Genoa 2023 World Championships: Laura del Sere wins first gold for hosts Italy

Laura del Sere came out with a stunning performance on her wheelchair to clinch the first gold medal for hosts Italy at the Genoa 2023 World Para Dance Championships on Saturday (25 November).

Del Sere, combining with standing partner Andrea Barberis, surprised favourites Helena Kasicka and Martin Solc for the combi standard 2 gold, which was also her first World Championships medal. 

The Italian dancer’s show was equally matched by David Pimentel Pontes who won’s Brazil first ever gold medal at a World Championships. Pontes’ victory meant Turkey’s top dancer Baris Bayraktar had to finish in second place. 

"I'm really happy, we worked hard everyday in Brazil to be able to achieve this dream one day. This medal is for all Brazilian athletes. I won it individually but it is shared with all of them. I am really thankful for all the support," Pontes said.

Meanwhile, European and former world champion Kasicka compensated taking the gold medal in freestyle class 1 finals. 

De Asis’ amazing run 

Philippines’ Edelyn de Asis continued her amazing run in Genoa clinching the second gold medal in freestyle class 2 event. Her compatriot Anne Charlaine Santos finished third in the same category.
De Asis picked up the second gold in the day pairing up with Julius Jun Obero in in duo class 2. 

In men’s events, Ukraine’s Ivan Sivak had to settle for yet another silver medal after finishing second to Mexico’s Carlos Derik Olvera Sumano

Kazakhstan also had their share of glory as Ardak Otorbayev and Sevda Aliyeva claimed duo class 1 finals. 

Three gold for Korea

For Republic of Korea, Choi Jongchul and Choi Moonjung took the duo standard 2 gold medal while Lee Youngho Jang and Hye-Jeong claimed the duo standard 1.

Bae Jeongou and Jang Hye-Jeong displayed impressive skills to beat Oleksandr Onishchenko and Olena Chynka for the combi standard 1 title.

All the results can be found in the World Para Dance Sports Twitter page.