Meet the Athletes

Nick Hough: Hurdles

Australia

Nick Hough hopes to be an Olympian in 2016, and will attend  his second World University Games in July as part of the Australia University Sport team (Uniroos). But like many athletes at their peak, it is often hard to see Hough past his impressive sporting resume: a gold medal at the inaugural Youth Olympics in 2010; fourth place at the 2014 Commonwealth Games; and the second fastest 110m hurdles time in Australian history.

In addition to being a successful athlete, Nick developed the successful app, GradeProof. “I get asked whether I’m an athlete, a student or an app developer, and all my life I’ve never restricted myself to one thing. Luckily I’ve managed to do lots of things well and I’m planning to continue that trend, and who knows where I’ll be in a year’s time.”

Korea and the 2015 Universiade await as Hough follows in the footsteps of his mother, Sue, who herself reached the semifinals of both the 100m and 200m at the 1987 Universiade in Zagreb, Yugoslavia.

He’ll join a strong athletics contingent for the Uniroos, all whilst juggling the growth of GradeProof from afar.

Alicia Perrin: Volleyball

Canada

 

Alicia Perrin has just completed her fifth year of eligibility with the Trintiy Western University Spartans.  She completed studies with a specialization in Education with a minor in Spanish and Special Education at Trinity Western University located in Langley, British Columbia.  Alicia achieved First Team All-Canadian status and helped lead her team to a Canada West and CIS National Championships in 2015.  The 2015 FISU games will be Alicia’s third time representing Canada at the Universiade competition.  Alicia competed in the 2011 games in China and the 2013 games in Russia.  High-level volleyball runs in the family as Alicia’s elder brother Gordon Perrin is a current member of the Canadian Men’s National Team and competes with Arkas Volleyball Club in Turkey.  Off the court, Alicia has participated in mission trips to Haiti, Paraguay and Peru. Each trip offered a variety of experiences where the athletes had a direct impact servicing and contributing to the well being of the communities.

Hungary

Edina Kotsis: Taekwondo

Edina Kotsis is a Hungarian taekwondo full contact fighter who came into view for the first time in 2007, winning the silver medal in 55kg at the youth European Championship organized in Baku, Azerbaijan. Three years later, the young athlete returned home to Hungary as a U21 European Champion from the event organized in Kharkov, Ukraine. At her first appearance on the field of international university sports, the 2011 Shenzhen Summer Universiade, she stepped on the podium to accept the bronze medal. One year later, in 2012, she finished second at the senior European Championship organized in Manchester, UK. In 2014 she took part at the World University Championship organized in Hohhot, China, where she also brought home the bronze.

The senior EC silver medallist, U21 European Champion fighter proved to be in good form this year by winning her first medal, bronze, at the senior World Championship in Chelyabinsk, Russia. The only person able to defeat her was the current world rank leader, Eva Calvo Gomez of Spain. Just weeks before the start of the European Games in Baku, this historical moment marked the first medal ever won by a Hungarian female fighter at the WTF Taekwondo World Championship.

Bonnie Choi Sut Ian: Diving

Macau

Bonnie Choi Sut Ian works diligently at the Univesity of Macaus while pursuing her graduate degree in Physical Education and Sport Studies; yet, she is still a competitor. Once again, she will participate in the one meter and three meter springboard events at her third Summer Universiade. Inspired at an early age by the elegant genius of China’s springboard royalty, Guo Jingjing, Bonnie decided to pursue the sport of diving. Standing along with greats like Guo Jingjing and Ting Lei on the medal podium at the 2006 FINA Grand Prix Sydney, Bonnie and Carolina Choi, her sister and partner, gained their first bronze in synchronized springboard. This past November, at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, she managed to sneak away with the bronze because of two clean dives right at the end to give Macau their first ever medal in diving. Until the 2014 FINA Grand Prix in Singapore, she has won a series of bronze medals, most memorably at the 2009 and 2013 East Asian Games. Though her work, school and training schedule have been more hectic recently, she believes strongly in her success at the 2015 Summer Universiade.

Diarra Mariam: Taekwondo

Mali

University: INTEC-SUP Student

Born: September 28, 1996

Place of Birth: Bamako

Awards

• Champion’s -62kg category from 2010 to 2012
• Gold Medal of Amadou Baiba Kouma Cup 2000 A2011 Bamako
• Gold Medal of the 2011 Sotelma cut in Bamako
• Silver medal in the 2010 and 2011 Cup Onatel Ouagadougou

Achievements

• Bronze Medal World Cup Francophonie June 2012 in Abidjan
• Good service at the World Team Cup in 2013 in Abidjan
• Bronze medal at the African Championship in Tunis in 2014
• Good performance at the open 4th of Carthage in Tunis in 2014

Edward Dingli: Swimming

Malta

Edward Caruana Dingli is a 23-year old Maltese swimmer and law student who will be representing Malta at the 2015 Universiade in Gwangju. Caruana Dingli has been swimming since the age of seven and has been a member of the Maltese National Swimming Team since 2008. He is a middle distance swimmer who currently holds national records in the 200m and 400m individual medley, the 400m freestyle and multiple relay events and has represented Malta at numerous editions of the FINA World Championships, as well as at the 2013 Universiade. Edward is also a law student in his fifth year of studies at the University of Malta. He received his Bachelor of Laws in 2013 and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Laws with the aim of becoming a lawyer.

