The UB honours its most outstanding athletes for the academic year 2024-2025

​​​​​​​Today, Monday 29 September, the University of Barcelona held the ceremony to recognize the top athletes of the academic year 2024-2025 in the Historic Building’s Paranymph Hall. The ceremony, presided over by the Rector, Joan Guàrdia, and the vice-rector for Students and University Life, Marta Ferrer, highlighted the success of the students and rewarded the involvement of faculties and tutors in the promotion of university sport. 

The Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences received a plaque as the centre with the most participants in the University Leagues, which was collected by the vice-dean, Yolanda Cajal. The Club Esportiu Farmàcia UB, represented by its president, Emma Constanzo, also received an award for its active contribution. 

During the ceremony, diplomas were awarded to almost 200 UB athletes who have excelled in Catalan, Spanish and European competitions, both individually and as members of the UB teams and national university teams. Overall, UB athletes have won 136 medals, confirming the institution’s leading role in university sports. The National Institute of Physical Education and Sport of Catalonia (INEFC) also played an important role: its director, José Luis López del Amo, received the trophy as the centre with the highest number of students and medallists in the UB national teams. 

The event also included the presentation of plaques to the top athletes in the Unirun 2025 race: Martina Laplana, from the Faculty of Biology, and Benjamin Perret, from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences also received the cup as the centre with the most participants in the race, with a total of 195 of the 1,885 runners representing the UB. 

The tutors of the Tutoresport UB programme were honoured for their dedication. Rafael Oliva Virgili, from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Jordi Solà Grancha, from INEFC, received plaques. The seven students who represented the UB at the Rhine-Ruhr World University Games (Germany) this summer also received awards. Among them were Bernat Ribera, from INEFC, silver medallist in cross-country running, and Adrià Alfonso, from the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, also silver medallist in the 200-metre dash. 

The event concluded with the words of international swimmer Mireia Pradell, a Pharmacy student, who spoke on behalf of all UB athletes with an emotional speech highlighting the value of sport in the context of higher education. 

The event, which was streamed live here, highlighted the UB’s commitment to academic and sporting excellence.