By Matteo Morelli

The 32nd edition of the FISU (Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire) World University Games returned to Turin, Italy, after the city last hosted the event in 2007. With the first ever summer Games taking place there in 1959, Turin is considered the birthplace of this event that aims to celebrate international university sports and culture.

The Games hosted eleven sports over the course of eleven days: alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, short track speed skating, ski orienteering, ski mountaineering, and snowboarding.

Figure skating was added to the FISU World University Games in 1960, first with competitions for men and women, and with ice dance introduced from 1964.

To be eligible to compete at the Games, ice dance teams have to comply with the following:

They have to be born between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2007;
They have to be registered as proceeding towards a degree or diploma at a university or similar institute, or obtained their academic degree or diploma in the year preceding the event;
Only one partner must be a citizen of the country for which they are competing.

Eleven teams took the ice of the glorious Palavela in Turin, the arena that hosted the 2006 Winter Olympic Games and several skating competitions over the last few years. Eight countries were being represented: Armenia, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and Ukraine.

Sofia Val and Asaf Kazimov of Spain won the event, leading on both segments of the competition for a total of 172.77 points. They are both university students in Madrid: Val studies at the Camilo Jose Cela University, whilst Kazimov is at the Polytechnic University.

Val and Kazimov achieved an historical result, winning the first gold medal for Spain. This meant even more to them knowing that their coach Sara Hurtado, with them at the event, was the only other Spanish team (when skating with Adriá Diaz) to get on the podium at the FISU Games, winning a silver medal in 2015.

Hurtado and ex ice dance partner Kirill Khaliavin set up the SK International Ice Dance School in Madrid, Spain, which has been Val and Kazimov’s training ground for the last couple of years. They had another Spanish team at the event: Philomène Sabourin and Raúl Bermejo, who finished in seventh place.

In silver medal position, Lou Terreaux and Noe Perron of France earned 168.60 points. Completing the podium in bronze medal position were Giulia Isabella Paolino and Andrea Tuba of Italy, with 166.85 points.