Kate Campbell wins silver in karate at Pan Am Games

Fredericton's Kate Campbell won a silver medal in karate at the Pan Am Games in Toronto on Thursday.

• VIDEO: Kate Campbell talks about her silver-medal performance

Campbell fought Brazil's Valeria Kumizaki in the final of the women's 55-kilogram event on Thursday evening.

"The other girl is an incredible fighter and I've been fighting her for a long time. We've grown up together in the competitive world," said Campbell.

The score was 1-1 after time expired but the four judges and the referee decided the winner. Two of the judges had Campbell as the winner and the other two had Kumizaki as the winner. The referee was the tiebreaker, and he declared Kumizaki the gold medalist.

"She's an incredible fighter and to even come that close to being on her level is really a feat in itself. So I'm happy with the way things went and I'm very glad with the outcome," said Campbell.

Campbell had defeated Kumizaki earlier in the day during the round robin phase of the Pan Am karate competition.

This Pan Am Games silver can be added to a growing list of accomplishments for Campbell.

She is coming off a silver medal at the Pan American Championships. She has also won a bronze at the USA Open and a gold medal at the North American Cup this year. But this silver medal was special, as she won it in front of a supportive crowd.

"To have an entire audience screaming your name and cheering for youand banging on things and yelling, 'Go Canada, go.' It was incredible. Every single score that I scored, the crowd went nuts. It really fuels you to perform at your highest level," she said.