Congratulations to Miranda on being named May’s Athlete of the Month, and we’re looking forward to cheering you on in the future!
The 18-year-old traceur is setting the pace in Parkour! Gold medals in the Speed category at both the Sofia (BUL) and Montpellier (FRA) Parkour World Cups make Tibbling the one to beat in Birmingham (USA) when the best athletes gather for The World Games 2022.
The specialists in this discipline of Gymnastics were among the last to qualify for the Games from 7 to 17 July. At the same time, Miranda Tibbling has the chance to be the first woman to win a gold medal in Parkour at The World Games. The discipline is making its debut at the Games. Competitions in the medal events Speed and Freestyle will thrill spectators at the Sloss Furnace venue on Sunday, 10 July and Monday, 11 July.
Miranda Tibbling is a medal hope for her country in both disciplines for good reason. On the last weekend in May, in Montpellier, she led the field by more than three whole seconds – in an event measured to 1/1000th of a second. The Swedish superstar brings an impressive mix of strength, speed, courage, resilience, and skill. Miranda makes traversing the 40-metre course, littered with ramps, rails and boxes up to 2.5m high, look easy.
Her most recent performance in Montpellier reminded fans that she has years of experience in bringing twists, turns, connections and impressive difficulty to the Freestyle arena. Qualifying for the final in third place, Miranda Tibbling stepped up when it counted and scored a silver medal with a breathtaking run, which highlighted her impressive range of aerial skills and bar work. It was a display that earned a noise complaint for the huge Montpellier crowd and signaled to her competitors that she has every potential to capture a double gold in Birmingham.
The young woman is modest about her achievements, and grateful for the support of a strong Swedish team behind her. “Sweden is the best team in the world. That’s what we showed the world today!” she said after her Montpellier gold. And she wants to show that to the world one more time at TWG 2022.
Read more about Miranda and previous Athlete of the Month honorees on The World Games website.
Q: How long have you been competing in Parkour? What about the sport compelled you to try it out?
I started competing in Parkour at the end of 2016. There was a small competition where I live, that I participated in. The next year I competed in my second competition, the Air Wipp Challenge.
My brother performed in the circus and did a lot of flips. I saw him doing flips and got inspired, so he taught me.
Later, I started doing flips at my school's gym. My teacher told me about the parkour classes that they had in the evening, so I started to go and made new friends that were also training for Parkour. From then on we started training every day after school, outside and inside. All day long.
Q: If you weren’t competing in Parkour, what other World Games sport would you compete in?
I used to do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu when I was younger so probably that. I really like it, it’s fun.
Q: What accomplishment are you most proud of?
I think making it in to Red Bull Art of Motion and also winning Speed in Sofia are two of my greatest accomplishments. I was very injured going in to the competition and still managed to push through.
Q: What legacy do you hope to leave in your sport?
My goal is to always inspire people, especially young girls. I hope I have accomplished my full potential and done everything I could to be the best I can be. I also hope to leave the legacy of being the first women to win the Olympics in Parkour, if Parkour makes it to the Olympics!
Q: What do you think makes Parkour different from other sports?
Parkour is much more free than most sports, there is no right or wrong. We have such a strong and beautiful community who always help each other and push each other to be better. If we go somewhere, someone is always there to host you if you need a place to stay and train with you. That’s one of the best things about parkour!
