Canada earns 11 medals at Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU Games, most since Taipei 2017
Team Canada wrapped up the 2025 FISU Summer World University Games in Germany with 11 medals — two gold, one silver and eight bronze — marking its most successful Summer Games performance in eight years and the 11th-best in program history. The last time Canada reached double digits in medals at a FISU Summer Games was 2017 in Taipei, where it earned 13.
Artistic gymnastics led the way with four medals, followed by three in taekwondo. Swimming and athletics contributed two medals apiece to round out Canada’s total at the Rhine-Ruhr Games.
Individually, William Emard of Laval, Que., emerged as Canada’s top performer. The Université du Québec à Montréal student-athlete captured bronze in both the men’s all-around and rings finals in artistic gymnastics and was a key contributor to Canada’s silver-medal result in the men’s team event — the best FISU finish in history.
“With the team medal, we’ve had a couple of events in the past few years that have been really memorable,” said Emard. “I think about worlds in 2023 when we qualified a full team for the first time in 20 years, the Pan Am Games when we finished second, and the Olympics when we finished eighth — our best result ever — but this one (men’s all-around final) is more personal.
“Yes, we finished second as a team, and I’m part of that team, but being third all-around at the university games is special. It’s been a rough couple of years for me on a personal level. The results were not there; There were injuries and bad results, so this was a special moment for me.”
Fellow Quebec gymnast Felix Dolci of Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs (Collège LaSalle) capped off Canada’s gymnastics success with a gold medal in the horizontal bar final. It was Dolci’s second medal of the Games, adding to the team silver won earlier in the week.
Taekwondo also had a historic showing. Ethan So (Richmond Hill, Ont. / McMaster), Gordon Cheuk (Richmond, B.C. / Simon Fraser) and Kai-Hsin Chang (Toronto / Western) earned Canada’s first medal of the Games — a bronze in the team poomsae event.
One day later, Nithan Brindamohan (Vaughan, Ont. / Toronto Metropolitan) captured Canada’s first gold, winning the men’s 45kg kyorugi division. He was followed by Leonarda Andric (Ottawa / Ottawa), who added a bronze in the women’s 67kg category — making it the first time Canada has earned multiple kyorugi medals at a FISU Summer Games.
Andric, a recent graduate of the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Health Sciences, had moved up a weight class in preparation for a potential 2028 Olympic qualification bid.
“Being able to make history is such an incredible moment,” said Andric. “I’ve never been to a world event, so just being able to perform and match up with the high level and calibre of athletes, I’m very grateful for that.
“I think it comes down to mental work. If you can be strong mentally and have that confidence that you can also match up physically, I think that’s the most important part.”
Other Canadian medallists included Rachel Grenke (Edmonton / Alberta), who earned bronze in the women’s pole vault, while the women’s 4x400-metre relay team of Paige Willems (Warman, Sask. / Saskatchewan), Tyra Boug (Kitchener, Ont. / Western), Georgia Oland (Calgary / Calgary) and Favour Okpali (Toronto / Western), also captured a bronze medal.
In swimming, Ashley McMillan (Penticton, B.C.) and Shona Branton (Port Lambton, Ont. / Western) added to Canada’s podium tally, earning a bronze in the 200-metre individual medley, while Branton took third in the 100-metre breaststroke.