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90790 votes
Reza Alipourshenazandifar, IRI
Reza Alipourshenazandifar did not only win The World Games title in Speed Climbing this summer, he also holds the World Record in this discipline. The 23-year-old faced his final race at the Games alone – his competitor had a false start – but was able to keep himself together and finish with the fastest time, 5.57. His medal was the first ever gold medal for Iran at The World Games.
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90036 votes
Larysa Soloviova, UKR
Larysa Soloviova has won gold in Powerlifting in the last 4 editions of The World Games (2005, 2009, 2013 and 2017), which means she has been competing now for more than 12 years at the highest level. In this time she also won the IPF World Championships 2011–2017 in her weight category!
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48014 votes
Fabriana Arias, COL
Three gold medals (10,000 m point elimination, 15,000 m elimination, 10,000 m point) and two silver medals (1,000 m sprint, 500 m sprint) at The World Games 2017 make Speed Skater Fabriana Arias a perfect candidate for IWGA Athlete of the Year. After The World Games she won silver and gold at the World Roller Games.
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7020 votes
Anna Miadzielec and Jacek Tarczylo, POL
Rock'n'Roll couple Anna Miadzielec and Jacek Tarczylo were victorious on home ground at The World Games this year. Besides The World Games gold, they have won four World Champion titles (2011, 2013, 2014 and 2016) and they are current World Ranking list leaders in DanceSport.
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3827 votes
Natallia Berdnikava, BLR
Waterski Jump World Record holder Natallia Berdnikava won both Women’s Jump and Trick categories at her first World Games. Originally from Belarus, she worked her way through to the top by training in indoor pools during the cold winters. Now she lives and trains in Florida, USA.
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3289 votes
Men’s 640 kg team, GBR
Great Britain won the men’s 640kg outdoor Tug of War gold medal against very hard competition, Switzerland. The 640 kg is the "blue ribbon" event of men’s Tug of War and probably the most difficult to win. Most members of the team have been in the sport for many years, and winning the gold medal at The World Games is the pinnacle of their sporting careers.
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2853 votes
Janice Lyn, CAN
Janice Lyn had a tough start at TWG2017, and she was devastated to lose her first match after a close contest. However she continued to attend the bouts every day, cheering and supporting her friends. She even made friends with the volunteers, assisting them when needed. This is the true spirit of martial arts: to take part in something bigger than you and to see the goodness in what happens regardless of winning or losing.
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2799 votes
Sarel de Jong, NED
Sarel de Jong was the winner in Kickboxing K-1 (-65 kg) when the sport first appeared at The World Games this year. On her hard way to the gold medal she defeated European, Pan-American and World Champions. She has been described as energetic, enthusiastic and passionate about the sport.
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2355 votes
Fabian Sagstetter, GER
At The World Games 2017, Fabian Sagstetter was the captain of the German team that successfully defended the title from 2013 as they defeated Switzerland in an epic 4:3 fight to claim the gold medal. He is the defensive "brain" of the German team and one of the most versatile Fistball athletes in the world.
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2181 votes
Mika Kohonen, FIN
Mika Kohonen is the only Floorball player at The World Games 2017 who also took part in the Games in 1997, when Floorball was present as an invitational sport. He has been chosen as the best player in the world 5 times. In Wroclaw, he was one of the most important players in the bronze-winning team of Finland – 20 years after his debut at this level.
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1557 votes
Mixed Team, USA
Team USA Mixed won gold in the Ultimate event at The World Games 2017. They secured their fifth consecutive World Games title when winning 13:7 over Colombia, a team to which they had surprisingly lost 12:13 earlier in the Pool play. Team USA overcame this loss and re-established a clean sweep in all of their World Games appearances since 2001.
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952 votes
Women's Team, USA
The United States concluded a magical summer by beating Canada 11-8 to win the gold medal in the inaugural Lacrosse competition at The World Games. That came on the heels of the team winning the Federation of International Lacrosse World Cup just less than two weeks earlier!
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853 votes
Lisa Unruh, GER
The Olympic silver medallist has cemented herself as one of the best all-round archers of her generation after securing gold at The World Games in 2017. Lisa Unruh (29) has taken medals at international target, field and indoor tournaments – and won her crown in Wroclaw in a single-arrow shoot-off.
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674 votes
Valeriya Baranovskaya, RUS
Double World Games Champion from 2013, Valeria Baranovskaya answered the expectations in 2017 and won gold in both Relay 4x100 m and, with a World Record, in 200 m Finswimming. She is now 4 times The World Games Champion, 20 times World Champion and 15 times European Champion.
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639 votes
Matthias Kyburz, SUI
Matthias Kyburz won all three races at The World Games 2013 in Cali, Colombia. He was one of the favourites in Wroclaw as well. He finished “only” third in the opening Sprint, but recovered quickly and won the Middle distance. He had a superb race, and his speed through the terrain contributed to him winning his fourth World Games gold.
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491 votes
Kyren Wilson, GBR
Kyren Wilson (GBR) won Snooker gold at The World Games 2017. He saw off Ali Carter in the final 3-1 to ensure he claimed gold. Since then he has gone on to reach a further two World Ranking event finals, so The World Games success seems to have been a good springboard for him on the regular circuit as well.
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485 votes
Ryo Kiyuna, JPN
At The World Games in Poland, Karateka Ryo Kiyuna delivered an extraordinary performance, winning all his bouts by 5-0 to claim the gold medal. The current two-time World Champion has reached the top of the podium in all his 11 last international appearances. The last time the Japanese Kata master lost a bout was in 2013.
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461 votes
Wojciech Bogdal, POL
Poland's Wojciech Bogdal became a hero at The World Games when winning the first gold medal for the host country. Bogdal won the Paramotoring competition on 23 July 2017. After flying 9 tasks over three days the Air Sports athlete ended with a convincing win, 8 points ahead of Thailand's Kittiphop Phrommat in second place.
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431 votes
Men's Team, GER
The German men's Canoe Polo team overcame a tough competition schedule and a nail-biting semi-final in Wroclaw to successfully retain The World Games title they won in Colombia four years earlier. The Germans went through the competition undefeated, underlining their dominance with a clinical 4-1 win over reigning World Champions Italy in the gold medal match.
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423 votes
Camille Serme, FRA
A bronze medallist in 2013, Camille won gold in The World Games 2017 and helped France to become the first country to win gold, silver and bronze medals in Squash in the same year. She is the first Frenchwoman to win the British Open & US Open – two of the most prestigious titles in Squash. She is a record 6-time European Champion.
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96 votes
Dong Dong, CHN
The 2012 Olympic Champion in men's Individual Trampoline, Dong Dong, has together with his jumping partner Tu Xiao enjoyed a long run of success in Synchronised Trampoline. Having savoured two titles at The World Games (2013 and 2017) and five World titles (2010, 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2017), the duo counts among the most formidable Synchronised pairs in Trampoline history.
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