Five years ago, Niklas Strohmayer-Dangl was a football player in the fourth tier of Austrian competition. Fast-forward to Rhine-Ruhr 2025 and he’s now placed eighth in the men’s 400m hurdles of the FISU World University Games, on Wednesday, 23 July.
The entrepreneurship student at IU Internationale Hochschule in Erfurt, Germany, grew up playing football in his home nation of Austria. In fact, he was pretty skilled, making his senior debut for UFC St. Georgen Eisenstadt at age 15.
The swap
In 2020 – it all changed.
“I used to play soccer years ago until I was 18,” Strohmayer-Dangl said. “And then with the pandemic, COVID, I just changed the sport (to athletics) because it was possible to do it alone, and the team sports wasn’t possible at this time…and I kind of fell in love.”
The now 23-year-old said he instantly connected with the 400 hurdles, and swapped the pitch for the track after a few successful races.
“I just tried it and I think I found a hidden talent,” he said. “My coach said, you have some talent if you want to do some more training and get more into it (the 400 hurdles).”
Committing to the new sport
Rapidly improving, he qualified for the European Athletics Under-20 Championships after a year-and-a-half of dedicated training. Then in 2022, he was at the senior championships.
The Austrian said he dreamed of being a pro athlete from an early age, presumably, though, as a footballer. However, the standard in Europe is extremely high and he figured out in his teens that he wasn’t quite at that top level.
“It worked out. I’m happy to say that I’m pro now, in athletics.”
Coming into Rhine-Ruhr 2025, Strohmayer-Dangl wasn’t projected to make the final, but qualified after running a personal best 49.74 seconds in the semifinals. Had he been able to replicate that time in the final – he clocked 51.96 – it would have placed him fifth.
“It (was) my first international final. Yeah, it’s just cool. I’m top eight. I came here, I think 15th on the entry list. Now I’m number eight. It’s just great, even if my run in the final wasn’t that good. I’m just grateful to be here.”
Up next
Now with a taste of international success at the FISU Games, the entrepreneurship student has identified areas to work on if he wants to realise his dream of attending an Olympic Games.
“I think I need to train more for the international championships so that I get used to it, to run like three times in a row (heats, semis and final) and to perform each race.”
He added, “I know the level gets better every year, you have to get faster every year. I try to get with them. I try to develop the limits. Yeah, but maybe in three years you will see me in LA (2028 Olympics).”
Berke Akcam of Türkiye claimed gold in the men’s 400 metre hurdles in 49.29, while Ryan Matulonis of the USA took silver (49.38) and Patrik Domotor of Slovakia captured bronze (49.45).
Other gold medallists in athletics on 23 July included Czechia’s Barbora Malikova (women’s 400m), South Africa’s Lythe Tyresse Pillay (men’s 400m), Kenya’s Brian Muange Musau (men’s 10,000m) and Ukraine’s Mykhailo Kokhan (men’s hammer throw),
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 Coby Moratti, FISU Young Reporter, New Zealand
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.
We warmly thank FISU Official Partner Qiaodan Ltd. which provides remarkable uniforms to FISU Family and International Technical Officials since 2015. Qiaodan is a valuable partner for FISU as it continued to provide its support during the postponement of events due to the global pandemic, and recently extended the relationship with FISU up to and including 2025.
Related News
Run it back
FISU Games unsung heroes
The technical wizardry helping hammer thrower to land medals
