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Team Japan led the overall
medal count with 48, and 21
golds. Korea placed second
with 29 medals, and the host
United States enjoyed its best
ever FISU Games Winter with 17
medals, including three golds.
“There can be no doubt: Lake
Placid is the place of legends
for winter sports. We are
reminded of this, just walking
into this building and seeing the
reminders of the ‘Miracle on Ice.’
We knew this was and is a very
special place. And we had the
privilege to be part of it,” said
FISU Acting President, Leonz
Eder at the time.
A mere six months later, the
summer athletes were on centre
stage in Chengdu, China, for the
FISU World University Games
Summer. The suite of venues
where participants competed,
trained, and stayed in formed
an incredible backdrop for their
athletic exploits. The Dong’an
Lake Sports Park boasted
three of these venues, with its
stadium hosting the opening
ceremony, the aquatics centre
the swimming competition, and
artistic gymnastics in the Multi-
Purpose Gymnasium.The High-Tech Zone Sports
Centre Gymnasium was
also newly built and hosted
competition in table-tennis,
having previously welcomed
an international event with the
2022 World Team Table Tennis
Championships in September
and October of 2022.The athletes’ village, located
on the campus of Chengdu
University, also received rave
reviews. Speaking before the
FISU Games got underway, FISUSecretary General and CEO Éric
Saintrond said, “I’m impressed
by many things: all the services
are very close to each other, the
transportation network works
very well, the facilities are all
perfect. This is one of the best
villages we have ever had.”China dominated the medal
table in Chengdu with 178
total, almost doubling second
place Japan’s tally of 93. The
hosts won 103 gold medals,
including nine from swimming
world and Olympic Champion,
Zhang Yufei. India had its best
ever FISU Games Summer with
26 medals, eclipsing its total
from all previous participation
combined, and Türkiye also
surpassed its previous best
result of 27 medals, winning 35.Following the Chengdu FISU
Games, two FISU UniversityWorld Cups were held (where
teams represented their
universities as opposed to
their countries), with Football
taking place in Jinjiang, China
and 3x3 Basketball in Doha,
Qatar. At the FISU Cup Football,
eight women’s and twelve
men’s teams took part, with
Beijing Normal University
winning gold on home soil in
the women’s action and Brazil’s
Paulista University winning on
penalties in the men’s final.
ITES Monterrey of Mexico won
women’s gold in 3x3 Basketball,
while the top seeded Vytautas
Magnus University of Lithuania
stood atop the podium in men’s
3x3 play.In November, the 38th FISU
General Assembly was held
in Geneva, Switzerland, where
Leonz Eder was unanimously
elected FISU President, after