Daniel Gaysinsky

Biography

Daniel Gaysinsky made his senior international debut at the 2013 Pan American Championships. The following year, he competed in his first Karate 1 Premier League events and qualified for the WKF World Championships for the first time after winning the U21 78kg division and the men’s 75kg division titles at the 2014 Canadian Championships.

Gaysinsky expected to make his Pan Am Games debut on home soil at Toronto 2015. But a week before the Games began, he tore the meniscus and ACL in his knee, forcing him out of the competition. He underwent three surgeries and spent two years getting back into top competitive shape. He was able to return to competition late in 2016, including the world championships. 

His first full season back in 2017 was one to remember as he won gold at the Pan Am Championships and earned two Karate 1 Premier League podiums, capturing silver in Rotterdam and bronze in Halle/Leipzig. In 2018 he took bronze at the Pan Am Championships and equaled his career high with two match wins at the world championships.

When Gaysinsky finally got to compete at the Pan Am Games in 2019, he made the most of the opportunity by winning the +84kg silver medal. He also won a silver medal at the Karate 1 Series A tournament in Montreal. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he competed in just two events in 2020 but posted a fifth-place finish at the Premier League event in Salzburg. 

Gaysinsky qualified for karate’s Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 by earning one of the three spots available in the +75kg kumite event at the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Paris in June 2021.

A Little More About Daniel

Getting into the Sport: Started in karate at age 6… His mother enrolled him to provide an outlet for his excess energy… At 16, realized that anything was possible with dedication and hard work, sparking his dream of competing for Canada… Outside Interests: Enjoys fishing… Odds and Ends: Listens to reggae music in the morning before competing…