Bettina Plank
Birth date24 February 1992 (age 34)
Birth placeFeldkirch, Vorarlberg, Austria
CountryAustria
SportKarate
Weight class
  • 50 kg
  • 55 kg (Olympic Games)
Event

Bettina Plank (born 24 February 1992)[1] is an Austrian karateka. She won one of the bronze medals in the women's 55 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.[2][3] She is a two-time bronze medalist in the women's 50 kg event at the World Karate Championships and a three-time medalist, including two gold medals, at the European Games.

Plank also won the gold medal in her event at the 2015 European Karate Championships in Istanbul, Turkey.

Career

Plank won one of the bronze medals in the women's kumite 50 kg event at the 2011 European Karate Championships held in Zürich, Switzerland.[4] In 2014, she won the silver medal in her event at the European Karate Championships held in Tampere, Finland.

In 2015, Plank won the gold medal in the women's kumite 50 kg event at the European Karate Championships held in Istanbul, Turkey.[5] She also won one of the bronze medals in the women's team kumite event. In that same year, Plank won the silver medal in that event at the European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan.[6] In the final, she lost against Serap Özçelik of Turkey.[6] Plank won one of the bronze medals in her event at the 2016 World University Karate Championships held in Braga, Portugal.[7] She also won one of the bronze medals in the women's team kumite event.[7]

In 2017, Plank competed in the women's kumite 50 kg event at the World Games held in Wrocław, Poland without winning a medal.[8] She won one match and lost two matches in the elimination round and she did not advance to compete in the semi-finals.[8] In 2018, Plank won one of the bronze medals in the women's kumite 50 kg event at the World Karate Championships held in Madrid, Spain.[9]

At the 2019 European Games held in Minsk, Belarus, Plank won the gold medal in the women's kumite 50 kg event.[10][11] She defeated Serap Özçelik of Turkey in her gold medal match.

In June 2021, Plank competed at the World Olympic Qualification Tournament held in Paris, France hoping to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.[12] She did not qualify at this tournament but she was able to qualify via continental representation soon after.[13] At the Olympics, she won one of the bronze medals in the women's 55 kg event.[2][3] In November 2021, Plank competed in the women's 50 kg event at the World Karate Championships held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.[14] In her second match, she lost against Shara Hubrich of Germany and she was then eliminated in the repechage by Kateryna Kryva of Ukraine.[14]

Plank competed in the women's 50 kg event at the 2022 European Karate Championships held in Gaziantep, Turkey.[15] She also competed in the women's team kumite event.[15] In 2023, she won the gold medal in the women's 50 kg event at the European Games held in Poland.[16][17] She defeated Erminia Perfetto of Italy in her gold medal match.[17][18] Plank competed in the women's 50 kg event at the 2023 World Karate Championships held in Budapest, Hungary where she was eliminated in her second match.[19]

Achievements

YearCompetitionVenueRankEvent
2011European ChampionshipsZürich, Switzerland3rdKumite 50 kg
2014European ChampionshipsTampere, Finland2ndKumite 50 kg
2015European ChampionshipsIstanbul, Turkey1stKumite 50 kg
3rdTeam kumite
European GamesBaku, Azerbaijan2ndKumite 50 kg
2016World ChampionshipsLinz, Austria3rdKumite 50 kg
2017European Championshipsİzmit, Turkey3rdKumite 50 kg
2018European ChampionshipsNovi Sad, Serbia2ndKumite 50 kg
World ChampionshipsMadrid, Spain3rdKumite 50 kg
2019European ChampionshipsGuadalajara, Spain2ndKumite 50 kg
European GamesMinsk, Belarus1stKumite 50 kg
2021Summer OlympicsTokyo, Japan3rdKumite 55 kg
2023European GamesKraków and Małopolska, Poland1stKumite 50 kg

References

  1. ^ "Entry List by NOC". 2017 World Games. Archived 6 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  2. ^ Palmer, Dan (5 August 2021). "Sanchez the history-maker as karate makes highly-anticipated Olympic debut". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Karate Results Book". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 10 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  4. ^ "2011 European Karate Championships Medalists". World Karate Federation. Archived 31 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  5. ^ Etchells, Daniel (22 March 2015). "Trio of gold medals earns Spain top spot at European Karate Federation Senior Championships". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  6. ^ Butler, Nick (13 June 2015). "Azerbaijan scoop double karate gold on opening night of European Games". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  7. ^ "2016 World University Karate Championships Results Book". Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire. Archived 15 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Karate Results". 2017 World Games. Archived 24 April 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Results Book". 2018 World Karate Championships. Archived 26 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  10. ^ Rowbottom, Mike (30 June 2019). "Italy's Maresca earns dramatic win as Ukraine take two golds in karate finale at Minsk 2019". InsideTheGames.biz. Archived 17 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  11. ^ "Karate Medalists". 2019 European Games. Archived 15 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  12. ^ "2021 Karate World Olympic Qualification Tournament Results Book". World Karate Federation. Archived 14 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Olympians from 34 countries now confirmed for Karate Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020". World Karate Federation. 15 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  14. ^ "2021 World Karate Championships Results Book". World Karate Federation. Archived 21 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  15. ^ "2022 European Karate Championships Results Book". ucarecdn.com. Archived 10 July 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  16. ^ Burke, Patrick (22 June 2023). "Canoe sprint double helps Ukraine top early medals table at Kraków-Małopolska 2023". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  17. ^ "Summary of day 1 of Karate at European Games". European Karate Federation. 22 June 2023. Archived 1 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  18. ^ "Karate Medalists by Event". 2023 European Games. Archived 24 June 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  19. ^ "2023 World Karate Championships Results Book". Sportdata.org. Archived 29 October 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 30 October 2023.