2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships - More Tug of War Success for England!
On 11 - 15 March, the 2026 TWIF World Indoor Tug of War Championships were staged in Taipei City, Chinese Taipei, the first time that the country has hosted a TWIF world championships.
For the first time for 5 years, England had a team taking part, with England being represented in the mens 560, 600 and 640 classes by Sheen. Despite some travel disruption and last minute flight changes, England made the championships and got into these respective weight classes. The first two days of competition were club competitions, however Sheen didn't compete in the club events to maintain a sole focus on the international competitions.
The first day of international competition saw England competing in the 600kg competition. England were up against Thailand, Netherlands, USA, Hong Kong, Basque Country, and Chinese Taipei. England started with wins against Thailand and the USA, before a defeat to the Basque Country. England picked up enough points thereafter to make the semi-finals. In the semi-finals England faced home team Chinese Taipei and fell to a 2 ends to 0 defeat to go into the bronze medal match against the Basque Country, who has lost the other semi final by 2 ends to 1 to the Netherlands. On this occasion, England suffered a 2 ends to 0 defeat to finish in fourth place and just miss out on a medal.
The second day of international competition saw England taking part in the 560kg and 640kg competitions.
England started the 560kg competition well with a strong win against Chinese Taipei and continued unbeaten through the group with wins against USA, Netherlands, Japan, Hong Kong, Basque Country, USA and Italy. The top four to progress to the semi-finals were England, Italy, Basque Country and Chinese Taipei. In the semi-finals England defeated Italy by 2 ends to 0, with the Basque Country and Chinese Taipei having a three ender which eventually went to the Basque County. Onto the final, and England secured a convincing 2 ends to 0 win in 29 and 24 second ends to win gold. This was Englands first world indoor title since 2012 and first at 560kg since 2006.
Huge congratulations to England and representative club Sheen.
You can watch the recording of the competition live streeam via the YouTube video below.
The 640kg competition was the final weight that England were involved in. England battled hard to 5th place in the end with Chinese Taipei eventually taking the gold medal. Chinese Taipei won all of the other international weight classes at this championship, with England taking the only other closed weight at 560kg.
Our thanks to Sheen for their commitment to attending these championships.
This is otherwise another incredible moment for our athletes and for the sport in England. The dedication shown by the entire squad in the lead-up to these championships has been immense. To see that effort rewarded with a world title is something everyone involved should be proud of.
It is fantastic to see England continuing its tug of war success on the global stage having won several gold medals last year at the 2025 World Games in Chengdu and the 2025 TWIF world championships in Nottingham back in September. Hopefully this will inspire the next generation of athletes involved in the sport.
Below is a gallery of images of the successful England 560kg team, kindly provided by Christine Yang / Chinese Taipei Tug of War Association.
Following the event, we got good coverage in the media, with articles in The Times and on the BBC web site, along with a number of radio interviews. You can see / listen to these below:
