Canada concludes Rhine-Ruhr 2025 with 11 medals, highlighted by final-day podium in athletics

Canada wrapped up the 2025 FISU Summer World University Games in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany, with 11 medals — two gold, one silver and eight bronze — marking the country’s 11th-best performance in Summer Games history. It was Canada’s strongest showing since 2005 in Turkey, where the team captured 12 medals. The all-time high of 38 medals was achieved in both 1983 and 1993, including a record 12 golds in 1993.

Sunday’s final day of competition featured a bronze medal in athletics and a pair of top-five finishes in rowing to close out a successful Games.

Athletics

Canada ended its track and field campaign on a high note with a bronze medal in the women’s 4x400-metre relay. The team of Paige Willems (Warman, Sask. / Saskatchewan), Tyra Boug (Kitchener, Ont. / Western), Georgia Oland (Calgary, Alta. / Calgary) and Favour Okpali (Toronto, Ont. / Western) finished in 3:34.16 — Canada’s second athletics medal of the Games.

Oland surged the team into third on the third leg, and Okpali powered home in the anchor position to hold off South Africa and secure the podium result. It was the fifth race of the week for both Okpali and Willems.

The men’s 4x400m relay squad of David Moulongou (Ottawa), Benjamin Tilton (Windsor), Joshua Duckman (Western) and Dawson Mann (Manitoba) placed sixth in the final with a time of 3:09.15.

Rowing

Canada wrapped up its rowing competition with a pair of top-five results in A finals and two strong finishes in B and D finals.

In the men’s pair A final, Connor Attridge (Coquitlam, B.C. / Cambridge) and Robert Bryden (Calgary, Alta. / Durham) placed fourth with a time of 7:07.26 — just under six seconds off the podium. The women’s four crew of Ceilidh Aho (Newmarket, Ont. / Guelph), Olivia Calbeck (Brantford, Ont. / Western), Madelyn Vandermeer (Rockwood, Ont. / UBC) and Ceilidh MacDonald (Barrie, Ont. / Queen’s) followed with a fifth-place finish in 7:28.56.

Earlier in the day, Calvin Pally (Saskatoon, Sask. / Saskatchewan) and Keithan Woodhouse (Fonthill, Ont. / Brock) took third in the men’s double sculls B final in 7:01.04. Emily Munroe (Halifax, N.S. / Southern California) won the women’s single sculls D final in 8:39.06.