The poll for The World Games Athlete of the Year 2019 is in its final stretch, and on Thursday 30th January at 15 CET we will know who the winner and the runners-up are. At this moment, there are 10 contestants left in the race. Indian Hockey star Rani leads the competition with 184,626 votes.
On 8th January, when the voting started, there were 25 candidates. While most of them did not make it to the final round, all of them got over 9,000 votes in 12 days, and especially Drone Racer Wanraya Wannapong with her 10,995 votes was very close to making it into the group of 10 who continued.
Who were these excellent candidates that fought so bravely in the voting? As you can see below, it was definitely not due to their sporting skills that they did not make it further in the race. These 15 are amazing world-class athletes!
11) Wanraya Wannapong (Air Sports, THA), is an incredible 12-year-old, who is Female FAI World Drone Racing Champion in 2019 - and 2018. She is one of the youngest and most successful competitive drone racers in the world.
12) Vladislav Tuinov (RUS) is the 2019 World Kickboxing Champion. During the World Championships, he was announced as "The best ring fighter in the World" for his fantastic performances and the respect he was expressing for his opponents.
13) The Dutch Tug of War team had a sensational year this year. At the 2019 Tug of War European Championships in Castlebar, Ireland, The Netherlands became champion of the 640 kg, 680 kg and 720 kg classes. This is a unique achievement in the history of Tug of War!
14) Stacey Porter (AUS) is a Softball first/third baseman. Porter has played in the national team since 2002, and in 2019 she became the most-capped international player of all time, playing for her country for the 430th time. She currently plays professional Softball in Japan. Porter has silver and bronze medals from the Olympic Games in 2004 and 2008.
15) Christian Tissier (FRA) is one of the best-known European Aikido teachers, who pioneered the art in France. He received his 8th dan in 2016, and he was the first non-Japanese Shihan to receive the 8th Dan from the Aikikai.
16) Maria Rodriguez (COL) won two gold medals at this year’s World Bowling Championships in Las Vegas. She was part of the Colombian Team of Five who won gold, and she won the gold for the category “All-Events” with 5488 for 24 games.
17) Madison Copeland (AUS) was selected in the 2019 Women's U19 Lacrosse World Championship All World Team after her 15 goals, 8 Assists, and 18 Draw Controls in the tournament. In 2019 she was awarded Shelley Maher Trophy for the Fairest and Best Female Player in Australia.
18) Racquetball player Paola Longoria (MEX) won three gold medals at the Pan American Games in Peru in August 2019 – in singles, doubles and the team competition. She won each of the three gold medals for the third consecutive time. The Mexican is also a two-time champion of The World Games, having won in Kaohsiung and Cali. She has four individual and four doubles gold medals at the IRF World Championships.
19) Nic Rapa from Australia won the Open Men's gold medal at the 2019 IWWF World Wakeboard Championships in Abu Dhabi, UAE and was named the 2019 IWWF Male Wakeboard Athlete of the Year.
20) Katerina Mrazova is the captain of the Senior Women Czech Republic Inline Hockey team. She is a leader and a role model for the whole Inline Hockey women’s movement. With 19 goals scored and 16 assists during the recent World Championships, she gained the award of Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
21) Jimmy Vienot (FRA) is two-times European Champion (2018 Prague, 2019 Minsk) and this year’s World Champion in the 75 kg Division in Muaythai. He is a true leader of his team and despite his achievements, he always plays a full part in his team’s activities wherever they go. And he is always there for the young athletes, giving them advice and support.
22) The Brazil men’s Beach Handball team began the year going undefeated to win the 2019 South and Central America Beach Handball Championship. In October they claimed another championship, winning the men’s Beach Handball competition at the ANOC World Beach Games in Qatar.
“This moment was spectacular. We felt we had to win this competition as it was the first one and it was historic,” said Brazil specialist Bruno Carlos de Oliveira, who scored the winning point in the shoot-out to secure the gold. “We want to win and make history, as nobody can beat you if you are first, even if you win it the second time. We are always looking to make history.”
23) Mads Pedersen (DEN) made Canoe Marathon history this year when he became the first ever athlete to win both an U-23 and an open world title at the same event. This was an incredible performance, especially considering that the races were held within 24 hours of each other.
24) Pavel Kabanov (RUS) is four-time The World Games champion in Finswimming, having won his first gold already in 2005 and the latest two in Wroclaw in 2017. In 2019 the 34-year-old athlete from Novosibirsk won gold at the European Championships. All in all, Kabanov has 29 world records and 5 The World Games records!
- 25) The unstoppable Swedish orienteer Tove Alexandersson has won almost everything in 2019. At the World Orienteering Championships she won three of three possible gold medals. In the Orienteering World Cup she won eight of the nine races, and with an incredible margin she also won the overall World Cup for the sixth year in a row. Tove Alexandersson is not only the best orienteer in the world, she is also world-class in Ski Orienteering. At the World Ski Orienteering Championships 2019 she became world champion in Long Distance and Sprint. She was second in both Middle Distance and Relay.
All candidates at 20 January 16:00 CET:
Rani (Hockey, IND) 109179
Horuna (Karate) 62628
Stinn (Powerlifting, CAN) 29689
Garnbret (Sport Climbing, SLO) 22401
Donati & Michela Castoldi (Gymnastics, ITA) 20739
Tsaturyan & Svetlana Gudyno (DanceSport, RUS) 14946
Kuntzler (Fistball, BRA) 11922
Finland (Flying Disc) 11709
Team Czech Republic (Floorball) 11652
Lopez (Archery, COL) 11607
Wanraya Wannapong (Air Sports, THA), 10995
Tuinov (Kickboxing, RUS) 10021
Netherlands (Tug of War) 9844
Porter (Baseball/Softball, AUS) 9698
Tissier (Aikido, FRA) 9554
Rodriguez (Bowling, COL) 9548
Copeland (Lacrosse, AUS) 9412
Longoria (Racquetball, MEX) 9411
Rapa (Waterski&Wakeboard, AUS) 9300
Mrazova (Roller Sports, CZE) 9194
Vienot (Muaythai, FRA) 9146
Brazil (Beach Handball) 9144
Pedersen (Canoe, DEN) 9143
Kabanov (Finswimming, RUS) 9139
Alexandersson (Orienteering, SWE) 9136
The World Games is a multi-sport event staged every four years by the International World Games Association under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee. The 11th edition of The World Games will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, 15-25 July 2021. 3,600 athletes from over 30 sports and 100 countries will take part in the Games.
