USA’s Glascoe understands the transformative power of sport – on and off the court.

History was made on Thursday 17 July as Para sport made its official FISU Summer Games debut at Rhine-Ruhr 2025.

The 3×3 wheelchair basketball competition got under way at the iconic Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum, where seven men’s and four women’s teams will battle for medals.

A sporting and personal milestone

“I mean, it feels really great. It feels even better that we got to win in our first game here. It’s like a really good feeling. Yeah, I’m just excited, honestly.”

These were the first words from the USA’s Anesia Glascoe after helping her side secure a historic win in the first-ever women’s 3×3 wheelchair basketball game at the FISU Games. The 24-year-old scored a team-high 10 points against Brazil and played a key role in an impressive 19–1 victory.

This marks a major achievement for the native of Washington, D.C., not just athletically, but also personally. Following an injury in 2021, Glascoe had to rebuild her life from ground up. Thanks to the support she received from social workers, she found new strength and purpose.

“A lot of my support came from people in the social work field,” she said. “Those people meant a lot to me, they were complete strangers at the beginning of my injury, but towards the middle and at the end, they were almost like family. So, I just want to be able to give back to others that are in the same predicament.”

This deep sense of purpose also shaped her academic path: Glascoe is currently studying social work at Queensborough Community College in New York City.

The power of Para sport

Basketball has been part of Glascoe’s life from a young age, and it remained central to her journey, even more so after her injury. Reintroduced to the game from a new perspective, she embraced wheelchair hoops as a way to adapt to her new reality.

“I would say the biggest difference is being able to have to navigate everything with just your arms,” she explained. “You know, in stand-up basketball you have your legs under you, so it’s a lot more that you can do, for example you can pivot more. But in a chair, you really just got to be confident. You have to know your chair skills and be able to move on the floor amongst everything else.”

After learning to navigate through the difficulties of this discipline, Glascoe strongly believes in sport’s power to unite and uplift.

“Definitely, I feel like sport brings together multiple people, like this event for sure,” she said. “Like yesterday, at the opening ceremony, I talked to people from across the world that I probably wouldn’t have been able to connect with outside of sports. And even just building relationships with my teammates and different people amongst the wheelchair basketball community is an amazing opportunity.”

Humour as a weapon to lighten the journey

Determined to help others navigate similar paths, Glascoe shares her experience as a Para student-athlete via her TikTok account @TheRealWheelDeal. Her content blends humour and authenticity, offering a candid look into her life.

“Honestly, me being like the person that I am, I’ve always had a sense of humour,” she said laughing. “So like, accepting my injury, part of that came from being able to make a joke from it, being able to like, you know, accept it, but not be so upset about it. So being able to laugh about certain things just makes everything better, just for myself and everybody else around me.”

The USA women finished the first day of the FISU tournament with a record of 1-1, losing their second game to host Germany. They will be back on the court on Friday 18 July against Spain. The women’s and men’s semifinals and finals will take place on Sunday 20 July.

The Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games take place from 16-27 July. Watch all the competitions live on fisu.tv. Click on the link to find the full schedule.

Written by Valentina Rasini, EU U-Media Ambassador, Italy

The Young Reporters Programme exemplifies FISU’s commitment to more than sports competitions. At every FISU World University Games, a group of talented aspiring sports journalists are chosen to cover the competition.