Preview Friday 8 August: Watchlist for The World Games

Preview Friday 8 August: Watchlist for The World Games

published on 7 August

Watch this - the most spectacular sport to be seen at The World Games tomorrow

You may not be familiar with the sport of Wushu, but it is almost certain you have already seen it in popular culture. The films of Bruce Lee and Jet Li, that's Wushu; the Shaolin monks also perform the ancient Chinese martial art. Wushu gives a soldier the ability to fend off multiple attackers, who are advancing from different directions. It is typically performed with on of three weapons in hand.

A practitioner will make a series of gravity defying leaps and tumbles, 720 degrees turns, in order to be able to land some blows against an opponent behind him. He will then quickly propel himself sideways in order to deal with the threat from that position. It is continual movement to wrong foot the danger.

Singapore have enjoyed a fine start in Chengdu, with their softball men's team pulling off a shock 10-9 victory over two time World Champion Australia. Their games could be about to become a whole lot better. At last year's World Championships, Jowen Lim failed to land a 720, thus missing out on medals in all three disciplines. An error free performance should be enough to take gold in the combined weapons event.

Watch her- an outstanding female athlete competing tomorrow

You want to win an Orienteering medal at The World Games? Simple, somehow acquire Swiss citizenship, learn how to read a detailed map, then run rapidly over rough terrain! This foolproof method has worked really well for many Swiss athletes. Star magnetic compass user Simona Aebersold steps out early in the morning in the middle distance race, the first medal event at Chengdu 2025. She will be hoping to retain the three gold medals she won in Birmingham 2022

Watch him- an outstanding male athlete competing today

His nickname is ‘Mister Perfect’ a testament to his accuracy during the big pressure tournaments. He stands poised, ready to aim his arrow over the small lake in Birmingham. Hit the centre of the target, like he has done so often, and the gold medal in the Mixed Archery competition will be his and The Netherlands. Gasps from the crowd. Mike Schloesser has done the unthinkable! He has only scored a 9! In the golden arrow shootout, Sara Lopez and her playing partner take advantage of the unexpected reprieve, and it is the Colombian anthem that is playing during the medal presentation! Unbelievably the silver that the Dutchman collected is his only souvenir from two visits to The World Games. Surely, the new father will have something very shiny for his child to play with, after the Compound Final presentation!

Watch them- an outstanding team competing at The World Games today

Disc Golf as its name suggests is a golf-like walk along holes of various distance, aiming your specially aeronomically designed piece of equipment towards, (and hopefully, the hard bit, in) the hole. Main differences; the ball is a Flying Disc, which is thrown not hit, towards a hanging basket rather than a hole in the ground. What does not change is the aura of a champion, as they close in on yet another big trophy. In his heyday, Tiger Woods had that quality. In the world of Disc Golf, the athletes know that if American pair Gannon Buhr & Melissa Gannon are still in contention with a few holes remaining, then effectively the best they can hope for is second place.

Watch the fireworks- China invented gunpowder so this is the clash of the day to make the sparks fly. Since Cali 2013, Frenchwoman Margali Rousseau has consistently been making regular visits to the Life Saving medal podium. The eight she has earned so far make her the most successful female competitor at The World Games. She will be joined on that magic number by speedy German swimmer Nina Holt, if she repeats her incredible Birmingham 2022 feat of making a clean sweep of all four gold medals that were on offer. Holt’s compatriot Danny Wieck will need to make a guided tour of the podium three times in order to draw level with Belgian Speed Skater Bart Swings as the third most prolific collector of silverware in the all time rankings.

Watch the Panda- an opportunity only found in China to see something very rare.

Jean Pizarro, the Pan American Games Archery Champion will be hoping to come through the elimination rounds, to become the first ever athlete from Puerto Rico to win a medal of any kind at The World Games!

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 40 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).

For more information, please contact the IWGA Media and Communication team:
[email protected], Tel: +41 21 311 12 97, or visit our website.