In the list of the best athletes of all time at The World Games, Belgian Bart Swings has made a huge leap forward. The speed skater was ranked 20th before TWG 2022 in Birmingham, Alabama got started. Two gold medals and a bronze medal later, Bart swings up to fourth place. He won Friday's 10,000-meter Elimination Race on the Track, as well as Sunday's race over the same distance on the road.
Adding up his successes at the Games in Cali, Colombia, in Wroclaw, Poland and in Birmingham, USA, the 31-year-old has won 6 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals. However, it is not possible to go any further forward in the overall ranking at these Games. To reach third place, at least eight gold medals are needed. Bart Swings will only start once more in Birmingham, in the elimination race over 15,000 meters. Swings will compete for gold again on Monday at 5:05pm. If he succeeds, the speed skater will move up to third place in the medal game at the Games.
The most successful athlete of all times at The World Games is the German Jürgen Kolenda, who won a total of eleven gold medals in Finswimming at the 1981 Games in Santa Clara, USA and in London in 1985.
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 11th edition of The World Games will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, 7-17 July 2022. 3,600 athletes from 34 sports and over 100 countries will take part in The World Games.