The 2007 Winter Universiade, the XXIII Winter

Universiade The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and " Olympiad". The Universiade is referred ...

, took place in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

, Italy from January 17 to 27, 2007.

Opening ceremony

The Opening Ceremony of the XXIII Winter Universiade Torino 2007 was held with a cast of acrobats, circus performers and dancers. The evening began with the "Princess of the Snow", Magda Gomes, who introduced the audience to a journey that joins Turin to the rest of the world through the student spirit of the Universiade. Her message was followed by a parade of the 52 participant nations and a speech by Giovanna Capellano Nebiolo (President of the Organizing Committee) and

George Killian George Ernest Killian (April 6, 1924 – December 6, 2017) was an American sports administrator, president of the International University Sports Federation (FISU) and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) After receiving his Bachelor of ...

(FISU President). Together they officially opened the Games: both greeted the Universiade and declared the event officially open. After the flag-raising ceremony

Livio Berruti Livio Berruti (born 19 May 1939) is an Italian former athlete who was the winner of the 200-meter dash in the 1960 Summer Olympics. He won five medals, at individual level, and three medals with the national relay team at the International athl ...

entered the Palasport Olimpico to complete the tour of the Flame of Knowledge, lighting at the same time the braziers of the stadium and the Piazza Vittorio Veneto. All sports to be held at the Games were introduced by a group of dancers and gymnasts. The ceremony ended with live music by

Negrita Negrita is an Italian rock band from Arezzo, Tuscany. Formed in 1991, the band was named after the song " Hey Negrita", included in The Rolling Stones' album ''Black and Blue'', released in 1976. The band currently consists of Paolo Bruni (also k ...

. Other people who showed up in the opening ceremony were

Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...

Andrew Howe Andrew Howe (born 12 May 1985) is an American-born Italian athlete who specializes in the long jump and sprinting. He won this event as well as the 200 metres at the 2004 World Junior Championships. He was successful at senior level at a young ...

and

Arturo Brachetti Arturo Brachetti (; born 13 October 1957) is an Italian quick-change artist considered the best quick change performer in the world. In the Guinness Book of Records he is described as the quickest and most prolific quick change artist in the wo ...

. The last one revealing the slogan for the Universiade, which is "Crazy 4 U". Among the present personalities were Fabio Mussi, Mercedes Bresso,

Antonio Saitta Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...

, Sergio Chiamparino, Renato Montabone,

Sara Simeoni Sara Simeoni (born 19 April 1953) is an Italian former high jumper, who won a gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics and twice set a world record in the women's high jump. Biography Sara Simeoni was born in Rivoli Veronese, in the province of V ...

Alberto Zaccheroni Alberto Zaccheroni (; born 1 April 1953) is an Italian football manager, formerly in charge of the United Arab Emirates and Japan national football teams. He has managed a number of top clubs in Serie A, the high point of his career being his s ...

and

Gianni Vattimo Gianteresio Vattimo (born 4 January 1936) is an Italian philosopher and politician. Biography Gianteresio Vattimo was born in Turin, Piedmont. He studied philosophy under the existentialist Luigi Pareyson at the University of Turin, and graduat ...

Sports

The Games features 18 medal events in 12 sports. (Numbers in parentheses after each sport discipline indicate the number of events contested.) * Alpine skiing (8) *

Biathlon The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not time ...

(10) * Cross-country skiing (10) *

Curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns slidi ...

(2) *

Figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are m ...

(5) *

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

(1) *

Nordic combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first ever Winter Olympics in 1924, while the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup ...

(3) *

Short track speed skating Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of . The rink itself is long by wide, which is the same size as a ...

(10) *

Ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fina ...

(4) * Snowboarding (6) *

Speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skatin ...

(12)

Medal table

External links

Winter Universiade Torino 2007
{{EventsAt2007WinterUniversiade 2007 U U U Multi-sport events in Italy Sports competitions in Turin January 2007 sports events in Europe Winter sports competitions in Italy 2000s in Turin