Andrii Zaplitnyi

Andrii Zaplitnyi (Заплітний Андрій Ярославович, born 13 July 2001 in Chernivtsi, Ukraine) is a Ukrainian karateka competing in the kumite 75 kg division. Champion of the European Games 2023, European karate champion, 3rd place World Championship. He is currently ranked 3rd in the kumite 75 kg division. He is Master of Sports of Ukraine of international class.

Personal life
Andrii Zaplitnyi studied at secondary school No.27 (Lyceum No.20). In 2018, he began studies at the Faculty of Physical Culture and Human Health at Yuri Fedkovich Chernivtsi National University.

For a significant personal contribution to the development of sports in the region and Ukraine, he was awarded the Honorable Mention (medal) of the Chernivtsi Regional State Administration and the Chernivtsi Regional Council "Grateful Bukovyna".

Zaplitnyi has a younger brother, Dmytro.

Sport career
At the age of 7, he started practicing karate with the trainers Oleksandr Pikulin and Andriy Lazorenko in the "Leader" Sports Club. In 2019, he signed a sponsorship contract with HAYASHI.

Zaplitnyi debuted in the senior individual competitions at the 2023 European Karate Championships. In the first bout, Andriy won 3:1 against Gore Nersesyan from Armenia, in the second he defeated Austrian Stefan Pokorny with the score of 6:0, then in the final of the pool, the Ukrainian successfully fought against Montenegrin Nemanja Mikulić with a score of 4:0. In a tough fight to reach the finals against the Belgian Quentin Mahoden, Andrii clinched the victory with a score of 4:4 having priority for taking the point first. In the finals, Zaplitnyi met Turkish Erman Eltemur, who was the 2022 European Champion. Having scored 2 points for a strike with a hand delivered to the head, Andrii Zaplitnyi became the 2023 European Karate Champion.

At the 2023 European Games in Poland, Andriy Zaplitny competed in the category up to 75 kg, where he reached the semi-finals as the leader of the group with three victories. His first opponent in the playoffs was the Belgian Quentin Mahauden, the bronze medalist of the Euro. In a close match, the Ukrainian managed to win. Mahauden realized one yuko and ippon, scoring four points, but Zaplitny was one point ahead of him thanks to five yuko.

In the final fight, the Italian Daniele de Vivo was waiting for Andrii. The opponent earned the first yuko and gained a one-point advantage, but the karatekas exchanged points several times, catching up with each other. In the end, De Vivo took the lead again, but in the last seconds Zaplitnyi already realized the yuko. Thus, thanks to additional indicators, he won with an equal score of 3:3 and for the first time in his career won the "gold" of the European Games.

Sport achievements
Competitive record of Andrii Zaplitnyi.

State awards

 * Order of Merit (Ukraine) of the III century. (September 7, 2023) — For achieving high sports results at the 3rd European Games in Kraków (Republic of Poland), self-sacrifice and the will to win, raising Ukraine's international authority, were shown.