 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2013) |
Finswimming has featured as a trend sport at the World Games since the inaugural 1981 World Games [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] held in Santa Clara, California.
Participation is reserved for the best swimmers and the best relay teams. Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS), the international federation responsible for finswimming, selects participants on the basis of the CMAS World Ranking which is a listing of the best performing senior and junior men and women from the most recent Finswimming World Championships and the rounds of the annual World Cup. The eight best qualifying swimmers in the CMAS World Ranking are obligated to compete while other swimmers will be invited to participate. The final selection of swimmers is the responsibility of the CMAS Finswimming Commission with agreement from the CMAS Board of Directors. Each invited national federation may field no more than two swimmers per race and one relay team. A place in the relay is available for the World Games host if it chooses to field a team. [14]
As of November 2013, the program consists of qualifying and final races held over two days for the following techniques and distances for senior men and women:
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 Lahti |  Aleksandr Nechitaylo (RUS) |  Andrea Mangherini (ITA) | Sergey Achapov (RUS) |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 Santa Clara |  Jürgen Kolenda (FRG) | Sandro Sola (ITA) | Giuseppe Galantucci (ITA) |
| 1985 London | Jürgen Kolenda (FRG) | Fabio Bettazzoni (ITA) | Christian Molenaar (FRG) |
| 1989 Karlsruhe |  Sergey Achapov (URS) | Konstantin Kudriyayev (URS) |  Robert Giors (HUN) |
| 1993 The Hague | Luca Tonelli (ITA) | David Landi (ITA) |  Sami Somi (FIN) |
| 1997 Lahti | Aleksandr Nechitaylo (RUS) | Sergey Achapov (RUS) |  Li Yong (CHN) |
| 2001 Akita | Yevgeniy Skorzhenko (RUS) | Sergey Achapov (RUS) | Huang Jiandong (CHN) |
| 2005 Duisburg | Andrey Burakov (RUS) | Yuan Haifeng (CHN) | Aleksandr Panyutin (RUS) |
| 2009 Kaohsiung | Miao Jingwei (CHN) |  Dmitro Sydorenko (UKR) | Andrea Nava (ITA) |
| 2013 Cali | Cesare Fumarola (ITA) | Pavel Kabanov (RUS) |  Alexandre Noir (FRA) |
| 2017 Wrocław | Dmitry Zhurman (RUS) | Max Poschart (GER) | Pavel Kabanov (RUS) |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 Santa Clara | Jürgen Kolenda (FRG) |  Valter Olander (SWE) | Sandro Sola (ITA) |
| 1985 London | Jürgen Kolenda (FRG) | Giuseppe Galantucci (ITA) | Fabio Bettazzoni (ITA) |
| 1989 Karlsruhe | Sergey Achapov (URS) | Konstantin Kudriyayev (URS) | Christian Molenaar (FRG) |
| 1993 The Hague | Luca Tonelli (ITA) |  Stephan Part (AUT) | Sven Gallasch (GER) |
| 1997 Lahti | Aleksandr Nechitaylo (RUS) | Sergey Achapov (RUS) | Luca Tonelli (ITA) |
| 2001 Akita | Sergey Achapov (RUS) | Andreas Utzmeir (GER) | Ilya Somov (RUS) |
| 2005 Duisburg | Pavel Kabanov (RUS) | Nikolay Reznikov (RUS) | Viktor Panev (UKR) |
| 2009 Kaohsiung | Stefano Figini (ITA) | Andrea Nava (ITA) |  You Gyeong-Heon (KOR) |
| 2013 Cali | Max Lauschus (GER) | Stefano Figini (ITA) | Dmitry Kokorev (RUS) |
| 2017 Wrocław | Dmitry Zhurman (RUS) | Max Poschart (GER) | Dmitry Kokorev (RUS) |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 Santa Clara | Giuseppe Galantucci (ITA) [15] | Valter Olander (SWE) | Paolo Vandini (ITA) |
| 1985 London | Jürgen Kolenda (FRG) | Valter Olander (SWE) | Carsten Bertram (FRG) |
