The World Games 2009 Kaohsiung
updated on July 8, 2009
LAUSANNE (SUI), FIG Office, June 5, 2009: In exactly 40 days from today, on July 16, the 8th World Games will kick off in Kaohsiung (TPE)! Top athletes from 31 sports will compete over 10 days at the world’s second largest international multi-sports event to be held in the modern harbour city of Kaohsiung, in southern Chinese Taipei.
Represented by four disciplines, Rhythmic, Trampoline, Acrobatic and Aerobic, gymnastics is one of the major sports featured at the World Games. Nominative entries closed on May 15 and the delegations are now ready for the Games! A striking line-up flaunts 265 gymnasts from 31 different countries, all travelling to Kaohsiung next month. The federations will be sending their strongest gymnasts to compete at these World Games. Spectators can look forward to world class gymnastic competitions featuring a considerable number of World Champions. Let’s take a closer look!
Rhythmic Gymnastics
Qualifications and Finals per apparatus
Rhythmic is the only gymnastic discipline represented at both Olympic and World Games. With that said, fans will actually get to see Olympic and World Champions on the floor! Anna Bessonova (UKR), a 2008 Olympic medallist with a global following, will be on parade in Kaohsiung. Her toughest competition comes from Beijing finalist Aliya Garayeva (AZE), Olympian Anna Gurbanova (AZE) and Belarussians Liubov Charkashyna and Melitina Staniouta, who are currently in the Top 10 FIG World Ranking positions. With Alexandra Ermakova and Yana Lukonina, Russia registered two young and rising rhythmic gymnasts for the 2009 World Games. 16 year old Ermokova demonstrated her skill at the 2008 Test Events, when she ranked second on all apparatus, while Lukonina garnered the Silver at the FIG 2009 World Cups in Corbeil-Essonnes (FRA) and Maribor (SLO) on Hoop.
Provisional Entry List RG
Schedules RG
Trampoline Gymnastics
Men’s Synchronised
The Men’s Synchronised Trampoline competition is peppered with the world’s elite gymnasts. The line-up is almost identical to the current FIG World Ranking list: France’s Sébastien Martiny / Grégoire Pennes (1.), Japan’s Masaki Ito / Shunsuke Nagasaki (2.), Portugal’s Nuno Merino / Diogo de Almeida Messias (Merino 3. together with Ganchinho), Belarus’ Nikolai Kazak / Viatcheslay Model (5.), Poland’s Thomas Adamczyk / Lukas Tomaszewski (7.), Germany’s Martin Gromowski / Dennis Luxon (8.), Ukraine’s Olexander Chernonos / Yuri Nikitin (Chernonos 10. together with Matveyev). They’ll all be in Kaohsiung!
Women’s Synchronised
The women’s field in Synchronised Trampoline is no less impressive! Current World Champions from Canada Karen Cockburn / Rosannagh MacLennan are up against some rough competition from current FIG World Ranking leaders Yulia Domchevska / Olena Movchan (UKR). It’s a sure fire thing that the strong Belarusian Pair Ekaterina Mironova / Tatiana Petrenia (2. in World Ranking) and China’s Gu Qingwen / Jiang Yiqi (3.) will provide a high level for this competition.
Men’s Tumbling
From a generally strong Men’s Tumbling field certain names stand out: World Champions Andrey Krylov (RUS) and Wang Jiexu (CHN), and current FIG World Ranking 2nd place holder Adrian Bryka (POL) and Viktor Kyforenko (UKR), 4th.
Women’s Tumbling
With swift tumbling action multiple World Champion Anna Korobeynikova (RUS) and her primary challenger Olena Chabanenko (UKR) amazed the crowd last year at the Kaohsiung Arena. Unfortunately, Chabanenko had to withdraw due to an injury, but Korobeynikova will be trying for a repeat performance at this year’s real thing. Emily Smith will be representing Canada, with its strong tradition in tumbling, while Natalia Beneschott and Leanne Seitzinger compete for the USA.
Men’s Double Mini-Trampoline
Current World Champion in Men’s Double Mini-Trampoline Kirill Ivanov (RUS) is facing tough competition from Brazilian Bruno Martini. And we’ve got Canadian Alexander Seifert, Lucky Benjamin Radebe (RSA) and Andre Lico (POR) lining up once again in Kaohsiung after having competed at the 2008 Test Events.
Women’s Double Mini-Trampoline
The withdrawals of qualified athletes from the Women’s DMT competition allowed the federations of Canada, Portugal, Russia and the USA to enter two gymnasts each. Among them, 2007 World Championship finalists Galina Goncharenko (RUS), Victoria Voronina (RUS) and Aubree Balkan (USA) are aiming for a medal.
