Final Day of the 2026 IRV Wheel Gymnastics World Championships
16 gold medals awarded on the final day of the 2026 IRV Wheel Gymnastics World Championships – Germany and Israel the most successful countries – next Team World Championships to be held in Salzburg, Austria
It was another action-packed day at the 2026 IRV Wheel Gymnastics World Championships, although the programme did not begin quite on schedule. The reason was simple: there were so many spectators wanting to enter the sold-out arena that it took time to let everyone in. Thanks to the outstanding volunteers, the situation was quickly brought under control and the competitions got underway as soon as everyone had found their seats.
The day began with a bang as the artistic Cyr Wheel finals took centre stage. In the junior category, Iliya Volohdin (USA) once again captivated the audience with his charisma and flawless routine. The first gold medal of the day went to the United States.
The senior women’s competition featured another thrilling duel between two professional circus artists, Lea Tora Jenner (Spain) and Carolin Liesegang (Germany). In the end, Carolin claimed victory with a narrow advantage of just 0.4 points, securing gold for Germany. The men’s final was a more clear-cut affair, with Germany’s Hauke Narten demonstrating his exceptional abilities by performing 10 “E” skills and achieving the maximum difficulty score of 5.0, resulting in an undisputed victory.
In the junior Gym Wheel competitions, Israel demonstrated its dominance. Alon Havoinik claimed two gold medals in the straight-line and spiral disciplines, while Bar Dubinsky captured gold in vault and shared the straight-line title with Elea Peter of Switzerland. Both athletes delivered flawless, fluid routines and earned remarkable scores of 17.3 points. The only athletes able to break into the Israeli medal-winning streak were Maria Kaas (Germany), who impressed with an outstanding spiral routine, and Aquila Ziddah (Netherlands), who won gold in the vault discipline. Ziddah’s spiral routine was particularly noteworthy. He introduced several innovative elements, repeatedly tipping over between big and small spirals while twisting around his arms. The routine earned enthusiastic applause from the knowledgeable crowd. However, some of the high-risk elements were not performed as well as in the preliminary rounds of the competition, and he finished the spiral final fourth place.
Anyone who missed this and all the other performances can still watch it on the event livestream:
While the judges took a short break, spectators were treated to an entertaining Cyr Wheel show by Liz Höser. Her dynamic performance kept both the audience and the technical crew on their toes, as the unpredictable path of her Cyr Wheel around the arena constantly challenged the spotlight operators to keep up with her movements.
Then came the highlight of the day: the senior finals, including straight-line routines performed to music. In the men’s final, Switzerland’s Simon Rufener delivered a magnificent performance. Having already claimed the All Around gold medal the day before, he crowned his championship campaign with additional titles in straight-line and spiral. His spiral routine was particularly impressive. Simon successfully demonstrated all structure groups and executed consecutive “E” elements with remarkable precision, earning the maximum difficulty score of 10.0 points and achieving a total score of 18.1. Congratulations! Simon will stop competing after these World Championships, but will take over other responsibilities in Wheel Gymnastics.
The gold medal in the men’s vault discipline went to Japan’s Ryuichi Goto, who landed his double twisting back somersault perfectly – an outstanding performance. Japan also celebrated victory in the women’s vault final, where Sarina Hagiwara secured the gold medal. In the women’s spiral final, Sophie Julius of Germany once again proved her class. The athlete from Magdeburg achieved a score of 17.7 and took home the gold medal. The final gold medal of the day went to Germany’s Karina Peisker, known to many as “Lady Gaga”, for her spectacular straight-line routine.
Congratulations to all athletes on their outstanding performances.
Before the award ceremonies and closing remarks given by IRV President Matthias Reich, the audience was treated to one final show. Responding to popular demand, the oldest participant at this year’s World Championships, Martin Rüetschi of Switzerland, took to the floor once again. The 63-year-old performed his elegant James Bond-themed Cyr Wheel routine in his signature black suit, sending the crowd into raptures.
What an incredible day, and what an extraordinary World Championships it has been. A heartfelt thank you goes to host club ASC Göttingen and its dedicated team of volunteers, whose tireless efforts made this event possible.
The next gathering of the Wheel Gymnastics family will take place in Salzburg, Austria, in May 2027, for the Team World Championships. We look forward to seeing teams from Austria (guaranteed a spot as host nation), together with qualified countries Germany, Israel, Switzerland and the Netherlands at these championships.
