USA, Russia climb to top two Global Cup places
As spring blends into summer in this action-packed sporting year the USA take a firm lead in the Global Cup, the ranking of the world’s best sporting nations.
At the end of May, they have reached a share of overall, year-to-date points of 8.2%, after finishing third in the Men’s Ice Hockey World Championships and a respectable 6th in the Rugby Sevens World Series.
Russia climb from fourth to second place above France, after clinching the runners-up spot in the Men’s Ice Hockey Worlds and Canada, who took the Ice Hockey Men’s title and this year’s Ice Hockey Global Cup title, jump from seventh place to fourth.
China topped the monthly ranking after scoring 304 points at the Table Tennis World Championships, which they handsomely won ahead of eternal rivals Japan and North Korea.
Fiji merit a special mention: they finished fifth in the month, earning a whopping 100 points through their triumph in the Rugby Sevens World Series, ahead of South Africa.
In the Global Cup gender rankings, France are confirming their best-ever Men’s result of 2014 (fourth) was no fluke, by topping the Men’s table after May 2015, with a 51 points lead over Russia.
It’s a different story in the Ladies’ Global Cup: the 2014 champions USA have a strong lead over surprise Austria, who nosed ahead of Canada, Germany and China after a brilliant Winter Sports season, which saw them finish second in the Snow Sports group, first in Alpine Skiing and joint-first (with Switzerland) in Snowboarding.
May is also the month which decides the Winter Sports title. It’s been a very tight race this year, but the almighty USA have edged ahead once more, leaving four nations within 100 points of each other in their wake. The two other Winter greats, Canada and Russia, took second and third, ahead of plucky Norway and Austria, both dominant in the Snow Sports group.
Time now to put skates, skis and snowboards away and concentrate on another great summer of international sporting competition: among the big events, the IAAF Athletics World Championships in Beijing stands out, beginning August 22nd. Follow GSN to find out how the world’s sporting nations will perform in the Middle Kingdom!
