Photography

Scenes From the 2025 World Games in Chengdu

The 12th World Games just concluded in Chengdu, China, after hosting thousands of athletes competing in a wide variety of sporting events, including canoe polo, tug-of-war, wushu, drone racing, cheerleading, disc golf, and much more.

By Alan Taylor
A group of five gymnasts poses during a performance, lined up back-to-front, each with their arms outstretched in varying orientations.
Jade Gao / AFP / Getty
Italy’s team competes in the mixed aerobic group final during the 2025 World Games at the Dong'an Lake Sports Park Multi-Function Gymnasium in Chengdu, in China's Sichuan province, on August 15, 2025.
About 10 racers wearing in-line roller blades sprinted toward the camera during a match.
Jade Gao / AFP / Getty
Taiwan’s Chang Yu-Hsin (center) competes in the women’s 15,000-meter speed-skating-road elimination final during the 2025 World Games at Shuyue Park in Chengdu on August 13, 2025.
An athlete wearing a helmet while sitting in a canoe in a swimming pool leans back to throw a ball while being defended against by other others with paddles.
Jade Gao / AFP / Getty
Jan Erik Haack of Team Italy controls the ball in the men’s canoe-polo gold-medal match between Germany and Italy at the Jianyang Cultural and Sports Center Natatorium in Chengdu on August 16, 2025.
A pair of dancers, seen during a dance competition
Jade Gao / AFP / Getty
Romania’s Andra Pacurar (left) and Ionut Alexandru Miculescu compete in the couple’s Latin-dance final at the Chengbei Gymnasium on August 8, 2025.
Four people wearing helmets race toward the camera on small motorized boards on a lake.
Jade Gao / AFP / Getty
China’s Zhang Maozhu (front) competes in the men’s powerboating motosurf heat during the 2025 World Games at the Sancha Lake Ma'anshan Arena on August 16, 2025.
Two people sit side-by-side, one wearing a complicated looking headset and using a remote control, during a drone race.
Liu Zhongjun / China News Service / VCG / Getty
Li Tianxing of China competes in the drone-racing mixed-qualification round on day eight of the 2025 World Games at Dong'an Lake Sports Park Athletics Field on August 14, 2025. During the races, pilots wear FPV (first-person view) goggles to control their drones from a cockpit-like perspective. They must complete three laps of a 500-meter course within three minutes, navigating more than 40 obstacles, such as single gates, double-decker gates, cross gates, and slalom gates.
An athlete jumps to hit a ball over a net during a game.
Tenzin Nyida / Xinhua / Getty
Gabriel Petry Heck, of Brazil, competes during the men’s fistball gold-medal match between Brazil and Germany on August 13, 2025.
Four gymnasts pose, forming a human tower, balancing on each other's heads and shoulders.
Jade Gao / AFP / Getty
Ukraine’s team competes in the men’s acrobatic group-qualification match at the Dong'an Lake Sports Park Multi-Function Gymnasium in Chengdu.
Several people strain, leaning back and pulling a rope during a tug-of-war in a muddy and grassy field.
Jade Gao / AFP / Getty
Team Taiwan competes against Team Switzerland (not pictured) in the women’s outdoor 500-kilogram tug-of-war gold-medal match on a rainy day at the Dong'an Lake Sports Park Central Square.
A person throws a disc toward a pole lined with chains during a disc golf competition.
Chen Xinbo / Xinhua / Getty
Marissa Gannon of Team USA competes during the mixed-doubles final of the disc-golf event on August 10, 2025.
Two gymnasts holding pom-poms, seen smiling broadly during a competition.
Lisi Niesner / Reuters
Allison Hoeft and Sydney Martin of Team USA perform during the cheerleading pom doubles final at the Dong'an Lake Sports Park Multi-Function Gymnasium on August 16, 2025.
A breakdancing competitor spins on their head with arms outstretched.
Lisi Niesner / Reuters
China’s Royal performs during the B-girls’ gold-medal breakdance match in Chengbei Gymnasium on August 17, 2025.
A martial artist crouches while holding a sword during a competition.
Xu Suhui / Xinhua / Getty
Lu Zhuoling of China competes during the women’s wushu taijiquan-taijijian final event at the 2025 World Games.
One competitor tries to block another during an ultimate flying disc match.
Sun Fanyue / Xinhua / Getty
Marques Brownlee (front) of Team USA vies with Mao Quan of Team China during the ultimate-flying-disc mixed-preliminary-round group-A game on August 14, 2025.
An elevated view of competitive dancers during a performance
Du Zixuan / Xinhua / Getty
Alexey Glukhov and Anastasia Glazunova of Moldova compete during the standard finals of the DanceSport event in Chengdu on August 9, 2025.
A scene from a flag football match—a competitor reaches out to grab a flag from a member of the opposing team carrying a football.
VCG / Getty
Players in action, seen during the flag-football match between Team China and Team USA on day nine of the 2025 World Games, at Chengdu No. 7 High School Eastern Campus Athletics Field on August 15, 2025
Two athletes leap and climb across an obstacle course during a parkour competition.
Lisi Niesner / Reuters
Bulgaria’s Kseniya Momchilova and Argentina’s Sara Banchoff Tzancoff compete in a women’s parkour speed qualification run at Xinglong Lake Hubin Arena on August 12, 2025.
A group of Belgian athletes pose for fun with a large panda mascot.
Zhang Liyun / Xinhua / Getty
Members of the delegation from Belgium pose with the mascot “Shubao” during the closing ceremony of the 2025 World Games on August 17, 2025.

About the Author

Alan Taylor is a senior editor at The Atlantic.