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The 2029 FISU World University Games will have a full complement of exciting sports bringing high-intensity, fast-action international competition to the central North Carolina region.
Click on any of the sport icons below to learn more about the history of that sport in the World University Games.
The sport of Archery has been competed in the World University Games since the 2003 Games in Daegu, South Korea, where it was an Optional Sport. Archery continued as an Optional Sport in the 2005 (Izmir, Turkey), 2009 (Belgrade, Serbia), and 2011 (Shenzhen, China) Games. Archery is now a Compulsory Sport of the Games, and similar to the Olympic Games, competition includes both recurve and compound bow events. Also like the Olympic Games, World University Games Archery includes competition at the highest levels, as world records were set in both the 2015 (Gwangju, South Korea) and 2017 (Taipei, Taiwan) Games. In the Men’s and Women’s recurve competition, South Korea has the most winners. In the compound competition, the USA has won the most medals in recent decades. Archery has continued as a core sport of the Summer World University Games in recent editions, including the 2023 Games in Chengdu, China, and the 2025 Rhine-Ruhr World University Games, reflecting its ongoing global popularity and elite competitive standard.
Artistic Gymnastics made its debut in the Summer World University Games in the 1961 Games in Sofia, Bulgaria, where it was an Optional Sport. The event became a Compulsory Sport in the following Games, in 1963 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and has been a featured sport of the Summer Games on a regular basis ever since, including most recently in the 2025 Rhine-Ruhr Games in Germany. Competition for the Men consists of six events: Floor Exercise, Horizontal Bar, Parallel Bars, Pommel Horse, Still Rings, and Vault. Women compete in four events consisting of Balance Beam, Floor Exercise, Uneven Bars, and Vault. World University Games Artistic Gymnastics has included some of the most famous gymnasts in the world, including Nadia Comaneci and Ecaterina Szabo of Romania, both of whom went on to win gold medals at the World Championships and Olympic Games. One of the most popular sports of the Summer World University Games, Artistic Gymnastics has historically been led in the medal count by the Soviet Union/Russia, followed by China.
Athletics, which we know as Track & Field here in the United States, has been a part of the Summer World University Games since the inaugural Games in Turin, Italy, in 1959. Athletics has consistently been the largest sport of the Summer World University Games program with over 1,000 athletes competing in more than 50 events. Athletics has featured some of the world's finest athletes, perhaps as exemplified best by the 1970 Games (Turin, Italy) where 98 national, 49 World University Games, 2 European, and 2 World records were broken. Local athletes such as two-time Olympian Tisha Waller of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a bronze medalist in the World University Games in Sheffield, England, have also had notable success in the Games. Overall, the Soviet Union/Russia leads the medal count in Athletics, ahead of the United States in second place. Athletics has continued to shine on the world stage, with full competition at the 2023 Chengdu Games and the 2025 Rhine-Ruhr Games, maintaining its reputation for elite-level performances. This legacy of excellence is further bolstered by stars like Paul Chelimo of UNC Greensboro, who transitioned from the World University Games to become a two-time Olympic medalist, claiming Silver in Rio and Bronze in Tokyo. The tradition continues with the next generation of North Carolina talent, including Birgen Nelson from Duke University and Dominic Nutter from Mount Olive University, who participated in the 2025 Rhine-Ruhr Games.
Badminton was first competed at the Summer World University Games in the 2007 Games in Bangkok, Thailand, as an Optional Sport. Badminton in the Games has been dominated by Asian countries. Though China and Chinese Taipei lead the way in Singles competition, European countries have made substantial gains in Doubles, challenging the dominance of the Asian nations. Badminton’s presence and popularity in the Games grew significantly in 2011 when Shenzhen, China, a badminton hotbed, hosted the Games, again as an Optional Sport. At World University Games that followed in 2013 (Kazan, Russia), 2015 (Gwangju, China), 2017 (Taipei, Taiwan), and 2019 (Naples, Italy), Badminton continued its presence in the Games as an Optional Sport. Thanks to the growth in participation and popularity of the sport, at the 2023 Summer World University Games in Chengdu, China, Badminton finally became a Compulsory Sport of the Games. Badminton continued as a Compulsory Sport at the 2025 Rhine-Ruhr Games, solidifying its status as a core event of the Summer World University Games.
