María Dimitrova

Not to be confused with Bulgarian triple jumper Mariya Dimitrova.

María Dimitrova (born October 11, 1985) is a Bulgarian born, Dominican martial artist who practices karate.

María Dimitrova
Born	October 11, 1985 (1985-10-11) (age 39) Sofia, Bulgaria
Residence	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Nationality	Bulgarian / Dominican
Height	160 cm (5 ft 3 in)
Weight	51 kg (112 lb; 8 st 0 lb)
Style	Shito Ryu – Shito Kai
Team	Dominican National Karate Team
Trainer	Shihan Masayasu Kametani
Rank	Black Belt 5th Dan
Years active	Training since 1989
Other information
Occupation	Athlete
University	Grantham University, USA
Notable relatives	(Mother) Maya Ivanova (Father) Valeri Dimitrov
Notable school(s)	Dimitrova Dojo
Website	DimitrovaDojo.com
Medal record Karate Representing  Dominican Republic World Games 2009 Kaohsiung Individual kata Pan American Games 2019 Lima Team kata 2019 Lima Individual kata WKF Junior World Championship 2005 Cyprus Individual kata World Shito Ryu Championship 2013 Tokyo Individual kata 2006 Tokyo Individual kata Iberoamerican Championship 2013 Dominican Rep. Individual kata 2008 Venezuela Individual kata Panamerican Championship 2015 Canada Team kata 2015 Canada Individual kata 2014 Peru Team kata 2014 Peru Individual kata 2013 Argentina Team kata 2013 Argentina Individual kata 2012 Nicaragua Individual kata 2011 Mexico Individual kata 2010 Ecuador Individual kata 2010 Ecuador Team kata 2009 Curacao Individual kata 2008 Venezuela Individual kata 2005 Uruguay Individual kata Karate1 Premier League 2015 Brasil Open Individual kata 2015 Dutch Open Individual kata 2014 Austria Open Individual kata 2014 German Open Individual kata 2014 Dutch Open Individual kata 2012 German Open Individual kata Open Championships 2011 US Open Individual kata 2010 America Open Individual kata 2008 Simon Bolivar Open Individual kata 2007 Adidas Open Individual kata Central American and Caribbean Games 2006 Cartagena Individual kata 2010 Mayaguez Individual kata 2010 Mayaguez Team kata 2014 Veracruz Individual kata Central American and Caribbean Championship 2014 Nicaragua Team kata 2013 Mexico Team kata 2013 Mexico Individual kata 2013 Mexico Team kumite 2010 Nicaragua Team kata 2010 Nicaragua Individual kata 2009 Dom. Rep. Team kata 2009 Dom. Rep. Individual kata 2008 Nicaragua Individual kata 2007 Mexico Individual kata 2006 Cuba Individual kata 2005 Panama Individual kata
Last updated on: June 7, 2015

Early life

She was born in Bulgaria to father Valeri Dimitrov and mother Maya Ivanova, both citizens of that same country. At the age of 6, her family made the trip to the Dominican Republic and settled for good in Sosua, Puerto Plata.^[1] A friend of the family had recommended the country to them.

María started to practice Karate when she was four years old, as her father was a Karateka as well. The "Karate Princess" (as she's called much due to her looks and ability in Martial Art) has been ranked among the best in the world in Female Kata since 2005, when she won the gold medal at the XVI Pan-American Junior Karate Championship in Montevideo, Uruguay. That same year, she also won her first world medal at the WKF World Junior Karate Championship, Cyprus. ^[2]

Career

In 2006, Dimitrova began to travel to Japan for special training with 7 times World Champions – brothers Hasegawa senseis. That year, as a result of the training in Japan, she was able to win the gold medal at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, and became one of the Top Athletes for the Dominican Olympics Committee.

In 2008, she ranked 5th place at the World Senior Karate Championship in Japan. That same year, she became Senior Panamerican Champion, and repeated that gold medal in 2009, 2010, and 2014 in Female Kata.

In 2009, Dimitrova qualified for the World Games in representation of the American continent, finished in 2nd place, and made history for Karate in the Dominican Republic and Female Kata in America.^[3]

In 2009, Dimitrova decided to form a Team Kata with two of her students (Franchell Velazquez and Heydi Reynoso), and three years later, the team became Panamerican Champion in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Awards and honors

Dimitrova has been given the award of Karate Athlete of The Year, in recognition from the Dominican Federation of Karate (FEDOKARATE), the Sports Writers Association (ACD) and the Dominican Olympic Committee (COD) six times already, in 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013. Thanks to her international achievements in Karate, she has been set as an example for the youth of the Dominican Republic. She has been nominated and finalist for the National Youth Award in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, given by the Ministry of the National Youth of the Dominican Republic.

She is not only known as one of the top Kata Athletes in the world, but Dimitrova has also achieved great recognition as an Instructor. In January 2015, she was named National Junior Kata Coach by the Dominican Karate Federation. She is also Chief Instructor of the Dominican Karate Air Force Team since 2010. She has conducted International Seminars in USA, Mexico, Peru, Bulgaria, Guatemala, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

Personal life

Dimitrova earned her bachelor Business Administration degree at Grantham University in Kansas City, United States. She's also an entrepreneur, as she started her own company under Martial Arts & Sportquip, and currently owns two Karate Dojos under the name ´´Dimitrova Dojo´´. www.dimitrovadojo.com

At the age of 15, Dimitrova started working in a TV show in Dominican Republic as the main host, and later on became the show's producer. During her TV production time, she was able to sign a contract with a European TV Satellite carrier to carry tourism programming to 24 countries in three languages. She describes a passion for TV production, but emphasizes that it's a time-consuming task with a heavy toll of dedication for success, just like Karate, which made it very difficult for her to carry on with both projects.

She is married to two-time Olympic gold medalist Felix Sanchez.