UNIVERSAL SPORTS TO BROADCAST FILA WRESTLING WORLD CHAMPIONS

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Universal Sports to webcast World Wrestling Championships nightly at 1:30 p.m. ET from Sept. 21-27

 

Melisa Mowry Universal Sports

09/16/2009

 

UNIVERSAL SPORTS TO BROADCAST FILA WRESTLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

 

Live Online Coverage Begins Monday, TV Coverage Starts Oct. 1

 

LOS ANGELES ? September 17, 2009 ? 2008 Beijing Olympic team members Dremiel Byers (Greco-Roman, 120 kg/264.5 pounds) and Clarissa Chun (48 kg/105.5 pounds) headline the 21-member wrestling team from the United States as Universal Sports, in partnership with the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA), presents seven days of coverage of the 2009 Wrestling World Championships from Herning, Denmark.

 

Universal Sports? coverage of the opening match begins at 1:30 p.m. ET Monday with free, live online streaming video available at UniversalSports.com. Television coverage begins October 1at 7 p.m. ET with a one-hour recap show.

 

The broadcast team consists of 2000 Olympic Games Gold Medalist Rulon Gardner and play-by-play commentator Jim Watson.

 

COVERAGE ON UNIVERSALSPORTS.COM: UniversalSports.com will provide live coverage of each weight class medal-match final from Denmark. A detailed webcast schedule is available, as well as highlights, full-length videos, photos, breaking news and more at UniversalSports.com.

 

Date/Event/Time (all times ET)

Sept. 21 - Men?s Freestyle 55kg, 66 kg, 96 kg at 1:30 ? 3:30 p.m.

 

Sept. 22 - Men?s Freestyle 60 kg, 84 kg, 120 kg at 1:30 ? 3:30 p.m.

 

Sept. 23 - Men?s Freestyle 74 kg, Women?s Freestyle 48 kg, 51 kg at 1:30 ? 3:30 p.m.

 

Sept. 24 - Women?s Freestyle 55 kg, 50 kg, 63 kg at 1:30 ? 3:30 p.m.

 

Sept. 25 - Women?s Freestyle 67 kg, 72 kg; Greco-Roman 55 kg at 1:30 ? 3:30 p.m.

 

Sept. 26 - Greco-Roman 60 kg, 84 kg, 96 kg at 1:30 ? 3:30 p.m.

 

Sept. 27 - Greco-Roman 66 kg, 74 kg, 120 kg at 1:30 ? 3:30 p.m.

 

COVERAGE ON UNIVERSAL SPORTS: Universal Sports, available in 56 million homes, will present one-hour primetime shows with highlights of the top matches at 7 p.m. ET nightly starting Thursday, Oct. 1 - Sunday, Oct. 4.

 

ABOUT THE EVENT: The U.S. will send 21 wrestlers to Denmark for the Championships seven in men?s freestyle, seven in Greco-Roman and seven in women?s freestyle. The United States has a strong team and is expected to challenge for top honors in all three styles. In Greco-Roman, other top nations include Russia, Georgia, France, Azerbaijan, Cuba, Kazakhstan and more. In women?s wrestling, Japan is the top favorite, along with China, Canada, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and others. In men?s freestyle, Russia is the top power, along with Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Cuba, Azerbaijan, Turkey and others. A number of stars from the 2008 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece are expected to attend. However, as the first World Championships of the new four-year Olympic cycle, many contenders for medals at the 2012 London Olympics are expected to emerge.

 

ABOUT UNIVERSAL SPORTS: Universal Sports, a partnership between NBC Sports and InterMedia Partners, serves as the preeminent multiplatform destination for Olympic-related and lifestyle sports programming available on television and online. Universal Sports is now available in nine of the top 10 DMAs including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas-Fort Worth and Washington, D.C. Recent expansion includes launches in Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Denver, Portland, and Jacksonville. Go to UniversalSports.com for a complete list of TV markets. Major world championship and Olympic qualifying events found on Universal Sports range from track and field, skiing, swimming, gymnastics, marathons and cycling, to volleyball, rowing, triathlon, fencing, speed skating and martial arts.

 

UniversalSports.com delivers an immersive experience via live and on-demand competition coverage, interaction with top athletes through blogs and in-depth access to Olympic sports news and information year round. For more information on the availability of the Universal Sports 24-hour television channel, please visit UniversalSports.tv.