Provisional Entry List TRA
Schedules TRA + ACRO
Acrobatic Gymnastics
Men’s Pair
In the Acrobatic Gymnastics Men’s Pair competition, World Champions from Ukraine Mikola Cherbak / Sergei Popov will face head-on the runners-up and World Ranking leaders Alexei Dudchenko / Konstantin Pilipchuk (RUS). World Championship Bronze Medallists from Great Britain Douglas Fordyce / Edward Upcott are ever-present alongside the up and coming Portuguese Pair Tiago Figueiredo / Joao Serrada Maia, who promised they’d be back this year.
Women’s Pair
Dominating the current FIG World Ranking list, World Champions Katsiaryna Murashko / Alina Yushko from Belarus will face Silver Medallists Tastana de Vos / Florence Henrist (BEL) and Russian Bronze Medallists Raushaniya Khakimova / Alena Ploskova in the Acro Women’s Pair competition.
Mixed Pair
Spectators watching the Acro Mixed Pair event will get a chance to enjoy the performances of World Championship Silver Medallists Kristin Allen / Michael Rodrigues (USA). Their competition hails from Belarus in the form of Sergei Bykhavtsov / Anastasia Zharnasek (3rd on the World Ranking), and Julie van Gelder / Menno Vanderghote (BEL) and Alona Burlachenko / Sergei Zabiyaka (UKR), 4th and 5th at the World Championships respectively.
Men’s Group
The spectacular Acro Men’s Group event in Kaohsiung features the complete 2008 World Championships podium. Groups from Russia (1.), China (2.) and Great Britain (3.) will defend their positions against some heavy-duty competition from Bulgaria and Ukraine.
Women’s Group
Those with their eye on the Acro Women’s Group competition will see several new faces this time around. A World Championship runner-up, Russia will line up slightly differently in Kaohsiung, and we’ll see the same from Belgium, currently holding second place on the FIG World Ranking list. On top of that, Groups from Belarus, Germany, Great Britain and Ukraine qualified for this event.
Provisional Entry List ACRO
Schedules ACRO + TRA
Aerobic Gymnastics
Men’s Individual
The Men’s Individual event in Aerobic Gymnastics shows great promise for an exciting and close competition! 2006 World Champion from China Ao Jinping faces current World Champion Ivan Parejo (ESP), currently at the top of the FIG World Ranking list, Mircea Zamfir (ROU) and World Championship runner-up Morgan Jacquemin (FRA). A second onslaught of competition will march in from Hungary with Zsolt Roik and from Russia with Alexander Kondratichev, both 2008 World Championships finalists.
Women’s Individual
The Women’s Individual Aerobic field looks to be every bit as spectacular! 2008 World Champion from Brazil Marcela Lopez, runner-up Cristina Simona Nedelcu (ROU) and Bronze Medallist Angela McMillan (NZL) will be battling it out with FIG World Ranking front runner Aurélie Joly (FRA) and World Championship finalists China (Hang Jinxuan, 5.), Italy (Giulia Bianchi, 6.) and Spain (Elmira Dassaeva, 9.).
Mixed Pair
The French Mixed Pair and 2008 World Champions Julien Chaninet / Aurélie Joly wowed the crowd at last year’s Test Events with thrilling choreography, and they will surely do it again at the real Games! Forceful competition comes from Romanians Cristina Antonescu / Mircea Brinzea, who also made it to the podium at the last World Championships, from finalists Juliana Antero / Marcisnei (BRA) and from the Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian Pairs. Facing this top level competition, Wan-Chen Lai and Liu Yi-Chun, a Pair from host country Chinese Taipei, count on the local spectators' support.
Trio
A nip-and-tuck race is predicted for Aerobic Trios in Kaohsiung. All medallists from the last World Championships will compete: Romania (1.), China (2.), Brazil (3.). And that’s not all! The strong French and Italian Trios will likely spice up this event quite nicely! Keep an eye on the up and coming Vietnamese Trio that ranked 7th at the 2008 World Championships; they simply won’t stop there!
Group
China’s ultra precise World Champion Group is coming up against the French runners-up, known for their imaginative choreography, and the more classically designed Romanian Group, ranked 4th. 2008 Bronze Medallist Russia will line up with a newly formed Group, while the German, Hungarian, Italian and Japanese Groups deliver their usual intriguing performances, giving spectators exactly what they bargained for.
Provisional Entry List AER
Schedules AER
To sum it all up, the 8th edition of the World Games will showcase some hot, world class gymnastic action! Something fans can already start looking forward to!
See you in Kaohsiung!
