American karateka Tom Scott is headed to Tokyo after all.
Scott initially feared that he wouldn't make the trip to Tokyo after narrowly missing out in the selection process for the Olympics. However, the World Karate Federation has now awarded him a qualification spot, USA Karate said in a post on Friday. A quota spot became available when Iranian athlete Bahman Asgari Ghoncheh was no longer able to compete due to a doping issue, and Scott was next in line to fill it.
View social media post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ0ytE5pyRv/
Scott, 31, is a two-time kumite gold medalist from the Pan American Games (2015, 2019), competing in the men's 75 kg division. He also earned a silver medal at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara.
Scott will join three other Americans — Sakura Kokumai, Ariel Torres and Brian Irr — in Tokyo as karate makes its Olympic debut.
The Olympic karate competition will begin on Thursday, August 5 at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo and is scheduled to run through Saturday, August 7.
