Great Britain clinched a fifth-placed finish in flag football at their maiden World Games, with Mexico retaining their women’s title.
The tournament wasseen as crucial for the GB team’s developmentbefore flag football makes its Olympic debut at Los Angeles 2028.
GB faced hosts China in their final ranking game on Sunday and the European champions ended their campaign with a 34-13 victory.
Canada then claimed a 38-20 win over Austria in the bronze medal match before Mexico beat the USA 26-21 in a thrilling final in Chengdu.
The World Games is a global multi-sport event showcasing sports not currently on the Olympic programme.
GB qualified for the first time after securingseventh place at last year’s Flag Football World Championshipsand are ranked fifth in the world.
After ending their group campaign with adefeat by Mexicoand losing to Austria in the quarter-finals,GB beat Italyin their first ranking game on Saturday.
They then ensured they finished the tournament in fifth place by cruising to their fourth win from six games in China.
Britain led 19-7 at half-time with quarterback Jessica Allen making touchdown passes to Hannah Elliott and Emily Kemp, before Kemp threw one to Elliott.
They finished the game with five touchdowns in total, with Allen finding Kemp and Kate Bruinvels for second-half scores.
GB women will head to Paris next month looking to defend their European title from 24-27 September, while GB men hope to improve on their sixth-placed finish in 2023.
There was no men’s event at the World Games in China, where there was a repeat of the women’s final from 2022 in Birmingham, Alabama.
Mexico shocked USA on that occasion by winning 39-6, though the Americans beat Mexico in the past two World Championship finals – in 2021 and 2024.
And Mexico showed that their 2022 gold was no fluke by clinching a dramatic victory in a game which went right down to the wire.
Mexico led 14-7 at half-time before USA edged into a 21-20 lead, as they added the extra point after scoring a touchdown with just 28 seconds left on the clock.
But the defending champions were able to get into position to snatch victory and with just three seconds remaining, quarterback Diana Flores found a wide-open Victoria Chavez in the end zone to spark emotional celebrations among the Mexico players.
“I’m so proud,” said Flores. “We just played the greatest football here and I’m blessed to be part of it.”
Pierre Trochet, president of the International Federation of American Football (Ifaf), added: “It’s a thrilling time for flag football.
“This was simply an amazing tournament – the best ever in our sport’s history – and a huge step forward on the road to Los Angeles 2028.”
