Westley and Williams Claim Rowing Silver as South Africa Secures 18th Medal at World University Games

Rhine-Ruhr, Germany – July 27, 2025

South Africa’s Courtney Westley and Katherine Williams delivered a determined performance in the women’s pair rowing final to secure silver at the 2025 FISU World University Games—South Africa’s 18th medal overall, and notably the first medal outside of athletics and swimming at this year’s event.

The duo showed strong intent from the opening round. In Heat 3 of Round 1, Westley and Williams dominated the field, crossing the line in 7:29.97, a commanding 15 seconds ahead of Italy in second place. Their momentum continued in the semifinals, where they again took top spot—this time with a four-second cushion over the Netherlands.

Heading into the final, the race was expected to be a battle between South Africa and Lithuania, based on the fastest times recorded in the earlier rounds. That prediction proved accurate. In a tightly contested final, Lithuania just managed to edge out South Africa at the line to claim gold in 7:42.96—only one second ahead of the South African pair. South Africa produced a powerful late surge and was rapidly closing the gap, leaving the impression that, with a few more metres, they may well have snatched the gold. New Zealand followed in third, finishing 12 seconds behind to take bronze.

The silver medal capped an impressive campaign for both rowers.

Westley, who is studying for a BSc in Medicinal Plant Sciences at the University of Pretoria, is no stranger to the World University Games podium, having earned a silver medal in the women’s single sculls at the previous edition in Chengdu, China (2023).

Williams, also a University of Pretoria student, holds a degree in Education and is currently furthering her studies in Sport Science. She brings extensive international experience, having represented South Africa at the Junior Summer Olympics (2018) as well as the U23 World Championships.

Reflecting on their performance, Westley expressed pride in their journey and growth:
“I’m extremely proud of our progress over the last month. We’ve had some challenges along the way, but each race we managed to get better and better.”

On the final itself, she added:
“We had an amazing second 1km. At the 1km mark, I didn’t think gold was an option—but by the 500m mark, it suddenly became so close. We just missed it, but I know we can go home, regroup, and find exactly what we need going forward.”

With both athletes still in their twenties, this result adds to their growing list of achievements and suggests they will continue to play a prominent role on the international rowing circuit—potentially even at future Olympic Games.

As the curtain closes on the 2025 Games, Westley and Williams’ performance stands out not only for its execution but for expanding South Africa’s medal tally across new disciplines.