By Keiran Gorsky
In years past, Ottawa’s Leonarda Andric would have been set on edge, trying to squeeze in as much practice as humanly possible before the main event. There would be no rest or relaxation before this, her first appearance at a major international multi-sport competition.
But this isn’t the Leonarda Andric of years past. This Leonarda Andric just got back from vacation in Banff.
“When I was younger, I would always tell myself I have to train so hard the week of,” Andric says. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve kind of realized, no, I need to rest my body.”
The 2025 FISU World Student Games start today in Germany and Andric will be one of seven local athletes representing Canada alongside Humber College’s Sherry Wu (badminton, mixed doubles), the University of Florida’s Julie Brousseau (swimming, 100-metre backstroke & 200 m individual medley), the University of Southern California’s Ashley McMillan (swimming, 100 m backstroke & 200 m IM), and University of Ottawa Gee-Gees track-and-field athletes Jessica Gyamfi (shot put and discus), Doyin Ogunremi (200 m and possibly 4×400 m relay) and David Moulongou (who ran his fastest 400 m hurdles in two years at the Canadian Track and Field League Finals last Friday in Ottawa).
For Andric, her Games debut comes a year later than she would have liked. The 22-year-old taekwondo martial artist experienced elation on the mats and devastation in the boardroom in her quest to reach the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
The qualification system in taekwondo was influenced by a limited number of total Olympic entries available in the sport, as the International Olympic Committee aims to limit the size of the Games. That means that only a few of the weight classes regularly available at international events are contested at the Olympics and no country could enter more than two athletes per gender across the four weight divisions.
For Andric, that meant moving up from her usual 62-kilogram category to the 67 kg division, which she ultimately won at the Canadian team trials in November 2023.
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But despite her victory on the mats, her Olympic quest ended when she wasn’t chosen to compete at the Pan American qualification tournament. With eventual Olympic medallist Skylar Park already qualified for Paris thanks to earlier international success, there was only one more Canadian entry available and Taekwondo Canada selected 49 kg athlete Josipa Kafadar for the qualifier.
“It was really heartbreaking. I know it was heartbreaking for my coach as well,” Andric recalls. “Leading up to this tournament, for months, we were training day and night. We thought we had done everything right.”
Andric and her coach at Phoenix Taekwondo, George Koh, challenged the decision at the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, but the arbitrator upheld Taekwondo Canada’s selection on the basis that Kafadar had more past international success against competitors in her Olympic-recognized weight class.
It was an awkward affair for both Andric and Kafadar, who have known each other since they were children. The two had ceased messaging each other leading up to the hearing, but have since re-initiated conversation.
“After everything was cleared, I sent her a message just telling her this is nothing personal,” explains Andric. “We both just have the same dreams.”
Kafadar, who went on to qualify for Paris and lost in the round of 16, will also be heading to the German Rhine with Andric as a member of Canada’s team at FISU.
The experience of missing out on the chance to qualify for the Olympics was Andric’s primary motivation to stay in the 67 kg division this season, and that’s where she’ll compete in her Sunday FISU event.
And should the same situation arise in the lead-up to the Los Angeles 2028 Games, Andric will hope to point to a longer track record of international results in the 67 kg division.
Indeed, she’s been in impeccable form since making the switch. Andric won February’s Canadian Championships and will make her senior World Championships debut in October in China. She also won back-to-back tournaments at the Canada Open in Montreal and then the U.S. Open in Reno, Nevada.
Andric pulled that off all while taking a normal course load at the University of Ottawa, where she studied biomedical health science and graduated in June. Training roughly 30 hours per week and travelling around the world for tournaments, Andric missed most lectures and frequently had to reschedule exams. She’s hoping that her potential qualification for the L.A. Olympics won’t clash with her future application to dental school.
“I’d say I’m pretty good at cramming, which might not be the best method,” Andric smiles.
Andric also fit in an appearance in an Adidas commercial. Olympic bronze medalist Park was looking for competitors around her size to be featured in the spot. Andric went to Toronto for the two-day rehearsal and shoot, deciding it was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up. The ad aired during the 4 Nations Face-Off hockey event in February. She’s the one in red at the beginning.
With everything happening every minute, all the time, it would seem an impossible environment for a highly competitive athlete to take a deep breath and a step back. But that, highlighted coach Koh, is precisely what Andric has learned to do.
The level of competition she’ll encounter at the FISU Games isn’t new to Andric — she’s been squaring off against Olympians and world champions for years. What has changed is her approach.
“When she was younger, she would get worried about what the other person [was] doing and not enough about what she should be doing,” Koh underlines.
Andric will probably have more cramming to do en route to dental school. She’s come to accept, though, that a few extra hours of practice stuffed in before major tournaments might do more harm than good.
“I need to be realistic and know that I’ve done all the preparation I need to do,” Andric says of FISU.
“I think as long as she’s confident and she believes in herself, she can do anything.” Koh adds. “She can beat anybody in the world.”