In 2013 the international sport governing bodies of Baseball and Softball combined into a single international federation, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). Combining the two governing bodies was essential to positioning Baseball and Softball for continued inclusion in the Olympic Games. The combination helps preserve equality in male and female participation in the Olympics, with Men competing in Baseball and Women competing in Softball. Similarly, gender equity is an important aspect of inclusion of Softball in the World University Games. The other key to inclusion is the high level of play of collegiate softball athletes, making for an exciting and highly competitive addition to the Summer World University Games. As a result, Softball will be included for the first time in history in the World University Games (as an Optional Sport) in 2029.
Men’s Basketball is one of the original sports competed in the inaugural World University Games in 1959. Women’s Basketball was added at the following Games in 1961 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Men’s Basketball has featured well-known athletes such as Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Kevin McHale, and Karl Malone. North Carolina and Triangle-area universities have been well-represented in the Games. Duke Head Coach, Mike Krzyzewski, led Team USA to Silver at the 1987 Games (Zagreb, Yugoslavia), Coach Roy Williams of UNC helped coach the US to Gold in the 1991 Games (Sheffield, England), and legendary coach Kay Yow of NC State coached the US Women to Silver in 1991 (Bucharest, Romania). Between Duke University, NC State University, and UNC Chapel Hill, there have been 13 women and 18 men representing Team USA – including noteworthy athletes such as Hubert Davis, LaQuanda Barksdale, and Mitch Kupchak (UNC); Johnny Dawkins, Monique Curry, and Bobby Hurley (Duke); and Tommy Burleson, Genia Beasley (NCSU), and most recently Sion James (Duke). Thanks in part to their contributions, the United States leads the World University Men’s and Women’s Basketball medal count by a significant margin. In the 2025 Rhine-Ruhr World University Games, both the USA Men’s and Women’s Teams won Silver. Basketball is expected to be one of the most popular sports in the 2029 World University Games in North Carolina, a basketball hotbed.
Diving became a Compulsory Sport in the Summer World University Games beginning in the 1961 Games (Sofia, Bulgaria). The United States first competed in Diving in the 1965 Games (Budapest, Hungary), where the US divers captured four gold medals. World University Games competition today in Diving includes 1-meter and 3-meter springboard and 10-meter platform individual events, as well as 3-meter springboard and 10-meter platform Synchronized Diving events. The most famous Olympic diver of all time, Greg Louganis of the United States, competed in the 1983 Summer World University Games in Edmonton, Canada, and helped take Diving in the University Games to a whole new level. Noteworthy, North Carolina-connected World University Games Diving athletes include Abby Johnston of Duke University and a member of the North Carolina Swimming Hall of Fame, in the 2009 Summer Games in Belgrade Serbia. Additionally, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s Jack Nyquist, who dove for Team USA in the 2015 Summer World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea. North Carolina’s excellence on the boards has reached new heights in recent years, particularly at the 2025 Rhine-Ruhr Games. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was well-represented by Ellie Joyce and Lanie Gutch, who together secured a Silver medal in the women’s 3-meter synchronized springboard. Both divers also added Bronze medals to their tallies—Joyce in the mixed 3-meter synchronized event and Gutch in the women's 10-meter synchronized platform—further solidifying the state’s reputation as a premier training ground for world-class diving talent.
The sport of Fencing has been a part of the World University Games since the inaugural Games held in Turin, Italy, in 1959. With more than 300 competitors, Fencing is one of the larger and more popular sports of the Games. Events include all three weapons, Epee, Foil, and Saber in both individual and team competition for both Men and Women, totaling 12 events altogether. Fencing competition in the Summer World University Games is at a very high level as many World University Games champions, such as fencing legends Timea Nagy, Xue Tan, Pavel Kolobkov, and Marcel Fisher, among others, became Olympic Fencing champions as well. In the 2015 Summer World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea, Gillian Litynski, of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Fencing Team, competed for Team USA in Women’s Sabre. The region’s elite fencing tradition continued at the 2025 Rhine-Ruhr Games, where North Carolina was represented by Ethan Huang of Duke University and Casper Mika of UNC-Chapel Hill.
