Congratulations to Alexandra Filipova from Slovakia, our Athlete of December 2022.
The 23-year-old kickboxer won the WAKO World Pro title in the Women’s K1 71 Kilo class in December. She won against Aleksandra Krstic from Serbia, in her first-ever fight over five rounds, with the judges voting in her favour 3-0. Alexandra Filipova had more than one reason to indulge the moment of winning gold and taking the Championship belt as an early Christmas present: firstly, she achieved her success in front of her home fans, as the World Championships took place in Poprad, Slovakia at the end of the year. In addition, the title fight was a re-match of the final in the same classes at The World Games 2022 in Birmingham, USA in July. Here, Aleksandra Krstic had won the decisive fight for the gold of the Games 3-0.
"My revenge for Birmingham was successful! I was afraid of the five rounds, I didn't know what to expect. Now, just after the fight, I can say I could handle one more round. But who knows how it will be tomorrow? Maybe I won't even be on my feet," said Filipova, right after receiving the Championship belt and proudly displaying it to the delight of her fans. And it was also a revenge for the final at the World Championships in 2019, which went to the Serb who is her all-time rival in the 71 Kilo class.
This year The World Games Athlete of December had won golds earlier, on the Kickboxing tour known as the Kickboxing World series, including the Hungarian World Cup which she has won on the last three occasions it has been contested, but she has never been able to call herself World Champion until 16th December 2022.
Alexandra Filipova studies Economics in Prague and lives in Kosice.
As The World Games Athlete of the Month, Alexandra Filipova will receive The World Games Athlete of the Month diploma as well as a branded gift from The World Games.
The World Games is a multi-sport event staged every four years by the International World Games Association, organised with the support of the International Olympic Committee. The World Games 2022 was held in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, 7-17 July 2022. 3,600 athletes from 34 sports and 100 countries took part in the Games. The 12th edition of The World Games will be held in Chengdu, CHN in 2025.
