Sweden, Italy capture last freestyle titles

The final day of freeski and freestyle skiing at the Torino 2025 FISU World University Games delivered a dramatic yet memorable conclusion on Wednesday, 22 January in the mountains of Bardonecchia.

The men’s and women’s ski cross events took place amidst challenging weather conditions, showcasing incredible performances from the student-athletes.

Heavy fog in the morning created uncertainty about whether the competition would proceed. Fortunately, the skies cleared briefly, which allowed all semi-finals as well as the women’s small and big finals to take place. However, snow intensified just before the men’s finals, causing delays.

“We were really lucky because we had no fog. The guys had to wait,” said women’s gold medallist Nathalie Bernard from host Italy.

The delay worked to Sweden’s Erik Wahlberg’s advantage, as he won the gold medal. “For me, the delay was actually really good, because when I went up and took my skis, the ones I used during the first run, they were a bit sticky, because the condition was warm enough. So, during the break I was able to switch up my pair of skis and used the fast ones for this snow.”

Memorable performances

In the women’s big final, Nathalie Bernard defeated tough competitors from Austria and Canada, which had two representatives in the race. “The challenge today was that the other girls were really good,” she said. Proud of her victory, the 21-year-old student from University of Novedrate – Ecampus made sure she thanked her coach. “I have no words, it’s incredible. Finally, something good for our team and I have to thank very much my coach, Alessandro, he’s by far the best coach I’ve ever had.”

Isabel Hofherr of Austria claimed silver, with Canada’s Sage Stefani taking bronze.

On the men’s side, Wahlberg delivered a standout performance in the big final, leveraging his preparation and the slower conditions to secure gold. “I was able to put more pressure on the backside and work the terrain to my advantage,” he explained. Japanese teammates Sora Sasaoka and Asakawa Yamato completed the podium.

Preparation: a one-man job?

Every athlete has their own preparation rituals, and for Erik Wahlberg, it was a solo effort. Without his coach present, he relied on his instincts. “I don’t really have a coach with me right now, so my advice to myself was, ‘Don’t listen to other coaches—do what feels right,’” joked the 22-year-old from Mittuniversitetet in Östersund. Still, he sought help from Team Sweden’s coaches and analyzed videos of his competitors. “I reviewed videos of my races and theirs, which gave me a solid understanding of their styles and helped me prepare.”

After studying his competition, Wahlberg trained on the slope to familiarize himself with the course. “Yesterday, it was snowing as well during the training session, and the slope was a lot faster than it was today. And because we had fresh snow today, the slope was slower.”

Celebration time!

As the races in Bardonecchia wrapped up, the athletes looked ahead to celebrations. Bernard, the women’s champion, planned to share her victory with her family. “I need to call my mom and dad first, and then we’ll see how to celebrate.”

For Wahlberg, the celebrations will come later. “There’s an Instagram group that is called Bardo, I think. So I might just see where everyone is going tonight. I know that all the Swedish guys are moving out tonight so I will be pretty much alone. But I will definitely celebrate back home.”

The  take place from 13-23 January. Watch all the competitions live on . Click on the link to find the full schedule.

Written by Veronica Garcia Sanchez, FISU Young Reporter, Mexico

The Young Reporters Programme exemplifies FISU’s commitment to more than sports competitions. At every FISU World University Games, a group of talented aspiring sports journalists are chosen to cover the competition.

We warmly thank FISU Official Partner Qiaodan Ltd. which provides remarkable uniforms to FISU Family and International Technical Officials since 2015. Qiaodan is a valuable partner for FISU as it continued to provide its support during the postponement of events due to the global pandemic, and recently extended the relationship with FISU up to and including 2025.