From 1985 to 2019, Football, or as the U.S. refers to it, Soccer, was a compulsory sport of the World University Games. Women’s Soccer competition joined the Men’s during the 1990’s. Then in 2019, after the 2019 Summer World University Games in Naples, Italy, FISU launched the first FISU Football World Cup. As opposed to the national university team format (i.e. each country’s National University Team versus the National University Team of other countries) of the Summer Games, the FISU World Cups feature a university—versus—university format, with teams representing their schools rather than national delegations. Since the creation of the FISU Football World Cup, Soccer has not been held in the World University Games; so for the first time in a decade, Football will make its return to the Games in 2029 in North Carolina USA. Soccer is considered the most popular and most played sport in the world. In the United States, and particularly in central North Carolina, Soccer rivals Basketball as the most popular sport. The Triangle is home to NCFC Youth, the largest youth-to-pro soccer club in the United States with more than 13,000 members. In addition, WakeMed Soccer Park, Host Venue for the finals of the 2029 World University Games competition, has been awarded more NCAA Championship Soccer events during the last decade than any other venue in America. Other outstanding venues that will host Soccer competition during the 2029 Games include Koskinen Stadium at Duke University and Dorrance Field at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. (Dorrance Field is named for Anson Dorrance, the winningest Soccer coach in NCAA history.) Teams of our local Host Universities have excelled in both Men’s and Women’s Soccer and have built major fan bases. For example, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Women’s Team has won 23 national championships, the most recent being in 2024, which is by far the most championships of any U.S. women’s collegiate program in history. All these factors combine to underscore the importance of ensuring that Football (Soccer) is one of the Optional Sports of the 2029 FISU World University Games Summer.
The sport of Judo has been connected with universities since its creation, as the sport was actually founded within the university system in Japan, and then spread by university personnel from those institutions around the world. Judo features individual and team events, with 8 weight classes each for Men and Women in individual competition, and 5 weight classes each for Men and Women in team competition (with each team consisting of 3 to 5 athletes) The sport was first included in the Summer World University Games in 1967 in Tokyo, where it was competed as an Optional Sport. Judo was again an Optional Sport each of the next two times the World University Games were in Japan, in 1985 in Kobe, Japan, and in 1995 in Fukuoka. In 2007 at the Summer World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand, Judo joined the sports program of the Games as a Compulsory Sport and has been competed as such in each Summer Games since, including most recently in Chengdu, China, in 2023 and Rhine-Ruhr, Germany in 2025. As might be expected, Japan leads the medal count for Judo in the Games, both in overall medals and in gold medals.
Rhythmic Gymnastics is the only Compulsory Sport of the Summer World University Games limited solely to female athletes. Rhythmic Gymnastics features both individual and team events on a gymnastics floor using an apparatus. For individual events, the apparatus may be a hoop, ball, clubs, or a ribbon. For team competition, the apparatus may be 3 balls plus 2 ribbons, or 10 clubs. The sport, which combines elements of dance and tumbling and is known for its graceful athleticism, made its World University Games debut in the 1991 Games in Sheffield, England. Rhythmic Gymnastics has been held in every Summer Games since, with the exception of the 1999 Palma de Mallorca Games. It became a Compulsory Sport of the Games at the 2001 Summer World University Games in Beijing, China. Russia and Ukraine have been the most dominant at the event, with Russia winning a total of 54 Gold medals, 29 Silver medals, and 20 Bronze medals at the Games, and Ukraine winning 19 Gold medals, 27 Silver medals, and 18 Bronze medals. The United States received its first World University Games medal in the event in 2019 (Naples, Italy) when Laura Zeng won the Bronze in the All-around. With Greensboro having held two national championship Rhythmic Gymnastics events in recent years, the sport is expected to have a strong following when it comes to North Carolina in 2029.
