World University Games—Athletics： Makoto Tsuchiya (women's half marathon) and Atsuki Tsuchiya (men's 20 km race walk) both win silver medals
From Monday, July 21 to Sunday, July 27, 2025, the FISU World University Games, a competition to determine the best collegiate athletes in the world, was held in Rhein-Ruhr, Germany, where Makoto Tsuchiya (4th year, College of Sport and Health Science) and Atsuki Tsuchiya (4th year, College of Gastronomy Management) won silver medals in the women's half marathon and men's 20 km race walk, respectively.
The women's half marathon was held on July 26, the sixth day of the games. Makoto Tsuchiya joined the lead group right after the starting pistol and led the race most of the way, but unfortunately, the first-place runner overtook her and pulled away around the 20-km mark, leaving her to finish in second place. She earned the silver medal with her time of 1 hour, 12 minutes and 58 seconds.
Meanwhile, the men's 20 km racewalk was held on July 27, the final day of the games. Atsuki Tsuchiya, who was in the lead group, broke away from the pack around the 15-km mark with Andrea Cosi (Italy), who also participated in the 2023 games in Budapest, and they remained neck and neck until the end of the race. Tsuchiya was narrowly defeated after Cosi’s last spurt, but took home the silver medal with a time of 1 hour, 20 minutes, and 8 seconds.
Aside from the two Tsuchiyas, the other Japanese athletes also performed well in both events, which led to both of them earning gold medals in the team division, which is measured by the total time of the top three athletes.
Comment from Makoto Tsuchiya (4th year, College of Sport and Health Science)
Since I first came to Ritsumeikan, it has been a goal of mine to participate in the World University Games, so I gave my all with the single-minded determination to win. Finishing second, just one spot away from the gold in the individual competition, was disappointing and made me realize just how hard it is to compete on the world stage. However, being able to run in the national team uniform for the first time was something I will never forget, and the 21.0975-km distance flew by. I will make the most of this experience to rededicate myself from scratch in preparation for the upcoming Ekiden season.
Comment from Atsuki Tsuchiya (4th year, College of Gastronomy Management)
Competing at the World University Games had been my biggest goal since entering university. I finished second individually and took home the gold in the team division. I’m happy to have proven I can compete on the world stage, but I still feel somewhat disappointed at finishing second in the individual event. That being said, I gave everything I had, so I have no regrets! Participating in the games taught me lot about the atmosphere of international races as well as the values and behaviors of athletes from overseas. I will leverage this experience in future competitions to become even stronger.
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