(ATR) The 2017 ISA World StandUp Paddle (SUP) and Paddleboard Championship begins Friday in Denmark.
It will be the first time a European country is hosting the championship, with events divided between Vorupør and the capital Copenhagen.
Vorupør, on the northwest coast of Denmark, is in an area known as "Cold Hawaii" and will feature the SUP Surfing and Technical Race events.
The Distance Racing events will be staged in the heart of Copenhagen.
The International Surfing Association will have a live webcast of the championship available on its website.
The ISA has run the SUP Championship on both ocean and fresh water since the inaugural event in 2012.
Around the Rings reported from last year’s edition in Fiji and will be on hand to cover the 2017 championship, which runs through Sep. 10.
Earlier this week, the ISA welcomed Samoa as the 103rd member of the federation. The country joins Iran, Sierra Leone, Cook Islands and Norway as the newest additions to the ISA fold.
CNN Showcasing Judo World Champs on New Platform
CNN is covering the 2017 Judo World Championships in full while also hosting a "micro-site" dedicated to judo.
"With front seats at the biggest events on the Judo calendar across all platforms, our audiences will be able to follow the very best of the action and meet the world’s champion judoka, starting at the 2017 World Judo Championships in Budapest," Matthew Percival, executive producer and commissioning editor, CNN International, said in a statement.
The championships began on Aug. 28 and are taking place at László Papp Budapest Sports Arena in the Hungarian capital.
Judokas from more than 50 countries are competing in the tournament. Men and women are sparring across seven weight categories as well as in the team event. After two days of competition, Japan leads the medal table with five golds, two silvers and one bronze. Mongolia is the only other country with more than two medals, earning one gold, one silver and two bronze.
The opening ceremony of the championships welcomed world leaders to Budapest including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga.
Putin, a skilled judoka, has attended the event in the past, and was given an open invitation by International Judo Federation president Marius Vizer.
Russian news agency TASS reported that Putin met with Hungarian President Viktor Orban during the trip.
The 2017 Suzuki World Judo Championships conclude Sep. 3.
Rhythmic Gymnastics Champs Begin
The 2017 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships are now underway in Pesaro, Italy as the world's best gymnasts compete for the title of world champion.
The International Gymnastics Federation is staging the event at the Adriatic Arena where gymnasts from 54 countries are competing for gold medals. The event will be the first to use FIG’s new points system for rhythmic gymnastics.
The new rules stipulate a maximum of two gymnasts per country allowed in the individual competition, which includes the all-around and the four handheld apparatus of hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon. Rhythmic groups of five gymnasts will compete for the Group All-around title and medals in apparatus finals with five Hoops, three balls and two ropes.
The 35th edition of the championships marks the first time Pesaro is hosting the competition, although the city has held nine FIG World Cup events in the past.
The individual all-around final will take place on Sep. 1, followed by group all-around final on Sep. 2. Competition concludes on Sep. 3 with the group apparatus finals.
World Championship Boxers Prepare for Semi-Finals
The 2017 Boxing World Championships are nearing their conclusion as 40 boxers remain after five-days of premier boxing competitions.
The event, hosted by former 2024 Olympic bid city Hamburg, Germany, began on Aug. 28 with 280 of the world’s best male boxers trying to stake their claims for the world title.
The tournament enters the semi-final rounds on Aug. 31 and Sep. 1 with the 40 remaining boxers. Four boxers are left in the 10 weight categories ranging from 46 to 91 kilograms.
Boxers in five of the weight categories will compete during each of the semi-final days, seeking to fight their way into the championship round. Each bout consists of three rounds.
While originally scheduled to attend the event, IOC president Thomas Bach will not be on hand to help crown the boxing champions when the tournament concludes on Sep. 2.
Written by Gerard Farek and Kevin Nutley.
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