University athletics: France finishes 8th in 2019 Summer Universiade

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The Summer Universiade concluded in Naples on July 14. France finished in 8th place in the international university sports competition, taking 23 medals. Japan and Russia were the top medal winners, followed by the United States.

Organized by the International University Sports Federation, the Summer Universiade is the world’s largest university-level multiple-sport competition after the Olympic Games. The biannual event wrapped up in Naples on July 14, following 12 days of competition in 14 obligatory sports and 10 optional sports chosen by the host country, which this year was Italy.

More than 110 countries fielded nearly 6,000 athletes for the 2019 competition. The French delegation consisted of 179 athletes competing in 17 disciplines. Capturing 23 medals (3 gold, 9 silver, and 11 bronze), France finished the event in 8th place in total medals and in 16th place in gold medals. At the European level, the French placed 5th after Russia, Italy, Poland, and Ukraine, but ahead of the United Kingdom and Germany.

In total, as noted by the International University Sports Federation, “the French delegation captured medals in 7 of the 17 disciplines in which it competed, and 53 of the 179 French athletes went home with a medal around their neck.” The French won a special mention for fencing, in which they took 7 medals: 2 gold, 2 silver, and 3 bronze.

The next Summer Universiade will be held in Chengdu, China, in August 2021, and the next Winter Universiade in Lucerne, Switzerland, in January 2021.

Are you athletic? Would you like to make it part of your career?

French institutions offer numerous programs that instill athletic excellence. In addition to the National Institute of Athletics, Expertise, and Performance (INSEP), which trains athletes at the highest levels, one finds many other programs in sports, athletics, and physical education, most in universities.

Bachelor- and master-level programs, as well as MBAs and Mastères spécialisés (one-year postmaster degrees), prepare students for sports-related careers in many areas. Beyond the practice of a sport, teaching, and coaching, specializations are found in sectors as varied as law, economics, management, the humanities, the social sciences, and health. Campus France’s brief on programs in sports, athletics and physical education will point you toward a program that will satisfy your love of sports—and France!