Bettina Plank from AustriaWith the curtain having been brought down on a thrilling 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, EUSA looks back at the numerous student-athletes from our member nations who performed admirably at the global spectacle.
Student-athletes, both currently still studying and recently-graduated, from across Europe were well-represented in Japan, having taken their successes in both EUSA and FISU events onto the international stage.
Listed below are a few selected stand-out performers from the recently-concluded Summer Olympic Games:
Albania
Nikol Merizaj, a student-athlete at Marin Barleti University, competed in the women’s 50m Freestyle swimming competition. Although she missed out on the final, she set a new national record time of 26.21 seconds.
Austria
Multiple FISU and EUSA competition medallist Bettina Plank earned a podium finish in Tokyo by claiming the bronze medal in the women’s karate kumite -55kg competition. EUC Rowing 2019 gold medallist Louisa Altenhuber finished 14th in the W2+ rowing competition during this year’s Olympic Games.
Croatia
Two Croatian participants from the Tokyo 2019 FISU World University Games earned medals, with Matea Jelic earning gold in the women’s taekwondo -67kg event, while Toni Kanaet won bronze in the men’s taekwondo -80kg event.
Cyprus
Four current student-athletes from Cyprus earned Olympic qualification, and were represented in the cycling, sailing, swimming and windsurfing events in Japan.
Czech Republic
Twenty-one student-athletes from the Czech Republic participated in this summer’s Olympic Games, with three prized medals earned. Lukas Krpalek won gold in the men’s +100kg judo event, Jiri Prskavec took first place in the men’s kayak final while Lukas Rohan earned silver in the men’s canoe competition.
Finland
Finnish student-athletes were well-represented in Japan, with 19 student-athletes taking part in the summer Games. Some of the highest-placed finishers included Tuula Tenkanen, who ended fifth in the sailing competition, while commendable ninth-place finishes were earned by Kristian Pulli in long jump, Kaarle Tapper in sailing and Veli-Matti Partanen in the 50km walk.
France
A large contingent of 72 former and current student-athletes were included in the French delegation at the okyo 2020, with 24 earning medals. Nine achieved gold medals across five events including fencing, judo, karate, shooting and volleyball, while seven former FISU participants made up the women’s rugby sevens team which earned the silver medal.
Georgia
A silver medallist at the summer edition of the 2019 FISU World University Games in Napoli, judoka Lasha Bekauri went one better in Japan, as the Georgian National University SEU student won gold in the men’s -90kg competition in Tokyo.
Lasha Bekauri from Georgia
Germany
A total of 18 student-athletes in Germany earned medals during this summer’s Games. Four top-podium finished were recorded, with Malaika Mihambo winning the women’s long jump, Tom Liebscher winning the 500m kayak 4er, Ricarda Funk winning the kayak 1er and Mieke Kroeger part of the victorious 4000m team pursuit cycling team.
Hungary
Over 70 Hungarian student-athletes were included in the national squad which travelled to Tokyo, with 20 returning with medals. Swimming sensation Kristof Milak from EDUTUS University bagged a gold and silver medal in the 100m and 200m butterfly events respectively, while fellow EDUTUS colleagues Sandor Totka and Tamara Csipes secured gold in their respective kayak events. Silver medals were also earned by Gergely Siklosi in fencing and Kristof Rasovszky in the men’s 10km swimming event, while several members of both the men’s and women’s water polo teams that finished third at the Games are still currently students.
Ireland
The large contingent of current and former Irish student-athletes brought home five medals from this summer’s Olympic Games, the highlight being Fintan McCarthy and Paul o’Donovan’s gold medal in the light weight doubles rowing final.
Italy
Italy’s success in Japan was aided by the 81 student-athletes in the 384-strong delegation, who returned home with 18 medals. Valentina Rodini was the stand-out performer, claiming gold in the lightweight women’s double sculls rowing competition. Six student-athletes earned silver medals, including Manfredi Rizza in the K2 200m canoe final; 800m freestyle swimmer Gregorio Paltrinieri, fencers Luigi Samele and Daniele Garozzo as well as archer Mauro Nespoli.
Lichtenstein
Two current student-athletes in Julia Hassler and Raphael Schwendinger made up the five-strong contingent representing Lichtenstein during this year’s Olympics. Both students study in Switzerland, and participated in the swimming and judo events respectively.
Norway
Several Norwegian student-athletes qualified for the Olympic Games, with the highlight being Eivind Henriksen, who after finishing sixth at the Gwangju 2015 FISU World University Games, earned silver in the hammer throw event in Japan. Richard Ordeman, who won bronze at the Taipei 2017 FISU World University Games, narrowly missed out on a medal after finishing fourth in the +80kg taekwondo competition in Japan.
Poland
Close to 100 former and current student-athletes from Poland took part in this summer’s Olympics, with 20 returning home with a medal. Nine of those medals were gold, and all earned in athletics, spread across the mixed 4x400m relay and both men’s and women’s hammer throw events. You can read more about gold medallist Kajetan Duszynski, a student from Lodz University of Technology, in an exclusive interview with the athlete on the EUG2022 website.
Kajetan Duszynski from Poland
Switzerland
Three Swiss student-athletes medalled during this year’s Olympics, with University of Bern’s Marlen Reusser winning silver in the women’s individual time trial cycling competition, Anouk Vergé-Dépré from the University of Fribourg winning bronze in the women’s beach volleyball competition and Noe Ponti from North Carolina State University winning bronze in the women’s 100m butterfly final.
Turkey
A total of 12 student-athletes from Turkey participated in the Olympic Games in Japan, with Gazi University’s Hakan Recber winning bronze in the men’s -68kg taekwondo competition.