Going for gold in Málaga!

This week, Málaga is well and truly in the spotlight as the city plays host to the 21^st edition of the World Transplant Games, with 2,300 athletes from more than 50 different countries competing in a total of 17 sports disciplines being held at no fewer than 11 venues in and around the capital of the Costa del Sol…

Organised by the World Transplant Games Federation – and recognised by the International Olympic Committee – this is the first time that the event has ever been held in Spain, and choosing Málaga as the location is particularly apt. Not only is Spain the world leader in transplants with 4,818 operations carried out last year alone, but with a rate of 47.1 donors per million people Andalucía also had more donors in 2016 than the Spanish average, while Málaga’s renowned Carlos Haya Regional Hospital performed an impressive 173 kidney transplants last year, the largest number in Spain.

Other milestones for this latest edition of the Games include the fact that it’s the first time in the event’s history that organ donors and their families are competing alongside the transplant recipient athletes, whose ages range from four to 80 years and all of whom have had a life-saving transplant operation.

A multi-sport event including track and field, cycling, swimming, golf, tennis, and more, padel tennis and kayaking are featuring on the programme for the first time.

Celebrated every two years, the first edition of the World Transplant Games took place in 1978 in Portsmouth, UK, with 99 competing athletes from France, Germany, Greece, the US and UK.