The first-in-the-world Olympic Qualification Tournament for the new Olympic sport of Rugby Sevens took place in North Carolina’s Research Triangle area at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary in 2015. The following year that same venue hosted the USA Rugby 7s Collegiate National Championships. With such a world-class Rugby venue and its history of success in hosting major national and international events, Rugby Sevens is a logical choice as an Optional Sport at a Summer World University Games in North Carolina in Cary. Rugby Sevens has been an Optional Sport of the Summer World University Games two times previously, including in the 2013 Games in Kazan, Russia, and in the 2019 Summer Games in Naples, Italy. Russia, Japan, and France currently lead the limited Rugby Sevens historic medal count in the Summer Games. Rugby Sevens is scheduled to return as an Optional Sport at the 2029 World University Games in North Carolina.
The sport of Swimming has been a mainstay of both the Summer Olympic Games and the Summer World University Games since the first edition of each of those global events. It has been a Compulsory Sport of the World University Games since the launch of the Games in 1959 in Turin, Italy. Competition features an equal number of events for Men and Women, including 6 Freestyle events ranging from 50 to 1500 meters, 50 to 200 meters in each stroke (Backstroke, Breaststroke, and Butterfly), the 200 and 400 Individual Medleys, and 3 Relay events (2 distances in freestyle and 1 medley relay). The high level of Swimming competition in the Games became evident in 1967 in Tokyo where 9 World Records were set by the American team. Triangle universities have contributed many coaches and athletes representing Team USA in Swimming at the Games including Coaches Braden Holloway of NC State and Rich DeSelm of UNC, as well as World University Games champions and Olympians David Fox, Cullen Jones, and Ryan Held of NC State and Sue Walsh of UNC. The United States leads in overall Swimming medals in the Summer World University Games. At the 2025 Rhine-Ruhr Games, 3 NC State Swimmers, Leah Shackley (5 Gold & 1 silver), Kennedy Noble (2 Gold & 2 Silver ), Daniel Diehl (1 Gold & 2 Bronzes), and UNC Swimmer, Ben Delmar (1 Gold & 1 Bronze), combined for a total of 15 medals, which was a major factor in the USA’s total of 84 medals that won the overall medal count at the Games for the USA for the first time in more than 25 years!
Open water swimming has appeared periodically at the Summer World University Games as a high-level endurance event featuring elite university athletes competing in a 10-kilometer marathon swim. While traditional pool swimming has been a core sport of the Games since the inaugural competition in 1959, open water swimming has been included more selectively as part of the broader aquatic program. The most recent open water competition took place in 2017 in Taipei, Taiwan, where the race was held at the New Taipei City Breeze Canal and showcased athletes capable of competing at Olympic and world-championship levels. Notable American open-water swimmers with regional ties include Becca Mann, who participated in the 2017 Games, and Ashley Twichell, who competed in the 2013 Games and won the gold medal in the women’s 10-kilometer race. The event highlights the endurance, strategy, and adaptability required for marathon swimming in outdoor conditions and will return as part of the 2029 World University Games with three days of competition: open water relay (day 1) followed by the 10km for women and men on the following days.
Table Tennis was first held in the Summer World University Games as an Optional Sport in the 2001 Games in Beijing, China. It did not take long for Table Tennis to take on a more “permanent” status in the Summer World University Games, as it became the youngest of the Games’ Compulsory Sports when it was added to the Games sports program in 2005 (Izmir, Turkey). Table Tennis competition in the Games includes Individual and Team competition. Individual Competition consists of Men’s Singles and Doubles, Women’s Singles and Doubles, and Mixed Doubles. In the Team Competition teams include 3 to 5 players each. Since being added to the Games, Table Tennis’ success has mostly resided in the Asian countries of China, Korea, and Japan, with China being the most dominant. (Consider their performance in the Summer World University Games in 2019 in Naples, Italy, where China took all 8 of the gold medals!). Both the Chengdu 2023 and Rhine-Ruhr 2025 Games included Table Tennis, and given North Carolina’s history of hosting 3 Olympic Trials events in Table Tennis, the sport should be well-received in the state in 2029.