| 1989 Karlsruhe | Konstantin Kudriyayev (URS) | Sergey Achapov (URS) | Frederico Ruggeri (ITA) |
| 1993 The Hague |  Edwin Kanters (NED) |  Martin Bočinský (CZE) |  Anders Thomsen (DEN) |
| 1997 Lahti | Norbert Savanya (HUN) | Hu Hailong (CHN) | Sergey Dokuchayev (RUS) |
| 2001 Akita | Sven Gallasch (GER) | Gergely Juhos (HUN) | Ilya Somov (RUS) |
| 2005 Duisburg | Nikolay Reznikov (RUS) |  Ioannis Tsourounakis (GRE) | Lorenzo Minisola (ITA) |
| 2009 Kaohsiung | Stefano Figini (ITA) | Sven Lutzkendorf (GER) | Denes Kanyo (HUN) |
| 2013 Cali | Max Lauschus (GER) | Evgeny Smirnov (RUS) | Stefano Figini (ITA) |
| 2017 Wrocław | Dénes Kanyó (HUN) | Max Lauschus (GER) | Davide De Ceglie (ITA) |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 London | Paolo Vandini (ITA) | Valter Olander (SWE) | Sylvain Florio (FRA) |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 Santa Clara | Paolo Vandini (ITA) | Giuseppe Galantucci (ITA) | Valter Olander (SWE) |
| 1985 London | Paolo Vandini (ITA) | Valter Olander (SWE) | István Kubina (HUN) |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 London | West Germany (FRG) | France (FRA) | Sweden (SWE) |
| 1989 Karlsruhe | Soviet Union (URS) | West Germany (FRG) | Hungary (HUN) |
| 1993 The Hague | Denmark (DEN) | Finland (FIN) | Czech Republic (CZE) |
| 1997 Lahti | Russia (RUS) Sergey Achapov Sergey Dokuchayev Maksim Maksimov Aleksandr Nechitaylo | Hungary (HUN) Peter Balazs Gergely Juhos Nenes Kayo Norbert Savanya | Italy (ITA) Luca Guarnaschelli Rubes Levada Rubes Levada Luca Tonelli |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 Santa Clara | Jürgen Kolenda (FRG) | Sandro Sola (ITA) | Dario Broglia (ITA) |
| 1985 London | Jürgen Kolenda (FRG) | Christian Molenaar (FRG) | Fabio Bettazzoni (ITA) |
| 1989 Karlsruhe | Oleg Ananyev (URS) | Gennadiy Syssoyev (URS) | Dierk Kraft (FRG) |
| 1993 The Hague | David Landi (ITA) | Ari Palve (FIN) | Sami Somi (FIN) |
| 1997 Lahti | Li Yong (CHN) | Liu Quirong (CHN) | Sergey Dokuchayev (RUS) |
| 2001 Akita | Yevgeniy Skorzhenko (RUS) | Li Yong (CHN) | Zhao Ji (CHN) |
| 2005 Duisburg | Yevgeniy Skorzhenko (RUS) |  Nikolai Tover (EST) | Igor Soroka (UKR) |
| 2009 Kaohsiung | Igor Soroka (UKR) | Yevgeniy Skorzhenko (RUS) | Lee Kwan-Ho (KOR) |
| 2013 Cali | Kim Tae-Kyun (KOR) | Pavel Kabanov (RUS) |  Mauricio Fernandez Castillo (COL) |
| 2017 Wrocław | Pavel Kabanov (RUS) | Mauricio Fernandez Castillo (COL) | Lee Dong-jin (KOR) |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 Santa Clara | Jürgen Kolenda (FRG) | Dario Broglia (ITA) | Thierry Lasbleye (FRA) |
| 1985 London | Jürgen Kolenda (FRG) | Fabio Bettazzoni (ITA) | Gyula Gurisatti (HUN) |
| 1989 Karlsruhe |  Jun Liang (TPE) | Oleg Ananyev (URS) | Gennadiy Syssoyev (FRG) |
| 1993 The Hague | Ari Palve (FIN) | Sami Somi (FIN) | Sven Gallasch (GER) |
| 1997 Lahti | Li Yong (CHN) | Liu Quirong (CHN) | Sergey Dokuchayev (RUS) |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 London | Frank Clemens (FRG) | Sylvain Florio (ITA) | Gyula Gurisatti (HUN) |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Wrocław | Andrey Arbuzov (RUS) | Jacub Jarolim (CZE) |  Dmitry Gavrilov (BLR) |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Wrocław | Dmitry Gavrilov (BLR) | Gergő Kosina (HUN) | Jacub Jarolim (CZE) |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 Lahti | Li Shaozhen (CHN) | Svetlana Gancha (RUS) | Wu Xiaohui (CHN) |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 Santa Clara | Anne Menguy (FRA) | Cristina Covoni (ITA) | Anne-Marie Rouchon (FRA) |