At the games, Caruana Dingli will be participating in the individual medley events and will also be part of the relay teams in the 4x100m freestyle and medley. This edition of the games will be his last opportunity to participate in the Universiade, so he hopes to return from Gwangju with two fresh national records to finish his Universiade participation on a high note.

Fabian Nava: Basketball

Mexico

Fabian Misael Jaimes Nava was born in Mexico City, Mexico, on the September 22, 1992. Here in South Korea he represents the National University Team of Mexico. He has played basketball since he was seven years old. His parents were also very passionate about the sport, and they met playing basketball. Therefore, it was logical that Fabian and his brother would also start playing.

He decided to attend UDLAP in Puebla, Mexico, on a scholarship when he was 17. With the UDLAP team, he won two national championships in 2013 and 2015. He was awarded MVP and selected three times for the first team of the tournament.

In 2013, he went with the National University Team to the Universiade in Kazan, Russia. They finished in eleventh place. That had been the second best result ever for Mexico. His stats were third place in rebounds with an average of nine per game, first in steals with an average of three per game, fourth in field goals scoring 60 percent and an average of 29 minutes played per game.

From this summer on he has decided to no longer play for his university, but to play basketball professionally.

René Alberto Chávez Mendoza: Baseball

Mexico

Born: February 2, 1988

Place of birth: Cuauhtémoc Chihuahua, Mexico

 

International Tournaments

• Representing Mexico in the World Championship U12 in Ibiuna Brazil in 2000.
• Representing Mexico in the Pan American Championship U12 in Caracas Venezuela in 2000. Winning the bronze medal.
• Representing Mexico in the Pan American Championship U14 in Vargas Venezuela in 2002.
• Representing Mexico in the Pan American Championship U16 in Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco in 2004 winning the bronze medal.
• Representing Mexico in the Pan American Championship U18 in Tabasco, Mexico in 2005.

 

Nandinzaya Gankhuyag: Rifle

 Mongolia

Gankhuyag Nandinzaya was born June 27, 1994 in Ulaanbaatar Mongolia and began shooting competitively in high school. It was then that she really started winning at competitive shooting, taking the National Championship three times running (2007-2010) in addition to earlier wins. Nandinzaya started out as a successful junior and has been a holder of the national record in 50-meter rifle and 10-meter air rifle.

 

Reshmie Oogink: Taekwondo

The Netherlands

Reshmie Oogink is a 25-year old female Dutch taekwondo athlete, currently ranked fifth in the world in the 73-kg division. In December of last year, Oogink impressed the athletic world by winning the Grand Prix Final in Queretaro, Mexico. She defeated Mexican taekwondo fighter, Maria Espinoza, in the finals of that tournament. Espinoza was the Olympic champion in 2008.

Just missing the London Olympics, Oogink worked hard to take the last steps to attaining a top world ranking. She won five international tournaments, including the Grand Prix Final where the top eight in the world came together, and she came second in four other international tournaments. Oogink started 2015 by winning the gold at the US open, where she beat Milica Mandic, the Serbian Olympic champion, in the final.

This will be her fifth time in Korea and her second Universiade. Reshmie won a bronze medal in 2009 at the Universiade in Belgrade. After this tournament Reshmie will stay in Korea and travel to Suwon to participate in a tournament in Chuncheon.

Roger Rao: Table Tennis

New Zealand

From very early in his table tennis career, Roger was marked as a player with something special to offer the game.   In 2010, at a little over 13 years old, he became the New Zealand Open Men’s Singles champion.  At the beginning of the event Roger’s prospects of qualifying for the main draw looked bleak as he had drawn the second ranked male in New Zealand as well as the second ranked under 18 boy in New Zealand, not to mention an experienced senior player from Canterbury in hi group.  Roger went through his group unbeaten in a surprise upset.  He carried this momentum into the main draw, winning the tournament and breaking the record as the youngest ever New Zealand Open Champion by more than three years.

There is a lot more to Roger than just table tennis. He is an excellent scholar with multiple academic achievements in both New Zealand and international educational programs.

Maintaining the balance between high level academic and sporting demands is extremely challenging in a country like New Zealand which is without the resources to have full time sports/academic academies, but Roger has managed this with great distinction.

Laura Quilter: Swimming

New Zealand

Twenty-two year old Laura Quilter will head to her second Universiade in Korea.

She is a senior on the 19-strong New Zealand team, the biggest in their history. Laura is one of only three swimmers from New Zealand to return from the 2013 Universiade games held in Kazan, Russia along with Matthew Hutchins and Kate Godfrey. She also competed in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Pan Pacific Championships on the Gold Coast last year.

