A new fixture has been added to the calendar of world sports events - the Balloon World Cup. We are all familiar with the "sport" of keepy-uppy ballooning. Most of us have partaken in the decades-old pastime of keeping a balloon up in the air without letting it touch the floor. Spanish soccer star Gerard Pique loved this so much he developed it into an international event. The inaugural Balloon World Cup was held in Spain on Thursday. Peru's Francesco de la Cruz was the very first world champion. His athleticism saw him fend off Germany's Jan Spiess in the final with a 6-2 victory.
Mr Pique got his inspiration for the tournament from TikTok videos that went viral. He loved watching clips of an American family playing the game during the COVID-19 lockdown. It then developed from the family's living room into a "Keep-Up Balloon League". Pique then made the game global. The contests took place on an 8m x 8m court, full of living room furniture as obstacles. Teams from 32 countries participated. Pique said: "Sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone and try new things." There are hopes it could become an Olympics event.
Try the same news story at these levels:
Balloon World Cup - Level 4 or Balloon World Cup - Level 6
Sources- https://www.bbc.com/sport/58922689
- https://www.espn.com/soccer/blog-the-toe-poke/story/4497731/barcelonas-gerard-pique-organises-inaugural-balloon-world-cup
- https://www.sportbible.com/football/football-news-reactions-gerard-pique-lays-into-his-team-mates-after-barcas-abject-defeat-20211003
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