Sandra Sanchez of Spain has won the first Olympic gold medal in karate, beating Japan's Kiyou Shimizu in the final matchup in women's kata. The 39-year-old Sanchez scored a 28.06 in the final bout, her screams echoing off the walls at the Budokan as she put in a spirited demonstration of karate form. Shimizu's score was 27.88. Sanchez has dominated her discipline in Europe for the past seven years, making her a fitting first champion in the Olympic debut of karate. The martial art is in the Olympic program on a temporary basis in Japan after a half-century of attempts to gain Olympic recognition. Grace Lau of Hong Kong, China, and Viviana Bottaro of Italy won bronze. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)