A feminine Olympiad would be "impractical, uninteresting, ungainly and […] improper" It should come as no surprise that these outdated words were spoken in 1912. What may be more of a shock is that these words were said by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics! Unfortunately these misguided views prevailed in international sport until comparatively recently.
Even The World Games, which has long been a beacon of equality in sport, was not exempt from the prevailing attitudes of the time. When the multi-sport showcase held its first edition in Santa Clara, USA in 1981, the men were allocated an incredible 41 extra medal events than the women. This injustice has in modern times been corrected, with an equal number of male and female athletes, and gender parity in medal event allocation.
It would be nice to think that if Baron de Coubertin had attended today’s sports sessions that were contested at The World Games, that there would have been a radical change of heart. There were exceptional women competing in virtually every sport across today’s program. From Canoe Polo to Billiards, Fistball to Roller Sports, American Football to Racquetball, there were women athletes doing incredible things and proving that most definitely they have a right to equality and to compete. Let us meet some of the superb sportswomen who today made it International Womens Day at The World Games.
Imagine living in a huge, dry, conservative country which is not particularly known for its womens rights. Imagine that you want to play a sport which requires a huge amount of water, that is only available in swimming pools and lakes. Imagine the difficulty of bringing all your athletes together for training sessions in a land of immense travel distances between cities. Imagine how hard it would be to create such team spirit that your national team, despite all these challenges can go and play in your first ever medal game at a World Championships. You do not have to imagine it, because this is precisely what Iran Womens Canoe Polo team have achieved! Their achievement at the World Championships last year qualified them to appear in this discipline for the first time at The World Games! The strength of their teamwork was much evident in their opening match in Chengdu, giving them an impressive 15-1 opening victory against the host nation.
At the other end of the winning scale, Brazil’s Women Fistball team had to battle deep to emerge victorious in a tense thriller of a Final against Switzerland. The South Americans’ maiden gold medal at the World Games seemed an unlikely prospect after a sluggish start, where they faced a 2-0 set deficit and likely defeat. However there is a resilience running deep in this Brazil team, which last year led them to a second World Championship; defeating once dominant force Germany 4-0 in the Final. A comfortable third set saw the yellow shirts back in contention in the match.
The fourth set was a thriller, some magnificent defensive work and powered shots saw them take a 8-5 advantage. The Swiss clawed their way back. However nerves and fatigue appeared to have got the better of Brazil, missing two match points on serve, hitting consecutive balls into the net and then beyond the sidelines. In the tiebreaker, they survived a match point, before taking the set 14-12. The fifth set was scrappy, with errors from both sides. However the Brazilians remained in control and when the Swiss had match point against them, it was the European team’s turn to see their return go the wrong side of the white line. The Brazilians hugged each other in jubilation; a well deserved golden medal from The World Games Togo alongside their World Championship ones.
Two other rivals who can not be separated are Miranda Tibbling and Noa Man. During the Parkour competions at the Birmingham Games in 2022 they finished on the top two steps of the podium in both events, just swapping the finishing order. They are not only competitors but great friends. “Having the other competing helps spur us on to do even better” said Swede Tibbling after the Speed race in Chengdu. The rivals have contrasting builds, Tibbling is taller and stockier- the physique of a running back. The Dutch athlete Man has the more classical appearance of a distance runner, lean and fast.
The starting gun sounded and both attacked the obstacle course with great daring and speed. The Swede slightly mistimed a couple of her leaps, handing a miniscule advantage to her friend. By the back wall they were level. Nothing could separate them until the final jump, Tibbling’s was clean, but Man hit the inclined wall, slightly lower than she wanted and had to scramble to the red buzzer light. Two amazing athletes embraced, and the enthralled crowd cheered loudly after having seen such an amazing race.
There was Dutch involvement too in the Billiards Final, however it was not the pusher of the cue that we normally see at The World Games. Dick Jaspers has been competing and winning medals at every edition of The World Games since Akita 2001. However it was not to be his year in Chengdu, the 60 year player experiencing a rare early exit from the competition. Therese Klompenhouwer, ‘The Queen’ of Billiards is a multiple World Champion, however up until now has never won a medal at The World Games. There was not much mystery about why the silverware has eluded her; this was the first edition that Women’s Billiards has featured as a discipline at the spectacular multi sports event. The Dutch star showed us what we have have been missing with a comprehensive 25-12 victory in the gold medal match against her Japanese opponent.
That type of scoreline might be seen at an American Football match. The discipline of Flag Football has been soaring in recent years, leading to the decision to include the non-contact version of the sport in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles for the very first time. A couple of high profile events have boosted the sport to these new heights. A compelling Women’s Flag football competition at the Birmingham 2022 edition of The World Games saw Mexico with their tight defence and pinpoint accuracy from star Quarterback Diana Flores dominate their American rivals in the Gold medal match. As a result, Flores featured in a video shown at the Superbowl halftime interval, promoting flag football.
However USA have a star ball thrower of their own in veteran Vanita Krouch, a legendary Tom Brady like figure who has played into their 40s’. At the recent World Championship, it was the 44 year American who was the most influential figure. In the Final against who else but Mexico, her passes continually found her wide receivers, whilst Flores repeatedly overshot her intended targets. A rare off day for the Mexican Quaterback. Both should meet again in the Final in Chengdu. Both quarterbacks have the talent and ability to win the game; which side of the Rio Grande will the gold medals end up?
Flores is not the only Mexican superstar in Chengdu. Racquetball’s greatest ever player, Paola Longoria is set to make history at The World Games by becoming the first woman athlete to win four gold medals at four different editions of the multi sport celebration. By rights, it should have happened three years ago in Birmingham, but rather inexplicably, the sport was not included on the 2017 Wroclaw program.
Blessed with a unreturnable gravity defying forehand drive that skims 10cm above the court floor, hits the right corner of the front wall and the stops dead, it is easy to see why she has won so many major titles in her career. The passion, and drive and determination was evident in her post victory interview at the Pan American Games in Santiago. “I have worked so hard and sacrificed so much, I am not going to stop now.” The dedication to being the best has made her a superb athlete.
One more Central American sportswoman who has shown that same grit to achieve her goal is Ivonne Nochez. She is El Salvador’s only athlete at The World Games. She originally started off in Artistic Roller Skating, where performers execute an ice skating style routine, but using roller skates on a special plastic surface. She switched to Speed Skating and relocated to Colombia, the only nation in the region where support is allocated to Roller Sports athletes. Her decision paid off today as she won the 100m Sprint, securing El Salvador its first ever gold medal at The World Games. All these amazing athletes have one thing in common; they show that every day of competition at The World Games is indeed International Women’s Day!