World Gymnastics Championships Opens in Anaheim, California

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, August 16, 2003

World Gymnastics Championships Opens in Anaheim, California

At the centenary anniversary, the 37th World Gymnastics Championships officially opened at the Arrowhead Pond here Friday evening.

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At the centenary anniversary, the 37th World Gymnastics Championships officially opened at the Arrowhead Pond here Friday evening.

Adapting to an Olympic format, the Anaheim worlds, with the participation of up to 700 gymnasts, 200 judges, 300 coaches and 150 officials from over 73 countries and regions, will produce 72 medals from the team, all-around and individual events during its nine-day competitions, and also serve as a qualifier for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

The 2003 worlds marks the 100th anniversary of this celebrated event which was first held in Antwerp in 1903, and the third time to be held in the United States after the 1979 and 1991 editions in Texas and Indianapolis respectively.

Under a new 6-3-3 rule introduced in 2001 to the team finals, it is hard to predict the eventual winners although China is tipped to be the hot contenders for the men's team crown and the United States is likely to capture its first-ever women's world team title.

While there are numerous strong competitors in the men's all-around competition, the big question for the women's edition is whether the steely veteran Svetlana Khorkina of Russia can add yetanother world title to her collection of nine in her last worlds.

Created in 1881, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) has 128 members, including new associate members of Chinese Macao,Malta and affiliate members of Burundi, Qatar and Jamaica.

After changes in the past century, the worlds is conducted annually except in the year of the Olympic Games and the format was changed in 1991 to alternate among an event finals only format,a team and all-around format and the Olympic Games format (team, all-around and event finals).

Against a quota restriction for the Olympics with pre-designated 98 men and 98 women gymnasts, the world gymnastics championships is open to all FIG member federations.

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