From inspirational to hilarious, FISU athletes let their personalities shine
There is no doubt about what athletes do best – play their sport. Most of them are extraordinary physical specimens, but if you scratch the surface you often find delightful personalities, sparkling intelligence or dry wit. That’s when the fun really starts and turns the Ordinary Joe into something more.
Our FISU athletes are no different. During the year 2018, we caught up with many current and former university sports stars and some of them said stuff that surprised us, impressed us or simply entertained us. Here are the best athlete quotes from the year.
No.10 Irina Dubytska
Pint-sized dynamite Irina Dubytska from Ukraine won the MVP award at the World University Futsal Championship in Almaty. She’s not done yet as she told FISU, “I hope Futsal will be included in the Olympic programme, so I will be able to represent Ukraine at the highest level.” Guess what? Futsal was part of the Buenos Aires 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games sports programme. So, fingers crossed for you, Irina.
No.9 James Linde
18 months after his silver medal performance at the 2017 Summer Universiade in Taipei, Canadian sprinter James Linde still cannot not believe the kind of attention he received. When we spoke to him earlier this year, he said: “The fans treated us as if we were almost celebrity status. They were lining up to get photos with us and wanted to talk to us any chance they got. It was a lot of fun.” Yes well, that’s what a Universiade will do to you.
No.8 Mikayla Raleigh
Next up is American Cheerleader Mikayla Raleigh who is all about breaking stereotypes. “Our sport is an athletic endeavour and we are athletes,” Raleigh said to us during the Cheerleading Championship in October. “I think the best way to oppose any cliché is to be a shining example of what you want people to see the sport as. Through my training and nutrition, I am a positive athletic lifestyle role model.” We hear you!
No.7 Josh Masters
British squash player Josh Masters was one of our favourite interview subjects through the year. The mathematician from University of the West of England in Bristol told FISU why he loves both, mathematics and squash. “I always enjoyed maths at school, and I like the fact that there’s either a correct or a wrong answer.” He said it was pretty much the same with sport – you either win or lose, there is no grey. Full marks.
No.6 Maja Jakobcic
3×3 Baller Maja Jakobcic of Slovenia’s University of Ljubljana kept it simple when she said, “I just want to be better than I was yesterday. And that is what is pushing me forward in basketball and in life.” One step at a time. That’s a simple but smart philosophy.
No.5 Maria Lasitkene
In fifth position is Russian High-jumper Maria Lasitskene, who finds that the spotlight turns her personality around. During the IAAF Diamond League Finals in Zurich this year, the former Universiade medalist revealed “My coach always joked that I need stands full of spectators to jump high. I am a pretty shy person and it’s not like I love to show off, but in a competition, this really gets my adrenaline flowing and has me performing at my best.” Lights, camera, action!
No.4 Madeleine Pape
Another former Universiade star who went onto achieve laurels at the Olympics is Australian 800m runner Madeleine Pape. She told FISU this year about her personal journey; from being an athlete who was against women with high testosterone participating in sport to standing as a witness in support of Caster Semenya challenging the rules, in the Court of Arbitration for Sport. “Earlier, I must say I was very ignorant about the complexities of this topic,” she revealed. “But then I went through a personal journey of sorts. I went onto study sociology and now my career explores the intersections of gender, sports governance and sports science.” Kudos for an amazing turnaround.
No.3 Zheng Yi
At no.3 is the towering figure of Zheng Yi who loomed large over the 3×3 FISU World University League Finals played out on his home courts of Huaqiao University. He was unstoppable on court but when he said, “I loved basketball even before I was born,” we were a little confused. Until he explained that his father had been a baller too and that he had “antenatal training with lots of information on how to be a good basketball player”. Aha. No wonder.
No.2 Zoé Cheli
For a winter sports athlete to be cool as ice should come as no surprise but finding the balance between sports and academics does not have Swiss Ski-Cross star Zoé Cheli breaking into a sweat. “I get so much back from having two different passions at the same time,” the Environmental Science student told FISU in September this year. “Both give me a sense of satisfaction. It is a balance I cannot live without.” At FISU, this is exactly what we love to hear so Zoé gets second spot.
No.1 Benjamin Miao
The only reason Zoé Cheli did not top this list is because of a Bridge player from China. Benjamin Miao went to Xuzhou to represent his university but not only did he and his partner win gold, he also may just have ended up meeting the love of his life. “For me, the best thing about the World University Championship was being invited for a date by a lovely girl I met at the event,” he told us happily. And you know what? No sporting prowess can compete with that. Winner, hands down.