She has the perfect frame for swimming at 184cm, and has used it to great effect to win three titles at the New Zealand Open Championships this year – the 50m freestyle (26.12), 100m freestyle (56.64) and 50m butterfly (27.38), to build on the two titles she won in 2014.

Laura won selection to the Commonwealth Games as part of the women’s 4x100m relay combination that earned their spot in the final qualifying event of the national championships. She rates this her proudest moment in her swimming career to date.

Zarck Visser: Longjump

South Africa

Zarck Visser became the premier longjumper of South Africa to surpass the Olympic silver medallist and his long-time training partner, Khotso Mokoena. Visser, 25-year-old management student from the University of Johannesburg, made his first mark in 2011 in Shenzen. He continued his success in 2012 by medalling at the African Championships and the Commonwealth games respectively, as well as, achieving his personal best of 8.32 m in Zurich before finally attaining the gold at the 2013 African Championships in Marakech.  Though he had a setback last year with hip surgery, he still jumped 8.18 m in a local South African meet earlier this year in 2015. He looks forward to the upcoming games and  is determined to medal.

Kang Tae-yoon: Rowing

South Korea

According to Kang Tae-yoon, he was a nobody when he was a student at Pungsung Middle School. He was not interested in studying and had no vision. However, his English teacher, Lee Jung-hee, took him under her wing. One day, he had a conference with his English teacher because of skipping class. Afterward, his life changed completely. He wanted to change his life through sports, so he entered Seoul Physical Education High School. In fact, his English teacher previously worked at Seoul Physical Education High School and knew that he had great athletic potential. She told him that his height and long arms and legs were suitable for rowing. After entering high school, he got a bronze medal in the Presidential Cup Championship (light weight-single category). He got a gold medal for the first time during his senior year. After entering university, he placed first at a 2014 indoor rowing competition. He also won a gold medal at the Asian Indoor Rowing Championship in Qatar.  He became a national athlete in 2014, and will enter the 2015 Universiade Games as a lightweight single scull rower. Kang says that the vital elements needed to become the best sport player are mental focus, respect, and a competitive spirit.

Kim Seong-yeon: Judo

South Korea

Judo athlete, Kim Seong-yeon, is a 23-year old native of Gwangju. She was an Asian Games gold medalist in the women’s 70kg category. She won a gold against her rival, Arai Chizuru, who is a Japanese athlete ranked 11th in the world. This year, Kim graduated from Yongin University, a university famous for its judo instruction. After graduating, she joined Gwangju Metropolitan Transit Corporation.

She participated in the Incheon Asian Games, beating out Hwang Ye-seul who is a Guangzhou Asian Games gold medalist. Kim’s specialty is a shoulder throw technique. When she was 9 years old, she wore judogi  (a judo uniform)  all of the time at her parents’ suggestion. She discovered her talent for judo, and entered Chonnam Physical Education Middle and High School.  In 2013, she finally became a national athlete and exercises at the Korean National Training Center. Last year, she won a bronze medal at the world championships. She came in third at the Russian Grand Slam, and got the gold medal in her first Asian Games debut.

Rhea Gayle: Diving

United Kingdom

“To go out there and compete [in Universiade] is an amazing opportunity and I was so grateful to be picked for it. When I ‘m out there I’m looking to sort of enjoy the competition. It will be my first time competing on a world stage.”

“So far in my diving career I’ve sort of been more successful on the one meter springboard.  But from this season and prior to, I’ve been looking to really improve my performances on the three meter. So going out there and seeing how I do will be a nice judgment of where I am.”

“[My goal is] to compete at the Commonwealth Games. That was my goal when I was a gymnast as well, and if I could make it as a diver I would be really happy.”

Achievements

• 1st place 1m springboard at British Championships in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015
• 4th place 3m springboard at British Championships in 2014
• 3rd place 3m springboard at British Championships in 2015

Tatum Souza: Heptathlon

United States of America

Tatum Souza will represent the USA in the heptathlon at Universiade. In high school, she was a two-time Napa Valley Register Athlete of the Year, setting school records in the long jump and hurdles and breaking the Pacific Association heptathlon record with a total of 4,641 points. In 2012, as a sophomore at UCLA, Souza won the Cal Invite heptathlon crown with a lifetime-best total of 5,350 points.  In 2013, she earned her second team All-American honors in the heptathlon by finishing ninth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.  Her 5,691 points at the NCAA championships placed her sixth athletes of all-time at UCLA.

The year 2014, however, was a difficult time for Tatum Souza. Her father, who had been a driving force in her athletic career, was diagnosed with cancer. In December, she suffered an injury.  When she started running again in March, Souza found herself far behind her training partners. A few days later, her father passed away—eight months after his diagnosis.

One month later, Souza competed in the MT Sac relays heptathlon and put in a career-best effort and a score that would place her in the top four at the NCAA Championships and put her in second all-time top athlete at UCLA, behind world record holder Jackie Joyner. One thing is for sure: nobody is training harder or with more heart than Tatum Souza.