The President of the International World Games Association (IWGA) has returned to his home in Madrid, Spain, after spending a week hospitalised; he had become infected with the corona virus. Before his hospital admission, President Perurena had spent two weeks of confinement at home, on account of the state of emergency decreed by the Spanish Government.
“Now I will stay at home in isolation for several more days whilst I recover from the disease. I was not able to take part in the recent meeting of the IWGA board, but I always discuss the issues beforehand with our Vice President Max Bishop and CEO Joachim Gossow, and they keep me on top of all items. Our internal communication is working very well,” President Perurena says.
The IWGA announced earlier this week that as the new dates for the Olympic Games in 2021 clash with the dates of The World Games 2021, they are urgently looking to find new dates too. “I am very pleased to see that there is very good cooperation with the Birmingham Organising Committee under these difficult circumstances. Vice President Bishop and his team have been working closely with the team from Birmingham, and there has been a lot of progress already. This afternoon, we will have a teleconference with our member federations,” President Perurena confirms.
José Perurena, an Olympic kayak competitor at the Olympic Games in 1968, has been the president of the International Canoe Federation since 2008, and in July 2011 he became a member of the International Olympic Committee. He was elected President of the IWGA in 2014, and re-elected for another four-year term in 2018.
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.