| 1985 London | Anne-Marie Rouchon (FRA) | Barbara Nanni (ITA) | Eva Fabo (HUN) |
| 1989 Karlsruhe | Larissa Butenko (URS) | Xie Fang (CHN) | Tatyana Melnikova (URS) |
| 1993 The Hague | Lorena Baldi (ITA) | Kristiina Nurk (EST) | Beata Bömisch (HUN) |
| 1997 Lahti | Wu Xiaohui (CHN) | Li Shaozhen (CHN) | Svetlana Gancha (RUS) |
| 2001 Akita | Liu Qi (CHN) | Tatyana Komarova (RUS) | Zhu Baozhen (CHN) |
| 2005 Duisburg | Zhu Baozhen (CHN) | Vasilisa Kravchuk (RUS) | Liu Qi (CHN) |
| 2009 Kaohsiung | Zhu Baozhen (CHN) | Liang Yaoyue (CHN) | Camille Heitz (FRA)
|
| 2013 Cali | Lilla Székely (HUN) | Margaryta Artiushenko (UKR) | Grace Fernandez Castillo (COL) |
| 2017 Wrocław | Ekaterina Mikhaylushkina (RUS) | Shu Chengjing (CHN) | Anna Ber (RUS) |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 Santa Clara | Anne-Marie Rouchon (FRA) | Anne Menguy (FRA) | Marion Collot (FRA) |
| 1985 London | Eva Fabo (HUN) | Monica Crovetti (ITA) | Barbara Nanni (ITA) |
| 1989 Karlsruhe | Tatyana Melnikova (URS) | Yelena Sadovik (URS) | Eva Fabo (HUN) |
| 1993 The Hague | Kristiina Nurk (EST) | Marika Themeli (SWE) | Zsuzsa Csik (HUN) |
| 1997 Lahti | Wu Xiaohui (CHN) | Wang Yan (CHN) | Natalya Musychenko (RUS) |
| 2001 Akita | Anastasiya Glukhikh (RUS) | Lidiya Goryacheva (RUS) | Suzanne Jentzsch (GER) |
| 2005 Duisburg | Vasilisa Kravchuk (RUS) | Valentina Artemeva (RUS) | Liu Qi (CHN) |
| 2009 Kaohsiung | Vasilisa Kravchuk (RUS) | Valeriya Baranovskaya (RUS) | Olga Shlyakhovska (UKR) |
| 2013 Cali | Valeriya Baranovskaya (RUS) | Vasilisa Kravchuk (RUS) | Yana Trofymez (UKR) |
| 2017 Wrocław | Valeriya Baranovskaya (RUS) | Ekaterina Mikhaylushkina (RUS) | Anastasiia Antoniak (UKR) |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 Santa Clara | Anne-Marie Rouchon (FRA) | Monica Crovetti (ITA) | Marina Beck (FRG) |
| 1985 London | Eva Fabo (HUN) | Edit Ginczinger (HUN) | Monica Crovetti (ITA) |
| 1989 Karlsruhe | Tatyana Melnikova (URS) | Eva Fabo (HUN) | Yelena Sadovik (URS) |
| 1993 The Hague | Myriam Villette (FRA) | Kristiina Nurk (EST) | Marika Themeli (SWE) |
| 1997 Lahti | Wang Yan (CHN) | Beata Bozso (HUN) | Oksana Koroleva (RUS) |
| 2001 Akita | Yelena Gracheva (RUS) | Anastasiya Glukhikh (RUS) | Bettina Müller (GER) |
| 2005 Duisburg | Chen Xiaoping (CHN) | Yekaterina Politko (RUS) | Carolin Stut (GER) |
| 2009 Kaohsiung | Vasilisa Kravchuk (RUS) | Liu Jiao (CHN) | Olga Shlyakhovska (UKR) |
| 2013 Cali | Vasilisa Kravchuk (RUS) | Yana Trofymez (UKR) | Kim Bo-Kyung (KOR) |
| 2017 Wrocław | Sun Yiting (CHN) | Kim Bo-kyung (KOR) | Anastasiia Antoniak (UKR) |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 Santa Clara | Anne-Marie Rouchon (FRA) | Marion Collot (FRA) | Monica Crovetti (ITA) |
| 1985 London | Monica Crovetti (ITA) | Eva Fabo (HUN) | Edit Ginczinger (HUN) |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 Karlsruhe | Soviet Union (URS) | China (CHN) | Hungary (HUN) |
| 1993 The Hague | Hungary (HUN) | Italy (ITA) | France (FRA) |
| 1997 Lahti | China (CHN) Li Shaozhen Wang Yan Wu Xiaohui Zhu Xia | Russia (RUS) Yuliya Chirikova Svetlana Gancha Oksana Koroleva Natalya Musychenko | Hungary (HUN) Beata Bozso Judi Revesz Beata Bömisch Villo Varga |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 Santa Clara | Cristina Covoni (ITA) | Monica Crovetti (ITA) | Anne Menguy (FRA) |
