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London 2017
Candidate City - IAAF World Championships
Artistic Gymnastics
Japan’s biggest sporting event since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami kicks off Friday in Tokyo.
The artistic gymnastics world championships represent the discipline’s top meet of the year as well as the first of two opportunities for athletes to qualify for the 2012 Olympics.
Countries finishing in the top eight in the team competition earn automatic trips to London while those placing 9-16 in the rankings must try again for the Games at January’s test event.
Led by "Lord of the Rings" Chen Yibing, four-time defending champs China are favored in the men’s field alongside USA and Japan.
On the women’s side, reigning gold medalist Russia is looking to repeat its 2010 performance with Youth Olympic Games all-around winner Viktoria Komova at the helm. Strong squads from USA and China are expected to challenge for top honors too.
Qualification rounds will run through Monday at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium with team finals to follow on Tuesday and Wednesday, all-around finals on Thursday and Friday and individual event finals over the closing weekend.
Aside from the 2011 titles and 2012 berths at stake, these world champs are significant for two other reasons.
Several major events were cancelled, relocated or postponed in the wake of the devastating quake, but the International Gymnastics Federation stuck by Japan as host of its annual artistic showcase.
Also in Tokyo, the city’s bid for the 2020 Olympics will be put to the test for the first time as the sporting spotlight shines on the ability of local organizers to stage a top-tier competition.
Club Volleyball
Volleyball’s club world championships begin Saturday in Doha, Qatar.
Eight teams from the sport’s various confederations will make up the men’s field in a competition resurrected by the International Volleyball Federation in 2009.
Trentino BetClic of Italy is the two-time defending champion, meaning it’s also the only club to win the event since its original run from 1991 to 1994.
The finals are scheduled for Friday.
Fencing
Almost 1,000 fencers from more than 100 countries will vie for a piece of the $570,000 pot available next week in Catania, Italy.
"It’s tantalizingly close to the event now and almost everything is in place," International Fencing Federation president Alisher Usmanov said in a statement.
"I wish all athletes good luck in their last preparations for this important event."
The world championships kick off Sunday with qualifications in men’s sabre, women’s foil and men’s foil.
Beginning on Tuesday, medals in both able-bodied and wheelchair fencing will be up for grabs daily in the Palaghiaccio ice hockey arena until competition closes Oct. 16.
Because points obtained in individual events are multiplied by 2.5 and in team events are doubled, the competition marks a major qualification milestone on the road to London 2012.
The hosts are among the favorites in nearly every discipline after Italians took six of a possible 12 gold medals at the recent European Championships in Sheffield, England. Fencers from Russia, France, Germany, South Korea, China and USA are expected to contend for the podium as well.
Select action from Catania will be available for streaming live via FIE’s channel on YouTube.
Written by Matthew Grayson.
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