The 2003 Summer World University Games in Daegu, South Korea, marked the initial appearance of Taekwondo in the Games as an Optional Sport. Since that time, Taekwondo has been in the Summer Games seven more times, including most recently in Chengdu, China (2023) and Rhine-Ruhr, Germany (2025). Taekwondo in the Games consists of two types of competition: Kyorugi or Sparring competition and Poomsae or Forms competition. In Sparring, there are 8 weight classes each for Men and Women in Individual events, while Team events consist of four-person teams each in Men’s and Women’s competition. In the Forms competition, there are five events: Men’s Individual, Women’s Individual, Men’s Team (3-person teams), Women’s Team (3-person teams), and Mixed Team competition consisting of 1 male and 1 female athlete per team. As one might imagine in a sport that originated in Korea more than 2,000 years ago and is a major tradition in that country’s schools and universities, South Korea tends to dominate the medals count in Taekwondo in the Summer World University Games.
Tennis is one of the founding sports of the World University Games, where inclusion in the Games as a Compulsory Sport dates back to the inaugural Games in Turin, Italy, in 1959. Tennis competition in the Games includes Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Singles, Women’s Doubles, and Mixed Teams. There are also overall Team awards given based on combined results of a country’s competitors in Singles and Doubles events. In the first Tennis competition in 1959, the earliest medals were won by European athletes from France and
Russia. In more recent years, Asian athletes have risen to the forefront with athletes from Thailand and Taipei respectively, capturing the Women’s and Men’s Singles championships in the Games in 2019 (Naples, Italy). Tennis has continued to be contested at the 2023 Chengdu Games and the 2025 Rhine-Ruhr Games. At the 2023 Games, Chinese Taipei, Japan, and Switzerland emerged as the leaders, with Chinese Taipei notably securing two gold medals. Most recently, at the 2025 Rhine-Ruhr Games, Japan delivered a dominant performance, sweeping five gold medals to lead the overall tennis medal count.
Volleyball is another of the Summer World University Games sports that has been included in the Games since the first World University Games in 1959 in Turin, Italy. At those Games, only Men’s Volleyball was included, but it was joined two years later at the 1961 World University Games in Sofia, Bulgaria, by Women’s Volleyball. Due to the significant presence of Volleyball worldwide at the university level, FISU sets limitations on tournament participation in order to keep the Summer World University Games Volleyball competition at a manageable size. In this regard, currently the Men’s tournament is limited to a maximum of 24 teams, while the Women’s tournament has a limit of 16 teams. Volleyball is one of the most popular sports of the Games, typically drawing large spectator crowds, particularly at the competition finals. Historically, the Soviet Union/Russia has led the medal count, but recent years have seen a surge in dominance from European and Asian powerhouses. Japan has now won a total of 23 medals, closing the gap on the all-time leaders, while Italy has emerged as one of the teams to beat, sweeping the Women's Gold in 2025. The United States maintains a strong legacy with seven total medals, highlighted by the historic Men’s Gold victory at the 2001 Beijing Games.
Men’s Water Polo has been included as a Compulsory Sport in the World University Games since the first Games in Turin, Italy, in 1959. That year seven teams competed in the event. Women’s Water Polo did not join the sports program of the Summer Games until the 2009 Games (Belgrade, Serbia). Water Polo in the World University Games has grown in popularity and participation through the years. Currently the Men’s tournament includes 16 teams, while the Women’s tournament includes 12. One of the standout Water Polo matches of the World University Games took place in the 1991 Games (Sheffield, England), where the U.S. Men edged out China for the gold medal scoring the winning goal with only 6 seconds to go in the match. Hungary, a traditional powerhouse in the sport of Water Polo, currently leads the medal count, followed by Italy in second. The United States remains a top contender with 4 gold medals and 13 medals overall. This legacy of success was highlighted at the 2025 Rhine-Ruhr Games, where both the U.S. Men and Women captured Silver medals following hard-fought finals against Italy and Germany, respectively.