| 1985 London | Anne Gourmoux (FRA) | Katalin Toth (HUN) | Emanuela Imperatori (ITA) |
| 1989 Karlsruhe | Larissa Butenko (URS) | Zheng Shiyu (CHN) | Svetlana Frolova (URS) |
| 1993 The Hague | Zuzana Mandiková (CZE) | Lorena Baldi (ITA) | Beata Bömisch (HUN) |
| 1997 Lahti | Li Shaozhen (CHN) | Zhu Xia (CHN) | Yuliya Chirikova (RUS) |
| 2001 Akita | Anastasiya Kochneva (RUS) | Tatyana Komarova (RUS) | Zhu Baozhen (CHN) |
| 2005 Duisburg | Anastasiya Glukhikh (RUS) | Zhu Baozhen (CHN) | Galija Sattarova (EST) |
| 2009 Kaohsiung | Zhu Baozhen (CHN) | Xu Huanshan (CHN) | Yana Kasimova (RUS) |
| 2013 Cali | Camille Heitz (FRA) | Xu Huanshan (CHN) | Margaryta Artiushenko (UKR) |
| 2017 Wrocław | Jang Ye-sol (KOR) | Kim Ga-in (KOR) | Kateryna Dyelova (UKR) |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 Santa Clara | Cristina Covoni (ITA) | Anne Menguy (FRA) | Marina Beck (FRG) |
| 1985 London | Ildiko Magyar (HUN) | Katalin Tóth (HUN) | Emanuela Imperatori (ITA) |
| 1989 Karlsruhe | Xie Fang (CHN) | Zheng Shiyu (CHN) | Svetlana Frolova (URS) |
| 1993 The Hague | Myriam Villette (FRA) | Astrid Bernard (EST) | Céline Carel (FRA) |
| 1997 Lahti | Li Shaozhen (CHN) | Svetlana Gancha (RUS) | Wu Xiaohui (CHN) |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 London | Katalin Toth (HUN) | Ildiko Magyar (HUN) | Pascale Schaederle (FRA) |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Wrocław | Petra Senánszky (HUN) | Choi Min-ji (KOR) | Krisztina Varga (HUN) |
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Wrocław | Petra Senánszky (HUN) | Krisztina Varga (HUN) | Iryna Pikiner (UKR) |
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia (RUS) | 31 | 18 | 17 | 66 |
| 2 | China (CHN) | 19 | 22 | 10 | 51 |
| 3 | Italy (ITA) | 15 | 19 | 20 | 54 |
| 4 | West Germany (FRG) | 12 | 5 | 7 | 24 |
| 5 | Soviet Union (URS) | 12 | 5 | 4 | 21 |
| 6 | Hungary (HUN) | 9 | 12 | 17 | 38 |
| 7 | France (FRA) | 7 | 5 | 10 | 22 |
| 8 | Estonia (EST) | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| 9 | Ukraine (UKR) | 2 | 2 | 8 | 12 |
| 10 | Germany (GER) | 1 | 5 | 8 | 14 |
| 11 | South Korea (KOR) | 1 | 4 | 6 | 11 |
| 12 | Finland (FIN) | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| 13 | Czech Republic (CZE) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 14 | Denmark (DEN) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 15 | Belarus (BLR) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 16 | Chinese Taipei (TPE) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Netherlands (NED) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 18 | Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| 19 | Colombia (COL) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 20 | Austria (AUT) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Greece (GRE) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Totals (21 entries) | 117 | 117 | 118 | 352 | |
Finswimming is an underwater sport consisting of four techniques involving swimming with the use of fins either on the water's surface using a snorkel with either monofins or bifins or underwater with monofin either by holding one's breath or using open circuit scuba diving equipment. Events exist over distances similar to swimming competitions for both swimming pool and open water venues. Competition at world and continental level is organised by the Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques. The sport's first world championship was held in 1976. It also has been featured at the World Games as a trend sport since 1981 and was demonstrated at the 2015 European Games in June 2015.
