Vote for Marius-Andrei Balan and Khrystyna Moshenska: WDSF Athletes Nominated for IWGA Athlete of the Year 2025
The International World Games Association (IWGA) has officially published the nominations for the IWGA Athlete of the Year 2025, launching one of the most prestigious annual recognitions across all sports featured in The World Games 2025 in Chengdu. This award honours athletic excellence, long-term dedication and outstanding competitive performance at the highest international level.
Among the 30 shortlisted candidates are two outstanding representatives of the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF): Marius-Andrei Balan and Khrystyna Moshenska, whose extraordinary competitive record places them among the most successful DanceSport athletes of their generation.
Meet the Candidates: Marius-Andrei Balan and Khrystyna Moshenska
Fresh from winning Gold at The World Games 2025 in Chengdu, Balan and Moshenska delivered a defining performance on the sport’s biggest multisport stage. Their victory marked the culmination of years of sustained excellence and confirmed their status as global leaders in Latin discipline.
Their nomination for IWGA Athlete of the Year recognises not only a single triumph, but a career built on dominance, longevity and consistent success across the world’s most demanding competitions.
An Unmatched Competitive Record
Over more than a decade at the elite level, Marius-Andrei Balan and Khrystyna Moshenska have established one of the most impressive palmarés in modern DanceSport history.
They are multiple-time World Champions, having claimed World Championship titles in 2021 in Pforzheim, 2022 in Muelheim an der Ruhr, 2023 in Sibiu, 2024 in Wuxi and 2025 in Leipzeig , consistently outperforming the strongest international fields. Their ability to defend titles and return to the top year after year highlights not only technical excellence, but remarkable resilience and adaptability in a constantly evolving discipline.
At continental level, they have also reached the pinnacle, securing the European Championship title at Càlvia 2022 and Warsaw 2019 and regularly standing on the podium at Europe’s most competitive events.
Beyond championships, their dominance extends across the full spectrum of WDSF elite competitions. The couple are winners of numerous GrandSlam, World Open, Super Grand Prix and International Open events, collecting victories in iconic DanceSport cities such as Blackpool, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Wuxi, or Shanghai.
Excellence at The World Games
Their journey at The World Games perfectly illustrates their sustained rise and peak performance on the world stage:
- Silver Medallists – The World Games 2022 (Birmingham, USA)
- Gold Medallists – The World Games 2025 (Chengdu, People´s Republic of China)
This progression from silver to gold over successive editions underscores their long-term commitment to excellence and their ability to perform under the highest pressure, against the very best athletes from across the globe.
A Benchmark for Latin DanceSport
What sets Balan and Moshenska apart is not only the volume of their titles, but their consistency across seasons, continents and competition formats. From World Championships to ranking events, from Europe to Asia, they have remained a constant reference point for performance, artistry and competitive integrity in Latin DanceSport.
Their achievements have helped elevate the international profile of DanceSport within the multisport movement, making their nomination for IWGA Athlete of the Year 2025 both deserved and emblematic of the discipline’s growing global recognition.
How to Vote
Public voting opens on 12 January 2026 at 12:00 GMT.
Fans worldwide can cast their votes via the official IWGA platform by clicking here
The final voting round begins on 26 January 2026, with the winners announced on 2 February 2026.
A Call to the DanceSport Community
This nomination represents a powerful opportunity to showcase the dedication, excellence and legacy of DanceSport on one of the largest stages in global sport. Shawn Tay, President of the WDSF, commented on the exceptional achievements of the pair and the pride they bring to the DanceSport community:
“Marius-Andrei Balan and Khrystyna Moshenska exemplify the spirit, dedication, and artistry of DanceSport. Their achievements not only bring pride to the WDSF but inspire the entire global DanceSport community. We are thrilled to see their extraordinary journey recognised with this nomination for IWGA Athlete of the Year 2025.”
The World DanceSport Federation invites athletes, officials, National Federations and fans worldwide to unite behind Marius-Andrei Balan and Khrystyna Moshenska and support them in their pursuit of the IWGA Athlete of the Year 2025 title.
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