2007 Winter Universiade: Closing Ceremony
January 27th, 2007
Clansmen
The curtain falls on the XXIII edition of the Winter Universiade Torino 2007. The event hosted by the city of Turin proved to be a true record: 1,906 athletes (2,067 total delegation representatives), from 52 countries, challenged each other in 11 snow and ice disciplines, fighting for 72 championship titles. The Universiade also hosted many talented athletes: from the Korean Sung Si-bak, with his five Gold medals conquered in the short track competitions, to the Italian Enrico Fabris, the king of Speed Skating with three medals, the Russian Andrey Makoveev,who dominated the Biathlon competitions and the Polish Justyna Kowalczyk, with her great performances on the cross-country ski run at Pragelato Plan. The final act was the Grand Final of the Ice Hockey tournament between Canada and Russia which ended in a Canadian victory (3-1).
Harbin, China is ready to host the next Winter Universiade in 2009
The Closing Ceremony saw the FISU flag pass in the hands of the Chinese Organising Committee of Harbin, who will organize the next Winter Universiade in 2009. All the members of Turinese Organizing Committee wished all the best to the future organizers. The true party takes place tonight in the city streets, with the Notte Bianca (Sleepless Night) of the Universiade: athletes, volunteers, staff, fans, students and teachers, all together in the streets and in the night clubs to say goodbye to the Universiade with a smile on their face. 10,620 have been the total accredited for the event, and 6,326 the members of the Organizing Committee staff, of which 3,012 volunteers, who contributed to the success of the event. The city of Turin, after the Olympic event, joined the Universiade with great passion, and, as a result, many of the competitions were completely sold out, and the city hosted many cultural events and live shows, strongly supported by the Organizing Committee and by the Institutions.
(Photos: C. Pierre)
The Japanese delegation
The traditional swap of team uniforms
Happy Face of a volunteer
See you in Harbin!
