Dominican Heidi Rodriguez won gold in the open category of the 17th Panamerican Karate Championship, held in Santo Domingo, with the participation of 26 regional countries. The event represents a qualifying round for the competitions to take place during the Santo Domingo Panamerican Games and was held at the handball pavilion of the Parque del Este. Fellow Dominican Rusbert Salomon also won gold in the event, placing the Dominican team in 8th position overall. Venezuela won the event, with 13 medals, followed by the Netherlands Antilles, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Peru and the United States.
As reported in the Listin Diario, the president of the Panamerican Federation of karate, Williams Millerson, spoke highly of the organization of the event.