The Winter Olympic Games is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in Chamonix, France. The modern Olympic Games were inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from 776 BC to 394 AD. The Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 1,500 years later in 1894, leading to the first modern Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority. The original five Winter Olympic Sports were bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing, and skating. The Games were held every four years from 1924 to 1936, interrupted in 1940 and 1944 by World War II, and resumed in 1948. Until 1992, the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games were held in the same year. A decision to change this was made in 1986, when during the 91st International Olympic Committee session, IOC members decided to alternate the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games on separate four-year cycles in even-numbered years. Also, at that same congress it was decided that 1992 Winter Olympics would be the last to be held in the same year as the Summer Games and that to change the rotation, the edition that would be held in 1996 would be brought forward by two years, being scheduled to 1994. After this edition, the next one was to be held in 1998 when the 4-year Olympic Cycle resumed.
The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad".
The International University Sports Federation is responsible for the organization and governance of worldwide sports competitions for student-athletes between the ages of 17 and 25. It was founded in 1949 as the world governing body of national university sports organizations and currently has 165 member associations from five continents. Between 1949 and 2011, it was based in Brussels (Belgium); it was relocated to Lausanne (Switzerland) since 2011.
The all-time medal table for all Olympic Games from 1896 to 2022, including Summer Olympic Games, Winter Olympic Games, and a combined total of both, is tabulated below. These Olympic medal counts do not include the 1906 Intercalated Games which are no longer recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as official Games. The IOC itself does not publish all-time tables, and publishes unofficial tables only per single Games. This table was thus compiled by adding up single entries from the IOC database.
The 2011 Summer Universiade, the XXVI Summer Universiade also Shenzhen 2011, was hosted in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
The 2013 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXVII Summer Universiade, was held in the city of Kazan, Russia, the most northerly city ever to host a Summer Universiade. Over 10,400 university athletes from 162 countries participated in 13 mandatory and 14 optional sports, making the 2013 Universiade the biggest ever in the history of the event. For the first time in history a Cultural Universiade was also included, with many festivals and shows held simultaneously with the sporting events. The Universiade was organized by the International University Sports Federation (FISU) and by the authorities of the Russian Federation.
Winter Universiade 2017, the XXVIII Winter Universiade, was a multi-sport winter event which took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan from 29 January to 8 February 2017. On 29 November 2011, FISU announced that Winter Universiade 2017 would be hosted in Almaty.
The United States has participated in all editions of the Summer and Winter Universiade held since 1965. The United States is ranked 3rd in the all-time medal table behind Russia and China
Athletics was contested at the 2013 Summer Universiade from July 7 to 12 at the Universiade Village Stadium and the Central Stadium in Kazan, Russia.
The 2019 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXX Summer Universiade and also known as Napoli 2019, was held in Naples, Italy, between 3 and 14 July 2019.
The Philippines has participated at the Universiade debuting at the 1967 Summer Universiade. From 1967 until 2007, athletes representing the country were sent by the University Athletic Association of the Philippines with sanction from Philippine Olympic Committee. Since 2011 it is the Federation of School Sports Association of the Philippines (FESSAP), a member of the International University Sports Federation (FISU), that has been sending competitors representing the country at the Universiade.
Russia participated in 12 editions of the Universiade, debuting at the 1993 Summer Universiade. The 2013 Summer Universiade was the best for Russia, beating the previous total medal and gold record of the 1973 Summer Universiade, of the then USSR. Furthermore, Russia produced a number of Universiade records, including the total medals won. Russia hosted the 2013 Summer Universiade in Kazan and the 2019 Winter Universiade in Krasnoyarsk.
Brazil is 25th on the all time medal table in Summer Universiade. Brazil hasn't won any medal in Winter Universiade.The country participated on all the Summer Games editions and hosted the 1963 Summer Universiade in Porto Alegre.
Oleg Vasilyevich Matytsin is a Russian professor and doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Corresponding Member of Russian Academy of Education and Honoured Doctor of Beijing Sport University. He is currently Minister of Sport of Russia since 2020 and President of the International University Sports Federation (FISU) since 2015. He is also a member of the Presidential Council of the Russian Federation for the Development of Physical Culture and Sport, a member of the International Fair Play Committee, and Honorary President of the Russian Students Sport Union (RSSU). Before becoming President of FISU, Matytsin played a crucial role in the development of the European University Sports Federation (EUSA), serving as Vice-President from 2007 to 2015.
The 2021 Summer World University Games, the XXXI Summer World University Games, commonly known as Chengdu 2021, was a multi-sport event sanctioned by the International University Sports Federation (FISU), held from 28 July to 8 August 2023 primarily in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China. It was the fourth edition of the Games hosted by China, and the first edition to be referred to as the "Summer World University Games" rather than "Summer Universiade". The games marked the 15th anniversary of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
The Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games, commonly known as Lake Placid 2023, was a collegiate multi-sport winter sports held between January 12 to January 22, 2023 and had Lake Placid, New York, United States, as main host city. Alongside Lake Placid, events were also hosted by neighbouring cities of Wilmington, Saranac Lake, Potsdam and North Creek also located at the New York state. The event is also known as the 31st Winter Universiade as administered by the International University Sports Federation (FISU).
South Korea has competed in the FISU World University Games in several years.
The 2022 Russian Figure Skating Championships were held from 21 to 26 December 2021 in Saint Petersburg. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, pairs, and ice dance. The results were among the criteria used to select Russia's teams to the 2022 European Championships and 2022 Winter Olympics.
Japan has participated in all editions of the Summer and Winter World University Games held since the first edition in 1959 and 1960. The nation is ranked 5th in the all-time medal table behind Russia, China, United States, and Soviet Union. Japan has won 1,202 medals at the Summer World University Games and are in the fifth place on the all-time Summer World University medal table. In the winter games, they have won 335 medals at the Winter Universiade and are in the third place on the all-time Winter Universiade medal table.
