106 nations at the start in Birmingham
It is now official: athletes from more than 100 countries will compete at The World Games 2022. The database for the multi-sport event in Birmingham, USA shows that participants from 106 countries have currently qualified for the Games, to be held from 7 to 17 July 2022.
This already takes account of the fact that the International World Games Association (IWGA) has banned athletes from Russia and Belarus from competitions in the 34 sports. The International Federations are currently replacing qualifying participants from those two countries.
103 Athletes from Ukraine
As of 25 March 2022, 103 athletes from Ukraine have qualified for 63 of the 223 medal events for The World Games 2022. How many of them will actually be able to represent their country in Birmingham is still an open question, given the current war situation. The IWGA, in cooperation with the Birmingham Organising Committee, will do everything they can to enable as many of these athletes as possible to start. This assurance was given by IWGA President José Perurena after consultation with his Board, the Birmingham Organising Committee and the Sports Committee of Ukraine.
Qualifications complete in 21 federations
The database shows that around 2,200 quota places for athletes and teams have been allocated (as of the end of March). The 34 International Federations that will participate in the Games have entered 1,151 unique names into the list. A total of 21 federations have completed their qualifications for the 13th edition of The World Games. 13 federations will complete their qualification process by the end of April.
No less than ten IFs made entries in the database for TWG 2022 in March. Wushu makes a special contribution to the diversity of nations at The World Games. The 64 entry slots for this sport (ten medal events) are distributed among participants from 24 nations.
Participants from Senegal, Nepal - and a 16-year-old from Pakistan
New countries on the list include Senegal: Ousmane Gueye has qualified for the Nangun All-round Men discipline in Wushu. In the same Medal event, Deepak Hamal of Nepal is competing for gold at The World Games. In the Nangun All-round Women competition, Nima Gharti Magar from Nepal will compete. Pakistan is now also one of the 106 countries participating in The World Games, and with an athlete who will be one of the youngest starters in Birmingham: Ahsan Ramzan from Pakistan won the World Snooker Championship in Doha. At the age of 16! In the final, young Ahsan defeated Amir Sarkhosh from Iran. At the award ceremony, the Vice President of the World Snooker Federation, Jim Leacy, extended an invitation to both the finalists for The World Games 2022.
60-year-old gentleman from Italy
In Billiards, probably the oldest participant in the Birmingham Games has qualified: The Italian three-cushion specialist Marco Zanetti wants to coin his silver medal won at The World Games 2017 in Wroclaw, Poland into a golden one. In Cali, Colombia Zanetti won gold, at the Games in Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei bronze. The „Italian Gentleman Zanetti“ turns 60 on 10th April.
Finally, once again something about the keyword 100: a total of seven countries have now secured more than 100 starting places at The World games. These are the USA (352), Germany (300), Italy (238), France (205), Japan (144), Great Britain (118), Switzerland (113) and Ukraine (103).
Check out all the athletes qualified so far.
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.
