© Ricardo Bufolin

INDIANAPOLIS (June 1, 2022) – World champions Angel Felix (Moreno Valley, Calif.) and Braiden McDougall (Riverside, Calif.) both of Realis Gymnastics Academy and runners up Katie Borcherding (Pacific, Mo.) and Cierra McKown (Riverside, Calif.), also of Realis, will represent the U.S. in the men’s and women’s pair competitions, respectively, at the upcoming World Games July 15-17 in Birmingham, Ala. They will be joined by the women’s trio of Isabel Chang (Columbia, Md.), Sydney Martin (Glenwood, Md.) and Maria Wooden (Derwood, Md.) of Emilia’s Acro Gymnastics and Cheer.

Felix and McDougall claimed gold in the men’s combined and dynamic exercises at the 2022 Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships in March and added a bronze in the balance exercise. The duo claimed their first World Cup title last month in Portugal. Borcherding and McKown cemented themselves as international contenders earlier this year when they captured World silver in the balance exercise. After competing at the Acrobatic World Age Group Competitions in 2021, Chang, Martin and Wooden enjoyed their first taste of the senior international stage at the 2022 World Championships. More recently, they delivered a top-five showing at the Maia World Cup, finishing just half a point off the podium in a crowded women’s group field.

The World Games take place every four years and serve as the equivalent to the Olympic Games for events and disciplines that are not currently included in the Olympic program. This year’s competition, which was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, will draw more than 3,500 participants across 34 unique, multidisciplinary sports between opening ceremonies on July 7 and the event’s conclusion July 17. Gymnastics competitions will span the acrobatic and parkour disciplines and portions of the rhythmic and trampoline and tumbling disciplines.

The acrobatic gymnastics contest will run July 15-17 at Legacy Arena at The Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. The women’s pair balance and dynamic qualification rounds and combined final will take place July 15 with both men’s pair and women’s group to follow July 16.