Celeste Mordenti takes a deep breath and the crowd muffles. Ahead stands the vault and her last routine of the individual qualifying round. As silence fills the artistic gymnastics venue, the 22-year-old is left with her thoughts.

First, a moment to adjust her grips and stance. Then, a critical second to settle into the feeling of being there and imagine herself in action. Every one of her performances at the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games has started this way. No matter what, she creates a wink of calm before all the eyes in the stands, and at the judges table, turn to her.

“I really focus on the routine that I’m going to do for myself, really get into the feeling of the routine.

“And I’m not so much focusing on if it’s quiet or loud—that’s how it is. That’s something I accept. It’s really finding the right flow to go into the routine.”

Then, by the time the screen flashes green to signal the start of her time, Luxembourg’s lone entry in the sport at the Games is ready to strike for perfection.

Standing solo on the stage

While most of the gymnasts competing in vault, floor, uneven bars, and beam on Thursday 24, July tallied team points and also worked to qualify for the individual competitions, Mordenti, as the single student-athlete from her country, was only concerned with advancing to later rounds.

“I had a good start on bars, I was very happy with that,” the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam student reflected. “Unfortunately, I fell on beam, so after that, I had to get back to the competition. I managed that well, so I’m very happy. And also, I finished with a good vault.”

Mordenti has become an artistic gymnastics phenomenon in recent seasons after she became the first athlete from her country to bring home a World Challenge Cup medal. At the end of May, she was also given the shooting star award by European Gymnastics for her skills and service to the sport.

At these FISU Games, she is focused on appreciating the unique atmosphere, while delivering the best she can for her nation.

“So far, I’ve really enjoyed this competition because it’s really a high level, you get all the things you get for the highest level of gymnastics competition, and at the same time, you have so many other sports,” Mordenti shared after her final vault of the day.

Mordenti embraces her coach after a successful qualifying round at the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games. © Michael Chisholm / Rhine-Ruhr 2025

Cradled in community

She might be the only student-athlete from Luxembourg competing in artistic gymnastics, but Mordenti hasn’t felt alone in her sport.

Her mother, who also has some gymnastics experience, has been a huge motivator over the years, and travelled to Rhine-Ruhr to support.

“Although now I’m not seeing her (my mother) every day anymore, it means a lot that she comes here to the competitions to support me. I’m very thankful for everything she’s done for me since the beginning because she also put a lot of support.”

Gymnastics requires a special combination of endurance and strength as athletes bathe in repetition while trying to perfect their routines. Mordenti studies and trains in the Netherlands, was born in Germany, and competes for the Luxembourg national team. With so many countries holding a bit of home there comes an abundance of supportive fans.

With tears creeping into her eyes, Mordenti acknowledged the motivation she feels from having others who believe in her and expressed how moments of self-reflection remind her of all she’s accomplished.

“I think one thing that keeps me going is to sometimes look back and to say, ‘okay, I’ve achieved things that I never thought would be possible. So why not more?’”

On 24 July, Mordenti ended up qualifying for a pair of finals, including all-around on Friday and vault on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the women’s team medals were awarded on Thursday with Japan meriting gold, Spain silver and France bronze.

The Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games take place from 16-27 July. Watch all the competitions live on fisu.tv . Click on the link to find the full schedule.

Written by Sarah Maat, FISU Young Reporter, Canada

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.