Passau student inspires FISU World University Games in Turin!

Passau student inspires FISU World University Games in Turin!

Passau, Deutschland - The Fisu World University Games in Turin, the biggest multisport event after the Olympic and Paralympic games, attract athletes and spectators from all over the world. From 13th to January 23, 2025, 2560 participants from 54 nations will be active in 13 sports. The games have a long tradition that started the first summer university in 1959 and has been continued in different countries every two years since then.

The opening ceremony on January 13th took place in the Arena di Valpi and attracted 12,350 visitors. Manufacturers of emotional moments were the marching in the teams and the inflammation of the flame through Giorgio Chiellini. Leonz Eder, President of the Fisu University Sports Association, spoke of friendships and cohesion that this event promotes.

Integration of paras sports

This year there was a significant innovation: Parasy sports were integrated into the program. Athletes with and without disabilities competed together, which underlined the inclusive spirit of the games. Among the prominent guests were Prof. Dr. Ulrich Bartosch and Prof. Dr. Gereon Berschin present. The German national team, Team Studi, participated with 51 active and 41 official, the largest team in history so far.

Johannes Kuchl, a teacher from Passau, was nominated by Andreas Weishäupl after taking third place at the 2024 Skimarathon Championship. He recently won the Dachstein Run, but was not in top form at the competition in Turin due to a cold. Despite these circumstances, Kuchl represents the ambitions of the German team, which competed in ten out of 13 sports.

success of the German team

The German team showed impressive achievements during the games. It won a total of six titles and 23 medals, which secured fifth place in the Olympic Nations rating. Germany could only be exceeded by France and celebrated the greatest success at the event.

The FISU World University Games are not only composed of sporting competitions. A remarkable element was the exhibition "Passion and Sport Through Time" about the history of winter sports in the Turin State Archives, which opened on January 10th. This exhibition outlines the development of winter sports and its influence on the global culture and the history of the university.

Germany will be host of the next FISU World University Games in the Ruhr area and in Berlin in 2025. 35 sports students from Passau will be active as volunteers. This continues the passion for sport, knowledge and culture, as it was repeatedly expressed during this outstanding event. A conclusion of these games is the belief in the power of sport to strengthen the sense of community and to promote friendships regardless of origin or level of performance.

For more information about the current and future FISU events, interested parties can visit the platform fisu.net , which also offers livestreams and video-on-demand from university ports worldwide.