Italian wushu athlete Michele Giordano finished an amazing third in an extremely talented field for The World Games Athlete of the Year 2021! With the help from the wushu community, he garnered 52,046 votes, to make him second runner up to India’s hockey player PR Sreesjeh (127647) and Spanish sport climber Alberto Ginés López (67428 votes).
As this is the first time wushu has entered into this contest, Giordano’s winning placement is even more remarkable – and a true triumph for wushu. IWUF is extremely proud of Michele Giordano, and we are happy his longtime dedication to the sport of wushu is being recognized by both our community and the wider sporting world.
The Athlete (or Team) of the Year was elected by online voting from 10th until 31st January. Supporters and friends of The World Games could cast a vote for their preferred top athlete/team of 2021. The shortlist comprised the 24 athletes/teams nominated by the IWGA member federations. More than 500,000 votes were casted by fans of The World Games sports.
Wushu star Michele Giordano was surprised and happy about the succes: “I’m so happy about that; from when we started the race I didn’t expect to get 3rd place. I was already proud to be there as a candidate and represent the wushu world and my country. I want to thank all the people who helped me, from my wife and my family to all my friends around the world.”
President of the International Wushu Federation (IWUF), Gou Zhongwen, says:“The IWUF is extremely proud that our athlete Michele Giordano has come in third in the voting for The World Games Athlete of the Year. Especially as we are new to the IWGA family, and are working hard to promote wushu in the upcoming 2022 World Games, this wonderful event has created incredible excitement in the wushu community around the world. We are also happy that the IWGA can see how passionate our athletes and fans are about our sport, and we look forward to sharing the beauty of wushu live and in person in Birmingham, USA this summer.”
All results of the online voting for the Athlete of the Year can be found here: https://www.theworldgames.org/awards/Athlete-of-the-Year-2021-94 In the days to come, you will learn more about Italian wushu athlete Michele Giordano!
