On July 17th, 2009, President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev met the winners and medallists of the Russian delegation at the 25th Summer Universiade in Belgrade, Serbia. The meeting was held in Ekaterininsky Hall of the Kremlin in Moscow. The Russian delegation headed the medal table tally with 76 medals (27 gold, 22 silver & 27 bronze).

The President congratulated the members of the Russian student’s team – sportsmen and coaches – with the victory and wished them success in future competitions and their university studies.

The Russian President, a former university professor himself, is a strong supporter of university sport. In 2008 he met a FISU delegation chaired by FISU Vice-President Stefan Bergh on their way to Kazan, at that time a candidate city for the 2013 Summer Universiade.

President Medvedev pronounced a decree to secure the preparation and holding of the 27th Summer Universiade in Kazan in 2013 and the 22nd Winter Olympic Games and 11th Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi in 2014 earlier this year.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FISU stands for Federation Internationale du Sport Universitaire (International University Sports Federation), founded in 1949. FISU’s main responsibility is the supervision of both Summer and Winter Universiades as well as the World University Championships. The Universiade is an international sporting and cultural festival which is staged every two years in a different city and which is second in importance only to the Olympic Games.

The Summer Universiade consists of 12 compulsory sports (Athletics – Basketball – Fencing – Football – Artistic & Rhythmic Gymnastics – Swimming – Diving – Water Polo – Tennis – Table Tennis – Judo – Volleyball) and up to three optional sports chosen by the host country. The record figures are 9,006 participants in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2007 and 174 countries in Daegu, Korea in 2003.

The Winter Universiade consists of 7 compulsory sports (Alpine Skiing – Nordic Skiing composed of Ski Jump, Cross Country & Combined – Biathlon – Ice Hockey – Short-Track Speed Skating – Figure Skating – Curling) and one or two optional sports also chosen by the host country. The Winter Universiade gathered a record 2,511 participants in Torino in 2007 and a record number of 50 countries in Innsbruck, Austria in 2005.

The World University Championships are organized every even year in sports which do not figure on the compulsory Universiade program. In 2008, 29 different WUC were staged all over the world.

For more info or pictures, do not hesitate to contact FISU Media department at media@fisu.net or surf to www.fisu.net.