The 2019 Winter Universiade

The 2019 Winter Universiade was held in Krasnoyarsk, Russia over a span of ten days. The competition commenced with its opening ceremony on March 2 and the closing ceremony occurred on March 12. The Winter Universiade is an international multi-sport event organized by the International University Sports Federation (FISU) for university-level athletes to compete in, which occurs once every two years. The name of Universiade is a combination of the words “University” and “Olympiad.” The motto for the 2019 edition of the competition was “Real Winter,” “Welcome to Winter,”and “100% Winter.”

In this year’s Winter Universidad, 58 nations from around the world competed in 76 events, with 11 winter sports featured. These 11 sports included alpine skiing, bandy, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, short track speed skating, ski-orienteering, and snowboarding. The Russian athletes led the other 57 nations in medals, topping the charts with 41 gold medals, 39 silver medals, 32 bronze medals, combining to a grand total of 112 medals. China placed 14th on the medal table with 1 gold medals, 2 silver medals, 1 bronze medals, totalling only 4 medals. Defending champion Li Zhonglin scored 87.77 points and took home China’s first medal of the competition, the silver medal, in the Freestyle Skiing Men’s Aerials.

The two torch lighters at the opening ceremony were Svetlana Khorkina, a retired two-time Olympic gold medalist gymnast, and bandy player Sergey Sergeyevich Lomanov, both from Russia. There were around 3,000 participating athletes joining the local Russian athletes at Krasnoyarsk in the numerous events. The logo for this year’s Winter Universiade was based on the Latin letter “U,” which is the first letter of “Universiade.” The official mascot for the Winter Universiade 2019 is the U-Laika, a Siberian dog belonging to the Laika breed. The Laika is a symbol of loyalty, friendliness, joy, and unbridled energy.

The next Winter Universiade will be held in Lucerne, Switzerland in 2021. Fans of winter sports, especially those who watch university-level atheltes, are eager to watch how countries such as Russia and China will fare in the next competition.
Featured Image – The 2019 Winter Universiade logo Courtesy of FISU

by Andy Kim