Colombian flying disc athlete Valeria Cardenas secured the title of International World Games Association (IWGA) Athlete of The Year 2022 with a late burst of votes.
Second place went to Slovakia’s 27-year-old World Games champion and muaythai fighter Monika Chochlikova, who earned 35,423 votes.
With just hours left in the voting the two leaders were still practically tied, but Cardenas came through to win.
With 35,769 votes on the final round the 23-year-old bronze medallist at The World Games 2022 (TWG 2022) Cardenas finished top of the list by just 346 votes.
Third place went to the most successful athlete of TWG 2022 in Birmingham, United States, Colombia’s 28-year-old Johana Viveros Mondragon, who won four golds and a silver in roller sports speed skating.
Mondragon polled 14,723 votes in the final round.
Acknowledging the award, Cardenas, who helped Colombia defeat Germany 13-11 to earn bronze, told IWGA: “This nomination for Athlete of the Year is a dream for me, and for all the flying disc community in Colombia and the world.
“Seeing that all I had worked for over more than 12 years has now paid off is very special, and my wish is to keep on giving my best for the sport and my country.
“This nomination is just the beginning of many things I want to achieve in my sports career.”
Chochlikova, who won gold at TWG 2022 in the under-51 kilograms class said: “I really didn’t expect that so many people would join in the voting, but it wasn’t the only thing that surprised me.
“These people actively shared the voting on their social media, and many well-known sportsmen and celebrities voted for me and shared it with their audience.
“Even though Slovakia is a small country with just five million inhabitants, the mobilisation was enormous.
“I would like to thank everyone who gave me their votes.”
There was more good news for the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) in the team event, where the flying disc squad from Germany, fourth at TWG 2022, finished top with 13,262 votes.
Second place went to the German women’s fistball team, gold medallists as the women’s event made its debut at TWG 2022.
Third place was secured by the tug-of-war team from Switzerland who won gold in the 640 kilograms class at the Games.
IWGA President José Perurena congratulated all winners and runners-up on their success saying: “To be awarded athlete or team of the year is a great achievement.
“Those who made it to the podium in the voting not only have victories and medals to show for their efforts.
“It is just as important to inspire one’s own fans and find recognition for one’s performance.
“From my point of view, this is certainly also a great satisfaction for all the hard work and training diligence.”
Robert Rauch, President of the WFDF added: “On behalf of the global flying disc community, I’d like to wholeheartedly congratulate Valeria Cardenas of Colombia and Team Germany on this magnificent achievement, coming out on top in both categories.”
The fan voting process began in January with 23 candidates for the individual title and 12 applicants for the team award.
After the first round, the 10 best athletes and the seven best teams went into the finals, starting on January 22.
The winners, together with the runners-up and those placed third, will receive a trophy as well as a certificate.
The candidates were nominated by their respective federations, with the condition of entry being participation in TWG 2022 last summer in Birmingham, Alabama.
Voting ended on January 31.
Credit: Insidethegames
