From November 18 to 19, the PCA World Championships were held in Malaga, Spain. More than 500 athletes from over 50 countries and regions gathered in Malaga to compete on the international stage. The women's fitness team of Chengdu University (CDU) selected and appointed 10 athletes to participate in this championship. In the end, Yang Can, a 2021 student majoring in Food Science and Engineering, won the champion of Fitness Model Group A and the first gold medal of the world championships in the history of CDU.

This championship is the first time for the women's fitness team to return to the international arena after the pandemic. The coaching team and athletes prepared for the championship for more than half a year. Later in the preparation stage, athletes were extremely strict about their diet. Athletes overcame the fatigue of consecutive connecting flights and jet lag, and immediately commenced aerobic and lipid control training upon arrival in Malaga on November 16. After arriving in Spain, two athletes caught a cold and had a low fever, but still insisted on training and competed with illness. Due to the special nature of fitness competition, the athletes had to spray themselves on the evening of November 18. All of them had no sleep overnight. At 5:00 on the morning of November 19, athletes started to prepare for their makeup and rushed to the competition venue for registration and secondary pre-competition spraying. Due to the tight schedule and the large number of athletes, the competition originally planned for 3.30pm was postponed until after 9pm.

After a fierce competition, Yang Can won the champion of Fitness Model Group A; Liu Mengting, a postgraduate from the School of Preclinical Medicine, secured second place in Fitness Model Group B; Zeng Guohui, a postgraduate from the College of Physical Education, won the fourth place in Fitness Model Group A; Zhu Yuying, a postgraduate (2nd year) from the College of Physical Education, won the sixth place in Fitness Model Group B.

Yang Can who won the gold medal said, "This was my first time to compete abroad. When I saw the unfamiliar foreign faces of the judges and audience, I didn't feel nervous. Instead, I felt a sense of pride as a Chinese athlete. I reminded myself that I had to showcase my utmost potential and recalled the coach's instructions of 'keeping smiling, demonstrating muscle strength, and stretching yourself'. My facial muscles were trembling as I kept smiling until the award ceremony. Winning the first gold medal in this competition was a surprise and an encouragement for me. This achievement is a common honor for all the members of our team, as well as a testament to the joint efforts of the coaching staff and athletes."