The women's solo kata competition kicked off karate's first foray into the Olympics on Thursday with the 10 karateka performing routines in a hushed, spectator-less Nippon Budokan arena, the spiritual home of Japanese martial arts in Tokyo.
In the elimination and ranking rounds, the two "queens of kata" — Japan's Kiyou Shimizu and Spain's Sandra Sanchez — scored head-and-shoulders above the rest, as widely expected, to advance to the final contest for karate's maiden gold.
As the two performed, photographers lining the square stage got busier, their camera shutters adding to the only other sounds of the competitors' snap-cracking dogi and mid-routine shouts.