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Sports can offer a peek into a culture just as effectively as art does. It’s not just in the way the most popular disciplines are followed and practiced around the globe, but in the sports themselves. For example, many nomadic cultures in Central Asia have developed competitions and games uniquely shaped by their vision of the world. In an effort to celebrate and preserve these pieces of heritage, the World Nomad Games was launched in 2014, giving these sports a global platform.
The latest edition of this biannual event took place September 1-6 in Kyrgyzstan, which hosted the games for the fourth time. For the 2026 games, over 3,000 athletes from 106 countries participated in 43 sports with nomadic origins. While tradition is at the heart of these disciplines, the World Nomad Games features an Olympic-style opening ceremony with all the competitors parading around a stadium, as well as a dazzling, state-of-the-art closing event complete with performances and drone shows.
Created by philanthropist Askhat Akibaev, the World Nomad Games also spotlights crafts, music, and experts in the fields of culture, ecology, and heritage. In 2021, these efforts led the event to be incorporated in UNESCO’s lists of intangible cultural heritage as “Register of Best Safeguarding Practices.”
The sports that make up the World Nomad Games include traditional competitive disciplines, like Ordo, a strategy-based game where players simulate a battle and develop tactics to capture a ruler’s seat of power; and Breaking the vertebral bone, a Buryat competition where athletes demonstrate hand strength, precision, and coordination by breaking a dried cattle bone with a single stroke.
Among the other sports are six different types of horse racing and four horse competitions that combine control with athletic challenges. There are also regional wrestling styles, traditional strength sports—including tug of war and arm wrestling events—board games, traditional archery, horseback archery, and animal hunting.
This year, the top medalling country was Kazakhstan with 32 gold medals, followed by the host Kyrgyzstan with 30. Rounding out the top five were Russia with seven, Iran with four, and Uzbekistan with three. Showcasing the global reach of the games, competitors from France, Ghana, and South Korea also walked away with gold medals, while athletes from the U.S., Canada, Spain, and Japan also tanked with other medals.
The next World Nomad Games will take place in 2028 in Kazan, Russia. To stay up to date with this event, you can follow the World Nomad Games on Instagram.
The World Nomad Games, launched in 2014, celebrates and preserves the sports and games created by many nomadic cultures in Central Asia.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
The latest edition of this biannual event took place September 1-6 in Kyrgyzstan, which hosted the games for the fourth time.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
For the 2026 games, over 3,000 athletes from 106 countries participated in 43 sports with nomadic origins.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
This year, the top medalling country was Kazakhstan with 32 gold medals, followed by the host Kyrgyzstan with 30.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
The next World Nomad Games will take place in 2028 in Kazan, Russia.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
World Nomad Games: Website | Instagram
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