The World University Games are one of the largest multi-sport events in the world, surpassed only by the Olympic Games and the Pan American Games with 10,200 and 6,900 participating athletes respectively.

Last year, 6,517 athletes from 119 countries competed in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province in southwest China, in front of an impressive crowd of over 40,000 spectators.

The Rhine-Ruhr 2025 Games in Germany are expected to surpass the Pan American Games in terms of the number of athletes present (approaching the Summer Olympics in terms of the number of athletes and countries represented with 10,000 and 170, respectively) and provide a unique opportunity for elite student athletes to experience an event on a similar scale to the Olympic Games.

With the uncertainty surrounding the future of the Commonwealth Games following Victoria's withdrawalfrom hosting the 2026 Games, the World University Games has become an increasingly important part of the plans of the world's top Olympic coaches, including Australia's.

Rohan Taylor is focused on the period after Paris 2024. He knows that in order to create the best possible conditions for LA 2028, he must take advantage of every quality event to prepare his athletes and officials to compete on the world stage.

He recently confirmed his plans to use the2025 World University Games in Germany and the 2027 Games in Chungcheong, South Korea, as a key part of the Dolphins' Olympic preparation.

"Access to international competition is very difficult for Australian athletes due to our location, so any sport with aspirations to perform well at the Olympic Games should take the World University Games seriously," said Taylor.

"The event allows our current elite and emerging athletes to compete against the best in their sport, creating a pathway for them to transition from national level competition to the international arena.

Crucially, with the support of their universities, elite student-athletes can maintain their training commitments while pursuing higher education, preparing them for life after competition.

"The university sector supports over six thousand aspiring student-athletes, coaches and officials, providing a flexible dual career pathway that strengthens our Olympic movement while developing these individuals," said Mark Sinderberry, CEO of UniSport Australia.

Like the Commonwealth Games, the University Games are particularly important for non-corporate sports. These sports, including swimming and athletics, are among the highest participation sports in Australia and are at the heart of Australia's Olympic tradition.

"The World University Games are a useful competition not only for swimming but as a broader, village-based multi-sport competition that is also highly competitive. The opportunity for aspiring Olympians to compete under pressure is valuable," said Taylor, who gained public recognition as the coach of Leisel Jones, who won a gold medal under his tutelage in Beijing 2008.

The Australian Dolphins did not participate in the recent World University Games in Chengdu due to a number of post-Covid reasons, making Taylor's confirmation of Australia's participation in the upcoming 2025 and 2027 events all the more significant.

Taylor highlighted another valuable opportunity offered by the World University Games. "Athletes often face a crossroads that can end their careers: they think they have to choose between university and a professional career or swimming. The World University Games provide an incentive for athletes to continue developing both paths and by keeping them in the sport longer, it is not uncommon to uncover performance improvements that simply cannot happen when they leave the sport".

The Australian coach, who was previously the state head coach for swimming in Victoria and Tasmania, has led the team to great success at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the 2022 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest and the most successful World Short Course Swimming Championships ever in 2022. He was named Coach of the Year at the 2023 Australian Institute of Sport Performance Awards.

In Taylor's first Olympic Games as head coach of Australian swimming, Australia enjoyed great success, winning a record 9 gold medals and 21 medals overall in Tokyo.