Who will be the World Games Athlete of the Year 2019?

AFT News Network // 19 January 2020 – Drone Racing pilot Wanraya Wannapong, 12, is one of the 25 candidates to compete in the online voting for The World Games Athlete of the Year 2019.

Female FAI World Drone Racing Champion 2019 – and 2018 – Wanraya, who goes by the name “Milk” when she is racing, is one of the youngest, and most successful competitive drone racers in the world.

The Thai schoolgirl, who lives in Bangkok with her parents, took up drone racing at just eight years of age. Stoic under pressure, she successfully defended her 2018 female title at the FAI World Drone Racing Championship Grand Final 2019, held in Xiangshan Ningbo, China in December.

Her other victories include the 2018 China Drone Racing Open, held in Shenzhen, China in May 2018, where she was the overall winner.

Her overall goal is to become the overall FAI World Drone Racing Champion, a dream supported by her father, who practises with her in the family’s training field in Thailand.

And she certainly has the motivation to get there! “I fly every day, and all day when I am not at school,” Wanraya said.

Updates as of 20 January 2020 – After a first round of voting tighter than ever before, the 10 candidates with most votes now continue the race towards becoming The World Games Athlete / Team of the Year 2019.

This is the 6th time that the IWGA is running the race for the Athlete of the Year. The award honours an athlete or a team for their outstanding performance in 2019, or for their social commitment or particularly fair behaviour.

This year, voting began at 09:00 CET on 8th January and will end at 15:00 CET on Thursday 30th January 2020.

All candidates at 20 January 16:00 CET:

Rani (Hockey, IND) 109,179
Stanislav Horuna (Karate, UKR) 62,628
Rhaea Stinn (Powerlifting, CAN) 29,689
Janja Garnbret (Sport Climbing, SLO) 22,401
Davide Donati & Michela Castoldi (Gymnastics, ITA) 20,739
Armen Tsaturyan & Svetlana Gudyno (DanceSport, RUS) 14,946
Mateus Kuntzler (Fistball, BRA) 11,922
Team Finland (Flying Disc) 11,709
U19 Team Czech Republic (Floorball) 11,652
Sara Lopez (Archery, COL) 11,607
Wanraya Wannapong (Air Sports, THA) 10,995
Vladislav Tuinov (Kickboxing, RUS) 16 10,021
Netherlands (Tug of War) 9,844
Stacey Porter (Baseball/Softball, AUS) 9,698
Christian Tissier (Aikido, FRA) 9,554
Maria Rodriguez (Bowling, COL) 9,548
Madison Copeland (Lacrosse, AUS) 9,412
Paola Longoria (Racquetball, MEX) 9,411
Nic Rapa (Waterski&Wakeboard, AUS) 9,300
Katerina Mrazova (Roller Sports, CZE) 9,194
Jimmy Vienot (Muaythai, FRA) 9,146
Brazil (Beach Handball) 9,144
Mads Pedersen (Canoe, DEN) 9,143
Pavel Kabanov (Finswimming, RUS) 9,139
Tove Alexandersson (Orienteering, SWE) 9,136

Visit this link to vote.

The World Games is a multi-sport event staged every four years by the International World Games Association under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee. The 11th edition of The World Games will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, 15-25 July 2021. 3,600 athletes from over 30 sports and 100 countries will take part in the Games.

This news release has been issued by PRNews.gointernationalgroup.com for AsiaFitnessToday.com. Source: FAI and The World Games.