Genoa 2023 World Championships: Top six moments

From historic first to podium sweeps, the Genoa 2023 World Para Dance Championships were about dominance, determination, and celebration of sports. 

We have listed down top six moments from the season’s last Para Dance Sport event.

Glory for hosts

Local stars Laura del Sere and her standing partner Andrea Barberis mesmerised the crowd to clinch the first gold medal for hosts Italy. 

The victory was even more special for the Italian pair as they surprised favourites Helena Kasicka and Martin Solc for the combi standard 2 gold.

"To win the championships in my own country was an amazing feeling and really surprising because I didn’t expect that. I celebrated a lot with my team, but at the end of the day I was really tired and fell into my bed," said del Sere.

Brazil's first gold 

Genoa 2023 Worlds will be etched in the memories of the visiting Brazilian team for a long time. 

History was made for Brazil when David Pimentel Pontes won the nation's first ever gold medal at a World Championships. Pontes surprised Turkey’s top dancer Baris Bayraktar for the top place in freestyle class 1 event. 

"I'm really happy, we worked hard every day in Brazil to be able to achieve this dream one day. This medal is for all Brazilian athletes," Pontes said celebrating the historic medal.

Philippines sweep podium

Much like they had started the Genoa 2023 World Para Dance Championships with twin gold medals, Team Philippines ended the season-ending event in style. 

Filipino star dancer Julius Jun Obero not just went on a golden treble on the final day but alongwith with Edelyn de Asis, who already has an amazing run in Genoa, led the podium sweep for the nation in the duo freestyle class 2 event.

The pairs of Benedict Banghulot and Jhistine Glyde Baguio, and Joey Maglasang and Anne Charlaine Santos claimed the second and third places, respectively.

Tenacious Agbagala

Just when it seemed that Rama Beatrice Agbagala's (PHI) campaign was over, she returned to the dance floor to surprise everyone. Agbagala sustained an injury - fell on her face - on the first day forcing her to visit the hospital. 

But so strong was her determination and mental power, she returned to competition the very next day. This moment was celebrated by everyone at the RDS Stadium Genova – the audience and her Para Dance fraternity also came together to give her birthday wishes. 

Golden treble for Korea

If Philippines shole the show at the Genoa 2023 World Para Dance Championships, South Korean dancers put up a dazzling show too. 

Korean pairs came out with a dominating performance to take the first place in three different events. Jang Hye-Jeong led the gold medal show with two gold medals pairing with different partners - Lee Youngho and Bae Jeongou in duo class 1 standard and combi class 1 standard events. 

The other gold medal was won by Choi Jongchul and Choi Moonjung in duo class 2 standard finals. 

Time for celebration!

After a dazzling World Championships, it was time for some celebration. Athletes, partners, coaches, local organisers all came together on the dance floor to celebrate the success of the event.

This was the first edition of the Worlds in four years since Bonn 2019 in Germany. Ulsan, South Korea, was set to host the event in 2021 but the competition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was also the second time the World Championships took place in Italy, the first was in Rome in 2015. As many as 160 athletes (71 male and 89 female) from 24 nations (14 from Europe, 6 Asia, 3 Americas and 1 Oceania) were in action at the RDS Stadium Genova.