TOKYO, July 6, 2011 – The official draw for the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, scheduled for Oct. 7-16, in Tokyo, Japan, was held today in Tokyo. The U.S. women will compete on Oct. 8 in Subdivision 7, and the U.S. men compete on Oct. 9 in Subdivision 1. A total of 83 countries entered 297 men and 258 women for the World Championships, bringing the total to 555 participants.
The World Championships is the first qualification event for men’s and women’s gymnastics for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England. The top eight teams for both men and women will qualify for the Olympics, along with the gold, silver and bronze medalists in the individual event finals. The second and final opportunity to qualify for the London Games is the Olympic Test Event, Jan. 10-13, 2012, at the North Greenwich Arena, the gymnastics venue for the Olympics. In total, the FIG will qualify 98 men and 98 women gymnasts for the Olympic Artistic Gymnastics competitions.
The U.S. women’s podium training is on Oct. 4, with the men’s podium training on Oct. 5. In the qualification round, the U.S. women will start on the balance beam and the men begin on the floor exercise.
The competition schedule for the World Championships is: Oct. 7-8, women’s qualifications; Oct. 9-10, men’s qualifications; Oct. 11, women’s team finals; Oct. 12, men’s team finals; Oct. 13, women’s all-around finals; Oct. 14, men’s all-around finals; Oct. 15, individual event finals; and Oct. 16, individual event finals.