Western Skiers Compete in FISU World University Games

Passion can take you places. Just ask Graydon Walker and Tyler Hippchen, two Western Colorado University Nordic athletes who, after top finishes at college nationals, traveled to Sestriere, Italy, to compete in the FISU World University Games.

The 10-day event, held every two years, brought hundreds of athletes from more than 50 countries to the Pragelato Nordic Ski Olympic Center, which hosted similar events during the 2006 Torino Olympics.

Graydon and Tyler, both fourth-year Exercise and Sport Science students, said it was their first time at the Games and an experience they won’t soon forget. “My most memorable experiences were meeting all the athletes,” Graydon said. “I made some great friends with athletes from England, Germany, Australia, and Finland. I also got the chance to make some lifelong friends with US athletes from other regions of the country.”

Much like the Olympic Games, the competition starts with an opening ceremony, full of pomp and pageantry, when all the athletes don national team apparel and parade into a stadium. “It was one of the most impressive things I have ever seen in person, with all of the dancing, singing, and special effects,” Tyler said. “It was hard not to get emotional, knowing that all of my hard work had brought me there to represent my country.”

A Western Nordic athlete skiing in the FISU World Cup competition.

Over the next ten days, the duo, led by Coach Spencer WareJoncas, lined up in five races, representing every discipline in the sport. This was a dramatic uptick in the intensity of a typical race schedule, which requires only two races in two days. And instead of racing against 40 competitors, as they do at home, they battled a field of 100. “Not only was it exhausting to have so many races in such a short period,” Graydon said, “but we also were pushed extra hard by the high level of competition.”

Graydon and Tyler went head-to-head with world-class athletes, some with professional careers, and held their own in the 10-kilometer individual skate race, the 1.4-kilometer classic sprint, the team sprint, the 7.5-kilometer relay, and the 20-kilometer classic race.

“It was such an amazing experience all around,” Tyler said. “Getting to represent the USA on the international stage was such an amazing opportunity.”