The 1981 World Games were the first World Games, an international multi-sport event, and were held in Santa Clara, California, United States. The games featured sports that were not included in the Olympics, including tug-of-war, racquetball, baseball and softball, artistic roller skating, roller hockey, roller speed skating, finswimming, karate, women's water polo, bowling, bodybuilding, waterskiing, casting, badminton, trampoline, powerlifting and taekwondo. Best estimates for attendance figures were that about 80,000 spectators witnessed the first World Games.
Underwater sports is a group of competitive sports using one or a combination of the following underwater diving techniques - breath-hold, snorkelling or scuba, usually including the use of equipment such as diving masks and fins. These sports are conducted in the natural environment at sites such as open water and sheltered or confined water such as lakes and in artificial aquatic environments such as swimming pools. Underwater sports include the following - aquathlon, finswimming, freediving, spearfishing, sport diving, underwater football, underwater hockey, underwater ice hockey, underwater orienteering, underwater photography, underwater rugby, underwater target shooting and underwater video.
Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) is an international federation that represents underwater activities in underwater sport and underwater sciences, and oversees an international system of recreational snorkel and scuba diver training and recognition. It is also known by its English name, the World Underwater Federation, and its Spanish name, Confederación Mundial De Actividades Subacuáticas. Its foundation in Monaco during January 1959 makes it one of the world's oldest underwater diving organisations.
The Finswimming World Championships is the peak international event for the underwater sport of finswimming. These are conducted on behalf of the sport's governing body, Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) by an affiliated national federation.
The 16th Finswimming World Championships were held at 30 July –6 August 2011 in Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary at the Gyarmati Dezső Sportuszoda.
Sport diving is an underwater sport that uses recreational open circuit scuba diving equipment and consists of a set of individual and team events conducted in a swimming pool that test the competitors' competency in recreational scuba diving techniques. The sport was developed in Spain during the late 1990s and is currently played mainly in Europe. It is known as Plongée Sportive en Piscine in French and as Buceo De Competición in Spanish.
Tug of war was contested in two weight classes for men at the 1981 World Games. These were the first World Games, an international quadrennial multi-sport event, and were held in Santa Clara, California in the United States. The 640 kg tug of war competition was the first event of the games, as it was held immediately following the opening ceremony at the same location, Buck Shaw Stadium. The Swiss athletes were associated with a club from Engelberg, while the United States was represented by a club from Orfordville, Wisconsin. In an interview during the Games, Albert Sabin, the chief judge of the event, revealed that he was from Birmingham, then hastened to add, "England, not (Birmingham) Alabama."
