Canadian students take on World University Games

With much of Canada’s track and field attention focused on the upcoming Pan Am Games here at home, Canadian student athletes are set to take on the rest of the world at the World University Games in South Korea.

The FISU Summer Universiade began July 2 in Gwangju, South Korea, though the track and field events begin Wednesday with many Canadians competing.

The International University Sports Federation hosts the Summer Universiade every two years and the competition is, in many sports, some of the best in the world. The games are open to athletes who have been a student within the year leading up to the Games.

The event, by the number of participants, is the largest sporting event in the world. It regularly attracts more athletes than the Olympics and this year is being attended by 146 countries. The calibre of competition is also high. It isn’t unlikely that many of the athletes who win FISU this summer will perform better than those who win the Pan Am Games here at home. Many will go on to challenge for medals at the August world championships in Beijing.

The selection process for the Games were also a topic on contention leading up to the Pan Am Games, with athletes who had qualified being disqualified from competition at the Pan Am Games.

Full competition schedules can be found here.