2023 Under 23 World Championships Results
2023 saw the England under 23 teams compete in the under 23 womens 500kg, under 23 mens 600kg and under 23 mixed 560kg competitions in both the open and closed competitions at the World Championships in Switzerland.
Open Competition
The under 23 mens and mixed teams competed as ETOWA, and the under 23 women competed as Cheadle. The first day of open competition saw the womens 500kg and mens 600kg competitions take place.
In the under 23 mens competition, the weight class was split into two groups with the top two teams from each group progressing to the semi finals. ETOWA were drawn into the same group as Hay-on-Wye from Wales, Bollen from Germany, Engelberg from Switzerland, Eden from South Africa and Oele from the Netherlands. It was a good opportunity for the team to get a feel for the ground and get some extra experience ahead of the international competitions at the weekend. ETOWA ended up in joint fourth position in the group, so missed out on a place in the semi-finals, with Bollen from Germany and Eden from South Africa progressing who both ended up in the final. The final result saw Bollen take gold, Eden take silver and Ebersecken from Switzerland win the bronze.
In the under 23 womens competition, this was pulled as a straight group with the England under 23 ladies competing as Cheadle. The team started with a 2 ends to 0 win against Cheadle, and progressed well through the group, only losing 2 ends to 0 to Jingmei from Chinese Taipei and dropping one end to Goiherri-Abadino from the Basque Country to progress in third place. In the semi-final, Cheadle met Goiherri-Abadino again but lost out by 2 ends to 0 to go into the bronze medal match against Gaztedi from the Basque Country. Despite winning the pull in the group rounds by 2 ends to 0, things did not go to plan in the bronze medal match and Cheadle finished in 4th place after a 2 ends to 0 defeat.
The second day of open competition saw the mixed competition take place, pulled as a straight group with the top 4 teams going through to the semi finals. ETOWA started off by defeating Ayrshire from Scotland and then went 1-1 with Jingmei from Chinese Taipei, before another 1-1 draw against Abadino from the Basque Country before winning their remaining pulls in the group. The team finished level first with Jingmei after the group round and were drawn against Abadino in the semi-finals.
In the semi finals, ETOWA put in a solid performance against a good Abadino team to take a 2 ends to 0 win and reach the final. In the final, ETOWA met Jingmei with a silver medal already guaranteed and after a 1-1 draw in the group stage, were genuine contenders for gold. It wasn’t to be on this occasion, but the under 23s took a well deserved silver in the mixed competition which was a great result.
International Competition
The first day of international competition saw the mens under 23 600kg competition take place alongside the womens under 23 500kg competition.
The mens competition was a large group of 10 nations with the top four team progressing to the semi finals. England started well with 2 ends to 0 wins over Ireland and the Basque Country, and half way through the competition, were well placed in the group. However, later defeats to Germany, Switzerland, South Africa and Netherlands meant that England missed out on the semi-finals finishing in 6th place overall which was a significant improvement on the 9th place achieved in 2022. The eventual gold medallists were Germany, with Switzerland winning silver and Netherlands winning the bronze.
In the under 23 womens 500kg, England made a couple of changes from the team that competed in the open and started in one group with the top four teams progressing to the semi finals. The England under 23 ladies started with 2 ends to 0 wins against Germany and South Africa to start the group strongly. The team only lost to Switzerland and Chinese Taipei to make it through to the semi finals in third place in the group along with Chinese Taipei, Switzerland and Basque Country.
In the semi-finals, England met host nation Switzerland in a repeat of the 2022 semi-final which England won. This time around it was the Swiss who took a 2 ends to 0 win, so England went into the bronze medal match against the Basque Country. There were no mistakes this time, and England took a fine 2 ends to 0 win against the Basque country to secure a well deserved bronze medal. The eventual gold medal winners were Chinese Taipei, with Switzerland winning the silver medal.
The final day of competition saw the under 23 mixed competition take place with England competing in a large group with the top four teams progressing to the semi-finals. There was a lot of hard competition in this weight class with England starting with a 1-1 pull against Chinese Taipei and a 2 ends to 0 win over Scotland. England then defeated Sweden and Basque Country to be well placed in the group half way through. England then had some tough pulls against Germany and South Africa, both which went 1-1. England eventually progressed to the semi finals in third place, along with Switzerland, Chinese Taipei and Germany.
In the semi-finals, England faced Chinese Taipei, and after a close match, lost out by 2 ends to 0, so went into the bronze medal match where they faced Germany. This match went 1-1 in the group, but a strong performance from the England team saw them take a great 2 ends to 0 win to secure a second bronze medal for the England under 23s in the international competitions.
Congratulations to everyone involved for their efforts at the World Championships, and all of the coaches, parents, supporters and sponsors who made this possible.
This competition marked the end of another good year of strong progress for England under 23 tug of war, good results in the senior competitions at the British and Irish Championships, winning a bronze medal in the senior mixed weight class, and finally, taking home a silver and 2 bronze medals from the world championships. Congratulations to everyone involved in these achievements.
Some of the pullers involved in the under 23s this year were involved in their final year of under 23 pulling and we wish them every success in senior competition going forward. This provides an ideal opportunity for other pullers under the age of 23 to step forward and compete for a place in the team, so if these results have inspired you, and you want to be an under 23 international puller next season, then visit the under 23 page of this web site to find out how you can get involved!
Applications to be part of the under 23 programme should always be made as early as possible to provide as much time as possible for planning and training.
