The first round of voting is now over – and two candidates really stand out from the rest. Fans of Racquetball, and no doubt especially those in Bolivia, have really pulled out the stops and amassed more than 26,000 votes for their favourite, Conrrado Moscoso. The world’s Underwater Sports fans have also been busy voting for Szymon Kropidlowski, Poland, who has more than 17,000 votes. He has more than twice the number of votes as number three in the voting, Roller Sports star Rebecca Tarlazzi from Italy.
Now, in the Final Round lasting until 12pm GMT on 31 January, the top 10 candidates from Round 1 start again with zero votes. Yes, Racquetball was way out in front in Round 1, but with votes transferring from candidates dropped after Round 1, and some determined social media harnessing of votes by the other sports still in the run for victory, there is all to play for over the coming few days.
The rules for the final round are the same as for Round 1. In the voting, The World Games fans can first choose their favourite: click on ‘Vote’, and your candidate gets two votes. Then you vote again for another candidate, who gets one vote. You can vote once per 24 hours on the Athlete of the Year webpage. The number of votes for each candidate will be shown on the webpage as the Final Round progresses.
“Many of our International Sports Federations, and the National Federations that the candidates represent, have given fantastic support on their internet platforms and on social media,” says Anna Jacobson, IWGA’s Communication & Media Director. “But also the National Olympic Committees are playing a big role in promoting the candidates. Activating the fan base is a key to success in this race. Fans all over the world are now voting every day and following the progress of their favourites – with the top three in the results lined up for trophies and prizes along with masses of recognition in their home country and beyond,” she says.
The official results will be announced on the IWGA website on 31st January.
Final Round Candidate List
Aikido: Dimitri Crenier, Belgium
Air Sports: Luisa Rizzo, Italy
Archery: Aditi Swami, India
Baseball – Softball: Jack Besgrove, Australia
DanceSport: Marius-Andrei Balan and Khrystyna Moshenska, Germany
Ju-Jitsu: Faisal Al Ketbi, UAE
Racquetball: Conrrado Moscoso, Bolivia
Roller Sports: Rebecca Tarlazzi, Italy
Squash: Amina Orfi, Egypt
Underwater Sports: Szymon Kropidlowski, Poland
The International World Games Association (IWGA) is a non-profit-making international sports organisation recognised and supported by the International Olympic Committee. The IWGA comprises 39 International Member Sports Federations. It administers and promotes The World Games (TWG), a multi-sport event held every four years that features around 35 sports on its programme. The next edition of TWG will be in Chengdu (CHN) from 7-17 August 2025. 5,000 participants from more than 100 countries are expected to take part in this 12th edition. The latest Games were hosted by Birmingham, Alabama (USA).
