Indianapolis – World Championships organizers are bracing for what could be the largest ever World Gymnastics Championships this August at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, with 739 athletes from 80 countries meeting the preliminary registration deadline earlier this week.

“USA Gymnastics and the Arrowhead Pond are thrilled with the amount of international support the world championships is receiving,” said USA Gymnastics President Bob Colarossi. “The number of entries helps demonstrate the significance of hosting the World Championships on U.S. soil as we look forward to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.”

Among the entries are 57 men’s team and 45 women’s teams. The delegations will bring with them a host of additional staff, judges, translators and coaches, doubling the number of international participants to just over 1,500, though some attrition is expected as the event nears. Nations will finalize their entries by the start of the FIG technical meetings in May, with the draw scheduled for May 24.

See below for a list of countries.

Prior to 2003, the largest Championships to date occurred in Tianjin, China, in 1999, when 553 athletes from 64 federations participated.

The 2003 World Gymnastics Championships, Aug. 16-24 at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, will award individual event gold medals as well as team titles in both men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics disciplines. The World Championships also serve as the qualification event for the 2004 Olympic Games.

The World Championships will be televised nationally on NBC Sports on Aug. 23 and 24 from 2-4 p.m. Tickets are available at the Arrowhead Pond box office, by calling 888-8WORLDS03, at www.worlds03.com, or through participating gymnastics clubs listed at www.usa-gymnastics.org.

Media should visit www.fig-gymnastics.com to register for credentials by May 1.

Countries returning the preliminary entry include:

ALG BUL DEN GRE KOR NED PRK TPE
ARG CAN ECU GUA KSA NGR PUR TUN
ARM CHI EGY HUN LAT NOR QAT TUR
AUS CHN ESA IND LTU NZL ROM UKR
AUT CMR ESP ISL LUX PAK RSA USA
BEL COL FIN ISR MAR PAR RUS UZB
BER CRO FRA ITA MAS PER SLO VEN
BLR CUB GBR JOR MEX PHI SUI YUG
BOL CYP GEO JPN MKD POL SVK ZIM
BRA CZE GER KAZ NAM POR SWE BAR