Underwater orienteering is an underwater sport that uses recreational open circuit scuba diving equipment and consists of a set of individual and team events conducted in both sheltered and open water testing the competitors' competency in underwater navigation. The competition is principally concerned with the effectiveness of navigation technique used by competitors to swim an underwater course following a route marked on a map prepared by the competition organisers, a compass and a counter meter to measure the distance covered. The sport was developed in the Soviet Union during the late 1950s and is played mainly in Europe. It is known as Orientation Sub in French and as La Orientación Subacuática in Spanish. Historically, the sport has also been known as Technical Disciplines.
Badminton was introduced and only played at the 1981 World Games. The badminton events of World Games I were held on July 25–28, 1981, at the San Jose Civic Auditorium in San Jose, California, in the United States. These were the first World Games, an international quadrennial multi-sport event, and were hosted by the city of Santa Clara. China, in its first summer multi-sport event since the 1936 Summer Olympics, competed in badminton only, winning four of the five gold medals. Seventeen of the countries at these Games participated in badminton, making it one of the most represented sports. The players executive of the International Badminton Federation, Ciro Ciniglio, expressed disappointment at the lack of media coverage of badminton, saying, "We have many world champions competing here and ... were hoping all these great players would draw crowds. ... The United States over the years has had very good players, some of the finest. It was our hope to help the sport gain popularity in the United states by showcasing all this fine talent."
The 17th Finswimming World Championships were held between 05–12 August 2013 in Kazan, Russia, at the Burevestnik swimming pool as part of the CMAS Games 2013.
The Underwater Society of America (USOA) is the peak body for underwater sport and recreational diving in the United States.
The World Games I baseball competition was held on July 27–30, 1981, at San Jose Municipal Stadium in San Jose, California. The 1981 Games were the first World Games, an international quadrennial multi-sport event, and were held in California's Santa Clara Valley. Teams from the United States, Australia, South Korea and Panama participated.
The World Games I women's water polo competition was held on July 25–27, 1981, at Santa Clara International Swim Center in Santa Clara, California. Teams from the United States (2), Netherlands and Canada participated. Six days before the first game, Canada had become the newly-crowned World Cup champion in Brisbane, Australia, in a competition that included the same three teams that medaled in these Games.
Both men's and women's softball tournaments were conducted during World Games I. The games were played July 30 - August 2, 1981 at Central Park in Santa Clara, California. Teams from the United States, Canada, the Bahamas and Chinese Taipei participated in the women's event, while in the men's event, the United States, Canada, the Bahamas and Mexico were initially slated to appear. As the time of the Games approached, the Mexican team withdrew for financial reasons and was replaced by a second team from the United States.
Roller hockey was one of the sports featured in World Games I. The 1981 Games were the first World Games, an international quadrennial multi-sport event, and were held in Santa Clara, California in the United States. Roller hockey or its more recent variant, inline hockey has appeared in all editions of the World Games to date, except 1997.
The karate events of World Games I were held on July 25–27, 1981, at the Toso Pavilion on the campus of Santa Clara University in California, United States. These were the first World Games, an international quadrennial multi-sport event, and were hosted by the city of city of Santa Clara. It was anticipated that Japanese athletes would perform well at karate. They did so by winning 12 medals among the nine events, including five gold medals.
The powerlifting events of World Games I were held on July 25–26, 1981, at Marriott's Great America amusement park in its Grandstand Pavilion in Santa Clara, California. These were the first World Games, an international quadrennial multi-sport event, and were hosted by the city of Santa Clara in the United States. The powerlifting events apparently had a dearth of competitors, as there were no bronze medals awarded in eight of the nine events, and lifters representing the United States won 15 of the 18 medals awarded. In the -100 kg class, Jim Cash of the U.S. set world records in both dead lift and total lift.
The finswimming events of World Games I were held on July 25–27, 1981, at Santa Clara International Swim Center in Santa Clara, California, in the United States. These were the first World Games, an international quadrennial multi-sport event, and were hosted by the city of Santa Clara. Athletes from Italy won 16 of the 36 total medals. France followed with 11 medals. Jürgen Kolenda of West Germany collected four gold medals.
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