RECAP: Strong Semifinal Showings, Busy Day Across Four Sports for Team Canada
Canadian athletes continued to shine on Day 4 of the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games, with semifinal qualifications in the pool, finals spots in athletics, and strong showings in table tennis and taekwondo. From Berlin to Bochum to Essen, Team Canada remained busy with promising performances and more medal hopes on the horizon.
Athletics
Seven Canadians advanced to either semifinals or finals on Day 1 of athletics competition Monday in Bochum. Vivian Ogor (London, Ont. / Western) and Travis Campbell (Toronto, Ont. / Guelph) will race for gold Tuesday in the women’s and men’s 100m finals, while Liv Sands (Toronto, Ont. / Western) and Hannah Hagerty (Saskatoon, Sask. / Saskatchewan) advanced to the finals in shot put and long jump. Benjamin Tilson (Windsor, Ont. / Windsor), Favour Okpali (London, Ont. / Western), and Paige Willems (Saskatoon, Sask. / Saskatchewan) all qualified for 400m semifinals. Four Canadians recorded personal bests, including Tilson (50.86 in 400m hurdles), David Moulongou (52.24), Keshawn Igbinosun (47.75 in 400m), and Hagerty (6.28m in long jump). Eleven Canadians are scheduled to compete Tuesday.
Table Tennis
Table tennis action resumed at Messe Essen with group stage play for singles and round of 64 action in doubles. In men’s singles, Kevin Guo (Oakville, Ont. / Yale) posted a straight-set win over Chile’s Pablo Luengo and later defeated Nicolas Araya 4-2 to reach the Round of 64. Terence Yeung (North York, Ont. / Western) also won in straight sets over Hungary’s Daniel Hogye, earning a bye into the next round. Ivy Liao (Vancouver, B.C. / UBC) won 3-0 over Mongolia’s Egshlglen Baterdene to move into Tuesday’s Round of 64, while Nicole Cai (Toronto, Ont. / Western), Crystal Liu (San Diego, Calif. / UCLA), and Gina Fu (Toronto, Ont. / Cornell) fell in their singles matches. In doubles, all Canadian teams lost in close matches—both women’s pairs fell 3-2 to Korean teams, while the men’s and mixed doubles teams were defeated 3-0 by Japan and France, respectively.
Taekwondo
Canada’s taekwondo team did not reach the podium on Monday—the first day with medal potential since Kyorugi competition began. Ayoub Bouriel (Quebec, Que. / TELUQ) reached the men’s 74kg round of 16 before falling 2-0 to Czech Republic’s Thomas Sittek, after winning his opener 2-1. In the women’s +73kg division, Rachel Fountain (Wellesley, Ont. / Laurier) reached the quarterfinal with a 2-0 win over Slovenia’s Nusa Urnaut but lost to Hannah Keck of the United States. Tuesday marks the final day of individual Kyorugi competition, with the women’s team event closing out taekwondo on Wednesday.
Swimming
Ashley McMillan (Penticton, B.C. / USC) and Julie Brousseau (Ottawa, Ont. / Florida) advanced to Tuesday’s finals after strong semifinal swims Monday night in Berlin. McMillan clocked the third-best overall time (2:13.08) in the women’s 200m individual medley after dominating her morning heat. Brousseau advanced in the 200m freestyle with a semifinal time of 1:58.99. Patrick Hussey (Montreal, Que. / UNC) placed 11th in the 100m butterfly, while Ben Loewen (Toronto, Ont. / Toronto) and Emma O’Croinin (Edmonton, Alta. / UBC) finished 23rd and 19th in their events, respectively. Six Canadians are scheduled to compete in Tuesday’s morning heats ahead of the evening finals at Europasportpark.