gold medal – first place2018 Novi SadTeam kumite
Gold medal – first place2023 GuadalajaraKumite 68 kg
Silver medal – second place2015 IstanbulKumite 68 kg
Silver medal – second place2019 GuadalajaraKumite 68 kg

Quirici represented Switzerland at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.[2] She competed in the women's +61 kg event.[2] Quirici is also a two-time medalist at the European Games.

Career

At the 2012 World Karate Championships held in Paris, France, she won one of the bronze medals in the women's kumite 61 kg event. In 2015, Quirici won the silver medal in the women's kumite 68 kg event at the European Karate Championships held in Istanbul, Turkey. In that same year, she lost her bronze medal match in the women's kumite 68 kg event at the 2015 European Games held in Baku, Azerbaijan. The following year, she won the gold medal in this event at the 2016 European Karate Championships held in Montpellier, France.

In 2017, Quirici competed in the women's kumite 68 kg event at the World Games held in Wrocław, Poland.[3] She lost two matches and drew one match in the elimination round and she did not advance to the semi-finals.[3]

At the 2018 European Karate Championships held in Novi Sad, Serbia, she won the gold medal in the women's kumite 68 kg event and also the gold medal in the women's team kumite event.[4]

Quirici won one of the bronze medals in the women's kumite 68 kg event at the 2019 European Games held in Minsk, Belarus.[5][6] Four years earlier, she lost her bronze medal match in the women's kumite 68 kg event at the 2015 European Games held in Baku, Azerbaijan.

In March 2020, Quirici was scheduled to represent Switzerland in karate at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.[7][8] This changed in March 2021 after the World Karate Federation revised the system for Olympic qualification.[9] In June 2021, she was able to regain her qualification status at the World Olympic Qualification Tournament held in Paris, France.[10][11] Quirici finished in third place in her pool during the pool stage in the women's +61 kg event and she did not advance to compete in the semifinals.[2] She was the flag bearer for Switzerland during the closing ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympics.[12] In November 2021, she competed in the women's 68 kg event at the World Karate Championships held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates where she was eliminated in her third match by Alisa Buchinger of Austria.[13]

Quirici competed in the women's kumite 68 kg event at the 2022 European Karate Championships held in Gaziantep, Turkey.[14] She was eliminated in her second match by eventual bronze medalist Vasiliki Panetsidou of Greece.[14] Quirici also competed in the women's kumite 68 kg event at the 2022 World Games held in Birmingham, United States.[15]

Quirici won the gold medal in the women's 68 kg event at the 2023 European Karate Championships held in Guadalajara, Spain. She defeated Irina Zaretska of Azerbaijan in her gold medal match. A few months later, she lost against Irina Zaretska in the final of the women's 68 kg event at the 2023 European Games held in Poland.[16][17]

Achievements
YearCompetitionVenueRankEvent
2012 World Championships Paris, France 3rd Kumite 61 kg
2015 European Championships Istanbul, Turkey 2nd Kumite 68 kg
2016 European Championships Montpellier, France 1st Kumite 68 kg
2018 European Championships Novi Sad, Serbia 1st Kumite 68 kg
1st Team kumite
2019 European Championships Guadalajara, Spain 2nd Kumite 68 kg
European Games Minsk, Belarus 3rd Kumite 68 kg
2023 European Championships Guadalajara, Spain 1st Kumite 68 kg
European Games Kraków and Małopolska, Poland 2nd Kumite 68 kg

References
  1. "Entry List by NOC" (PDF). 2017 World Games. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  2. "Karate Results Book" (PDF). 2020 Summer Olympics. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  3. "Karate Results" (PDF). 2017 World Games. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 April 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  4. "2018 European Karate Championships" (PDF). World Karate Federation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 April 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  5. Rowbottom, Mike (29 June 2019). "Spain take three golds on opening day of karate competition at Minsk 2019". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  6. "Karate Medalists" (PDF). 2019 European Games. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  7. "WKF announces first qualified athletes for Tokyo 2020". WKF.net. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  8. Shefferd, Neil (18 March 2020). "World Karate Federation announces first 40 karatekas to have qualified for Tokyo 2020". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  9. "Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 qualification system revised". World Karate Federation. 3 March 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  10. Berkeley, Geoff (13 June 2021). "Gaysinsky among last six karateka to qualify for Tokyo 2020 after Canada protest". Inside the Games. Dunsar Media. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  11. Probst, Martin (13 June 2021). "Quirici löst das Olympiaticket ein zweites Mal: «Egal wie schwer der Weg ist, man kann es schaffen»". bz Basel (in German). Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  12. "List of closing ceremony flag bearers" (PDF). 2020 Summer Olympics. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 October 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  13. "2021 World Karate Championships Results Book" (PDF). World Karate Federation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  14. "2022 European Karate Championships Results Book". ucarecdn.com. Archived from the original on 10 July 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  15. "Karate Results Book" (PDF). 2022 World Games. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  16. Burke, Patrick (23 June 2023). "Spain strike with treble taekwondo triumph at Kraków-Małopolska 2023 European Games". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  17. "Celebration of values of Karate on final day of European Games". European Karate Federation. 23 June 2023. Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
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