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  • Copenhagen Ready for 2009 WTF World Taekwondo Championships
Press Releases

Copenhagen Ready for 2009 WTF World Taekwondo Championships

Taekwondo - 12 Oct 2009
   
Copenhagen, Denmark is ready for the 2009 WTF World Taekwondo Championships scheduled for Oct. 14-18, 2009, which will draw athletes from a record countries, amid great interest from both the public and the global media, especially televisions.

The biennial World Taekwondo Championships, the 19th edition of its kind for men and 13th for women, are expected to attract more than 1010 athletes from a record 142 countries.

“We are ready for the World Championships and they will be the most successful event ever in many sectors,” said chief organizer of the Championships.

The Copenhagen event, which will take place at the Ballerup Super Arena in Copenhagen, will mark the first World Taekwondo Championships to use electronic body protectors. After the championships, the World Taekwondo Federation will decide on whether to use electronic protectors at next WTF-promoted events.

Under the new WTF Competition Rules, which took effect from June 2009, an instant video replay system will be introduced at the Copenhagen Championships.

The new rules also call for the reduction of the competition area from 10 meters by 10 meters to 8 meters by 8 meters. And the introduction of a new scoring system: one point for a valid kick to the truck protector, two points for a valid turning kick to the trunk protector, and three points for a successful kick to the face. Under a strengthened 10-second rule, a passive athlete will get penalty of a warning, which means the opponent will get 0.5 point per warning.

Reflecting the growing popularity of the Olympic sport of taekwondo worldwide, the global media, especially televisions, are showing great interest in the upcoming championships.

A lot of television stations, including Eurosport Asia, TLC Mexicio, TRT Turkey, UK Sky Sports, USA Fuel, ESPN Middle East, Korea’s Arirang TV and MBC TV, will broadcast the championships either live or in a delayed format. Championships news and highlights will be relayed to hundreds of television stations worldwide through the European Broadcasting Union.

The championships will feature eight weight categories each for male and female athletes: -54kg, -58kg, -63kg, -68kg, -74kg, -80kg, -87kg, and +87kg for men; and -46kg, -49kg, -53kg, -57kg, -62kg, -67kg, -73kg, and +73kg for women.

Among athletes to watch will be Steven Lopez of the United States, who wants to set a record by becoming the five-time champions at the World Taekwondo Championships. Lopez, the gold medalist at both the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games, and the bronze medalist in the men’s -80kg class at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, was the gold medal winner at the 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007 World Taekwondo Championships.

Korea’s Choi Yeon-ho hopes to become the four-time champion at the World Championships as he got the gold medal at the 2001, 2003 and 2007 World Championships.

Three gold medalists at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are to compete in the Copenhagen Championships: China’s Wu Jing-yu, the gold medalist in the women’s -49kg category; Korea’s Lim Su-jeong, the gold medalist in the women’s -57kg class; and Mexico’s Maria Espinoza, the gold medalist in the women’s +67kg class.

The youngest athlete at the Copenhagen Championships will be Ms. Ahou Nadege Konan of Cote d’Ivoire, who was born on Oct. 31, 1994; while the oldest athlete will be Ms. Cheryl Ann Sankar of Trinidad Tobago, who was born on Feb. 26, 1964.

Among other eye-catchers will be Mali’s Daba Modibo, the gold medal winner in the men’s +87kg class at the 2007 Beijing World Taekwondo Championships; Greece’s Alexandros Nikolaidis, the silver medalist in the men’s +80kg class at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games; Dominican Republic’s Yulis Gabriel Mercedes, the silver medalist in the men’s -58kg class at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The opening ceremony of the World Championships is scheduled to take place at 4 p.m. on Oct. 14.

Prior to the Championships, several big events are scheduled in Copenhagen, including a reception for the WTF hosted by the City of Copenhagen at the City Hall at 4 p.m. on Oct. 10.

On Oct. 11, a WTF Council meeting will take place at the Scandic Copenhagen Hotel, the main hotel for the championships, while the 2nd International Symposium on Taekwondo Studies is slated to take place at the Scandic Copenhagen Hotel on Oct. 12 and at the Copenhagen University in the morning of Oct. 13.

At 2 p.m. on Oct. 13, a WTF General Assembly will take place at the Scandic Copenhagen Hotel, in which elections for the WTF officials, including the president, will take place. The General Assembly will also approve Timor-Este as the WTF’s 189th member.
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