Student athletes head to World University Games

Eighteen students from Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland have been selected to represent New Zealand at this year’s FISU World University Games in Germany, held from 16-27 July.  
 
They’re part of a wider team of 84 student athletes competing across multiple sports at the world’s second-largest multi-sport event after the Olympics. The Games bring together more than 8,500 student athletes and officials from over 150 countries, and often serve as a stepping stone towards Commonwealth and Olympic Games representation. 
 
The University of Auckland athletes, who are all part of the University’s High Performance Support Programme, will compete in disciplines including archery, athletics, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, beach volleyball, fencing, rowing, and water polo. 
 
Four of them share their thoughts ahead of the Games.

Lex Revell-Lewis – Athletics

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)

New Zealand 400m record holder Lex Revell-Lewis got his start in athletics through his local club as a young child. 
 
"Club nights were on Wednesday after school and my parents would take me along to participate in all the fun activities there were to offer. I started at a young age and haven’t looked back," he says. 
 
At the Games, Lex will compete in the 400m, the 4x400m men’s relay, and the mixed 4x400m relay. He says he’s feeling "excited about the possibilities and curious about the outcomes."
 
"My hopes are to lower my current national record in the 400m even further, which should put me in medal contention," he says.

Isabella Matthews – Archery 

Bachelor of Arts

Isabella Matthews says her love of archery began after reading Suzanne Collins’ dystopian series, The Hunger Games. 
 
"I was ten ... I wanted to be Katniss Everdeen. I wasn’t very good at the sport, but I absolutely fell in love with it. Over time, the sport became its own thing for me, and I was doing it because I wanted to see how far I could go," she says. 
 
Now representing Aotearoa New Zealand for the fifth time, Isabella will compete in the recurve division at her second major international tournament, just weeks after her first. 
 
"It’s super cool to be able to compete internationally back-to-back. I’m also excited to be competing against some of the world’s best archers and meeting other athletes. My hopes for the future are to win a medal at an international World Archery tournament, whether that’s individually or in a team."

Arie Rasmussen-Magasiva – Rowing 

Bachelor of Commerce and Global Studies (Conjoint)

Arie Rasmussen-Magasiva first gave rowing a go in high school after his friends signed up, and he hasn’t looked back. 
 
"I kind of just followed them in and thought it would be good fun, but ever since then I’ve been locked in," he says. "My family never had a history in the sport and I’d never really heard much about it so rowing was very new to me, but now I can’t imagine what I’d do with my time without it."
 
Arie will be racing in the single sculls event in Germany, where he’ll be competing internationally for the first time. 
 
"I’m feeling pretty nervous as it’s my first big international competition racing against athletes from countries all over. But I back myself, the training I’ve been doing and the effort I’ve put in, and I’m honestly just excited to give it everything and get as much out of this experience as I can."
 
Arie’s long-term goal is to eventually make the Olympics. 
 
"LA 2028, that’s the big goal right now. To get there, I’ll need to earn a spot in the New Zealand Elite squad, so I’m going to keep grinding away over the next few years and see if I can make my dream come true."

Havana Hopman - Rhythmic Gymnastics

Bachelor of Science

A multiple New Zealand champion, Havana Hopman first discovered rhythmic gymnastics at the age of seven while doing artistic gymnastics.

"I remember seeing a video of someone throwing a ball and catching it behind their head. I was mesmerised," she says. "My parents sent me to try it out, and I've been in love with the sport ever since."

Now, Havana is preparing to compete on the world stage.

"I can't wait to get out there and perform everything we've been working on. I'm very proud to be representing the fern on my chest. I hope to just really enjoy it, soak it all up."