A total of 1,443 athletes are registered to compete in the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games, which will start in two weeks.
The final list of athletes shows 595 universities from 43 countries have registered competitors. Athletes are nominated by their international university student federations based on performance in each of their sports. In addition, 743 officials will participate in the Jan. 12-22, 2023, event.
The U.S. team is the largest contingent with 150 athletes, who will be competing on home ice and snow for the first time in a half-century, when the 1972 FISU Games were hosted in the U.S., also in Lake Placid.
The second-largest team after the U.S. is Japan, with 139 athletes, followed by Canada, with 121. The Czech Republic is next with 94 competitors, followed by Korea’s 85. Four nations will have one-athlete teams – Croatia, Luxembourg, Mexico, and Turkey.
A total of 58 athletes from war-torn Ukraine, including a men’s hockey team, will also participate.
There are 832 male athletes competing and 611 female athletes. The most popular sport is ice hockey, with 488 athletes competing in the men’s and women’s tournaments. Alpine skiing is next with 194 competitors, followed by cross-country skiing with 161, snowboard with 118, and short track speed skating with 108.
The 11-day multi winter sports and educational festival brings together student-athletes aged 17-25 to participate in Alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, curling, freestyle and free ski, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, short track speed skating, snowboarding, ski jumping, and speed skating.
A total of 86 competitions in 12 winter sports will take place on venues spread throughout the North Country, including Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, Wilmington, North Creek, Canton and Potsdam.
When the FISU Flame is lit for the Opening Ceremony on Jan. 12 in the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, it will mark the opening of the FISU Games for the first time in four years.
Usually held every two years, the Lake Placid 2023 FISU Games are the first since the 2019 Games were hosted in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. The 2021 event, scheduled for Lucerne, Switzerland, was cancelled because of the worldwide pandemic.
For more information about the Lake Placid 2023 FISU Games and to purchase tickets, visit www.lakeplacid2023.com.
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