Champions For Progress

Sakura Kokumai

When Sakura Kokumai was a young girl, her mother brought her to a local YMCA for a Karate lesson. The experience would be a foundational one in her life in several ways. Kokumai would ultimately dedicate her life to the art of kata, a practice that requires focus, dedication and a steadfast commitment to self-improvement. Karate kata is a choreographed arrangement of martial arts movements that is performed as an individual event. She’s won bronze at the 2012 World Karate Championships and 2013 World Combat games. In 2019, She earned a gold medal at the Pan American games in Lima, Peru. 

While her experience at the YMCA sparked a life-long dedication to Karate, it also founded a similar connection to the power of community. Sakura has become a supporter of Terasaki Budokan, a community-driven project in her home city of Los Angeles. It offers families, youth and seniors access to sports, instruction and activities. 

Developing a passion for Karate as a young girl in Hawaii has inspired her to pass that passion along: Her goal at Terasaki Budokan is to empower boys and girls to imagine themselves as young karatekas, strong individuals who can achieve anything. As a world-class athlete, she understands the importance of teaching her students proper techniques, but she hopes to communicate underlying lessons she feels are even more vital for young students: the learning process and how to set - and achieve - goals for personal development.

“The dojo that I belonged to had an amazing line of athletes from all generations. I was very fortunate to be able to look up to these people. All I wanted to do was be like them,” Kokumai said. 

During the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Kokumai competed in Pool A of the Ranking Round, qualifying for the Bronze final, where she lost in a closely contested competition to Italy’s Viviana Bottaro. Though Kokumai will not be returning from Tokyo with a medal, she has broken a barrier by becoming the first U.S. Olympic karate qualifier.

Lex Gillette

At the age of eight, Lex Gillette lost his sight. But, as he says, what he gained was vision. 

“I’m thankful for being blind because it’s taught me, when we have a vision, we create the world we want to see,” Gillette said. 

In high school, Gillette began to practice the long jump. By developing a method of coordinated auditory signals with his coaches, Gillette is able to excel at the sport. At 19, he participated in the Paralympic Games Athens 2004, where he earned the silver medal. Gillette has also received silver at the Paralympic Games in Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro. He most recently won gold at the 2019 World Championship Experience and is the only completely blind athlete in the world to break the 22-foot barrier in the long jump. This year, Gillette is aiming for the gold. 

To honor and pay forward the support he’s received throughout his life, Gillette helps to guide the next generation by serving as a mentor for students across the country. He works with Classroom Champions, a nonprofit that pairs athlete mentors with students from underserved communities in the US. It’s because Gillette recognizes “accessibility” means something different for every individual: physical access to public spaces or access to the tools needed for an education that can open up the world to a young student. Whether it’s broadening students’ ideas about what’s possible by sharing his story or simply offering support to children who need it, Gillette is working to make the world a better place in his championing of equality.

At Panasonic, we couldn’t be more excited to partner with and support these athletes – not just as they work to achieve their competitive goals in the Games, but for years as they dedicate their lives to creating a better world for all.