Daegu, South Korea burst to life on Aug. 20 as the opening ceremonies forthe 2003 FISU Summer Universiade got under way. With four competitors wearing varsity blue on their backs, U of T watched the games with keen interest and baited breath.
Tae Kwan Do star Ali Ghafour of Pickering proudly represented theVarsity Blues. Ali won his first round match by a score of 14-13 over Tien Ching Nguyen of Thailand in the bantamweight division. A crushing kick to Nguyen’s right temple got Ghafour through to the second round, where he fell to an athlete from Greece. “To have athletes from different sports coming together and collectivelyrepresenting Canada for all athletics was truly amazing,” says Ghafour, whowas recently selected to compete for Canada’s national team. “This was the first time Irepresented Canada in a multi-sport event.”
Ghafour was also impressed by the luxury and splendour ofthe Athletes Village, where the teams were fenced off from the rest of thecity. “It had everything you needed to sustain every person living there.There were doctors, 24 hour cafes, arcades, internet cafes, a disco, a hairsalon, a bank, karaoke rooms, a place to mend your clothes and eventshappening all the time.”
Jenn Porenta represented the Blues in the pool in Daegu, participating inseveral events. She helped the 4×100 and 2×200 relay teams both finish seventh in theirrespective events. She missed qualifying for the final in 100m freestyle by less than a second.
Blues volleyball captain Marc Arseneau was a major contributor in Daegu. He started all seven games and helped lead the team to a 5-2 record and a seventh place finish. It has been 20 years since a Canadian university volleyball team has placed this high. When asked about unity among a team that has only recently come together, Arseneausaid “I think a trip to South Korea can unify just about any team very quickly. We had a strong bond and competed very well as a whole.”
On the coaching and media ends, U of T track coach Jill Mallon and sports information coordinator Adrian Bradbury travelled with the Canadian squad. Mallon worked with the middle distance sprinters, and directly supervised Malinda Elmore who took home bronze in the 1500m race.
The men’s basketball team also boasted two local athletes. Toronto natives Jeff Ferguson and Vidal Massiah were two of the brightest stars for Canada at the tournament. They scored 19 and 18 points respectively in the bronze medal game, helping Canada beat China 82-80 and reach the podium. This was the team’s best result since 1997 in Sicily, when they captured the silver medal. Team Canada won three medals overall. Bronze medals in men’s basketball and the women’s 1500m sprint, as well as a silver medal won by Catherine Roberge in Judo (70kg category). These three medals are one more than the Canadian team won two years ago in Beijing, China.
