Recap of the 2016 World Championships of Freestyle Skating in Bangkok (Thailand)

Medal Recap: China & Russia, Alone in the World

China and Russia seized more than half of the medals and titles of those Worlds!

Two Great Nations at the Top

China is the big winner, with 17 medals and 6 world titles, in front of Russia, with 11 medals and 4 titles.
Even if Russia is far from being outdone, the country’s world titles were won by the usual athletes: young prodigy Sofia Bogdanova, Daria Kuznetsova, and Serguey Timchenko.

China played their cards right and dominated the events. Skaters, unknown until then, knew how to stand out and defeat the favorite top seeds: Meng Yung in the Women’s Classic Slalom deprived Daria Kuznetsova of a new title, like Liu Jiaxin in Junior Women’s Battle Slalom, who also prevented Russian Sofia Bogdanova from getting another title.

The (Hidden) Skaters Tank of China

Paradoxically, those skaters don’t take part in the World Slalom Series and only arise during the annual meeting, the World Championships of Freestyle Skating. The event taking place in Asia, things must have been easier as for logistics and money for the Asian countries, which represented the 2/3rds of the attending nations.

3rd: Chinese Taipei

Behind the Top-2, there is Chinese… Taipei, with 5 medals and 1 title, in Junior Women’s Speed Slalom.

4th: Thailand at the threshold of Top-3

In 4th place, the hosting country, Thailand, got 3 medals and 1 title. The local skaters made quite a good impression!

5th & 6th: Italy and France

The Squadra Azzurra brought home 3 medals and 1 title, particularly thanks to the events of Speed Slalom in which they excel.

As for France, results are mixed: no medal in the official slalom events, counterbalanced by 3 titles and 4 medals in the Freejump event of the last day. But it being an open contest, some other strong countries may not have been tempted to make the trip.

Save the Date for 2017!

The next World Championships of Freestyle Skating, like those of the other Roller Sports with take place next year, during the 2017 Roller Games in Nankin (China): one may predict that results will once again be to the advantage of Asia, with skaters competing at home in China!

Countries		Titles
China		6
Russia		4
France		2
Chinese Taipei		1
Austria		1
Thailand		1
Italy		1
?		1
Total		17

Countries		Medals
China		17
Russia		11
Chinese Taipei		5
France		4
Thailand		3
Italy		3
Poland		2
Austria		1
Chinese Taipei		1
Spain		1
Japan		1
Italy		1
Total		50

A Solid and Professional Organization

On the organizational level, let’s congratulate Thailand on their professionalism:

• Omnipresent visual communication;
• Impressive facilities, with oversized arena, and special floor, set up for the event;
• Number of volunteers, and their efficiency;
• Global schedule on time, and very positive general event recap overall.

However, let’s deplore a few power cuts on the first two days of the Worlds, that were sometimes problematic… Especially when they lasted 5 minutes during the speech of an official representative for the Opening Ceremony! But they didn’t disturb the unfolding of the competitions.
Let’s also deplore the lack of public despite the huge seat capacity of the venue: the organization controlling those entering the arena, and discouraging the potential spectators.

The organizational recap is extremely positive and we should congratulate Thailand, both on their organization and their sports results, which made those 10th World Championships of Freestyle Skating unfold smoothly and in good conditions.

Save the date in 2017 in Nanjing for the 11th edition during the first Roller Games!

Useful Link

Visit our page of the 2016 World Championships of Freestyle Skating in Bangkok, Thailand.