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18 athletes for 18 sports: Introducing Team Rhine-Ruhr 2025

From 16 to 27 July 2025, the sports-crazy Ruhr region will be transformed into a huge playing field together with the sports metropolis of Berlin: for around 8,500 athletes and officials from around 150 countries - a top-class sporting highlight that will bring athletes from all over the world to Germany. Eighteen athletes from Germany, including six from North Rhine-Westphalia, are already looking forward to the event - as members of Team Rhine-Ruhr 2025. They will be accompanied on their way to a possible participation in the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games.

The ambassadors of Team Rhine-Ruhr 2025 are not only the sporting faces, but also represent their respective sports and tell their personal stories, dreams and goals. They are characterised not only by their top performances, but also by their discipline, enthusiasm, and success in their sports and their studies.

“For us, the athletes of Team Rhine-Ruhr 2025 represent the diversity of sport that we will be bringing to the Ruhr region and Berlin next year,” explains Sina Diekmann, Chief Sports Officer of the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU Games. “As part of our ’Everyone is all-in' campaign, they will reach an audience of millions and create anticipation for our big sports festival next summer”. All members of Team Rhine-Ruhr 2025 will be introduced via the digital channels of the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games in the coming weeks.

Studying and competitive sport: a double challenge at the highest level

The ambassadors of Team Rhine-Ruhr 2025 master the challenging balancing act between studying and competitive sport. They pursue not only their sporting goals but also their academic careers with tireless commitment. This double challenge is not an obstacle for them, but an incentive - and it is precisely this enthusiasm for sport and education that they want to show the world in 2025. As Team Rhine-Ruhr 2025, the young athletes will be accompanied on their way to the major sports festival next year, receiving a stage for their achievements and further support.

This is the Team Rhine-Ruhr 2025

  • Alexander Kunz, Neu-Ulm (artistic gymnastics) – SRH Fernhochschule

  • Anya Kisskalt, Nürnberg (taekwondo) – Hochschule Ansbach

  • Elena Wassen, Eschweile (diving) – Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft in Berlin

  • Frieda Echterhoff, Bochum (athletics) - Hochschule Bochum

  • Gina Marie Dittmann, Essen (tennis)

  • Greta Kröger, Leverkusen (3x3 basketball) - Universität zu Köln

  • Helen Habib, Bottrop (judo) – Universität zu Köln

  • Jonathan Vetter, Deufringen (archery) – Hochschule Pforzheim

  • Laurenz Rieger, Weinheim (fencing) – Universität zu Köln

  • Leonard Graven, München (volleyball) – SRH Fernhochschule

  • Lilly Sellak, Nürnberg (3x3 wheelchair basketball) – Friedrich-Alexander-Universität in Nürnberg

  • Malik Bourakkadi, Mülheim a.d. Ruhr (badminton) – Universität des Saarlandes

  • Margarita Kolosov, Potsdam (rhythmic gymnastics)

  • Nikita Mohr, Schwelm (rowing) – Universität zu Köln

  • Oliver Klemet, Frankfurt (swimming) – AKAD University

  • Philipp Huster, Leipzig (beach volleyball) – SRH Fernhochschule

  • Sascha Seifert, Potsdam (water polo) – IU Internationale Hochschule

  • Sophia Klee, Kassel (table tennis) – AKAD University