Heydi Rodriguez won gold medal in the 19th Panamerican Karate Championship that took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 27-29 May. Rodriguez won gold in the under 53 kilogram division. She had won gold in the Panamerican Games held in Santo Domingo in July 2003. This is the third gold medal at a Panamerican level won by the UASD university medicine student. Teammate Betania Redman defeated six of her opponents, to lose to the gold medal winner, bringing home a silver medal in the 60+ kilogram category. Thirty-six countries competed in the event.