Lausanne, Switzerland – 7 January 2025: The International World Games Association (IWGA) is thrilled to announce the 22 exceptional individual athletes, pairs and teams nominated for The World Games Athlete of the Year 2024.
Each candidate has been nominated by their respective International Federation (IF) for their extraordinary achievements and contributions to their sport in 2024. The full list of nominees is now available below and on this dedicated page.
The voting period for this prestigious award will officially open on Thursday 9 January 2025 at 12:00 GMT, inviting sports fans from around the globe to participate in selecting their favourite athletes.
Voting will remain open until 31 January 2025 at 12:00 GMT, with an exciting halfway elimination round on 22 January 2025 at 12:00 GMT, where only the top 10 ranked candidates will advance.
The nominees for The World Games Athlete of the Year 2024 are:
- Archery – Sara Lopez (COL)
- Baseball Softball – Women's Softball Team (JPN)
- Beach Handball – Lucie Marie Kretzschmar (GER)
- Canoe – Mads Brandt Pedersen (DEN)
- Cheerleading – Allison Hoeft & Sydney Martin (USA)
- DanceSport – Phil Wizard (CAN)
- Flag Football – Vanita Krouch (USA)
- Floorball – Veera Kauppi (FIN)
- Fistball - Isabella Lucchin (BRA)
- Flying Disc – Kristin Tattar (EST)
- Gymnastics – Xuefeng Ma, Jingwei Shi, Minghe Zhang, and Junjie Shi (CHN)
- Kickboxing – Rayimjonov Davlatbek (UZB)
- Korfball - Lise Van Maldeghem (BEL)
- Orienteering – Joey Hadorn (SUI)
- Racquetball – Alexandra Herrera and Montserrat Mejía (MEX)
- Roller Sports – Duccio Marsili (ITA)
- Sambo – Seidou Njimouluh (CMR)
- Sport Climbing – Veddriq Leonardo (INA)
- Squash – Diego Elias (PER)
- Tug of War – Mengmei Li (CHN)
- Underwater Sports – Yaoyao Hu (CHN)
- Wushu – Xin Tong (CHN)
Learn more about the nominees and their incredible achievements by exploring their profiles on this page.
Voting Rules
- Votes can be cast on The World Games website. Each voting session must include votes for two candidates: 2 votes for your first choice and 1 vote for your second choice. Votes cast for only one candidate will not be counted.
- Voting is limited to one session every 24 hours per person.
- On 22 January 2024 at 12:00 GMT, the 10 highest-ranked candidates will proceed to the final stage of voting. At this point, all vote counts will reset to zero, making the competition more exciting as it approaches its conclusion.
- The vote tallies will be displayed in real time throughout the campaign.
The World Games Athlete of the Year Award honours exceptional athletes for their outstanding sporting achievements and their contributions to the success and recognition of their sport. Athletes who secure the top three final rankings will receive a trophy, a valuable prize, and extensive positive promotion.
Join us in celebrating the world’s best athletes by casting your vote and supporting your favourites!
For more information about the voting rules, please visit this page.