01. März 2007  
Neuchatel / Switzerland  
Artistic Gymnastics

F.I.G.: A second Olympic Chance...

F.I.G. announcement...

Gymnasts to get two opportunities to reach Olympics
Gymnasts will have a second chance to qualify for the Olympics starting with the 2012 London Games.
The International Gymnastics Federation F.I.G. made the announcement at its new home city Neuchatel in Switzerland....
Currently, gymnasts can only qualify for the Summer Games at the world championships in the year preceding the Olympics, but following a directive from the International Olympic Committee ...  to provide athletes with a second opportunity, the F.I.G. put together a proposal it expects to submit to the IOC by the end of the year.

Bruno Grandi (ITA)

FIG president Bruno Grandi said: 
"With just one qualifying competition, some of the world's best gymnasts have missed the Olympics.
If they were injured or missed qualifying for any other reason, problems with the federation, then we would be missing some of the athletes at the Olympics. We can't afford that.
The Olympics are too important for athletes nowadays for them to miss the games. We're trying to find a valid solution."
Under the FIG's proposal, the 2011 world championships would still serve as the main qualifying competition for all three disciplines -- artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, and trampoline -- for the 2012 Olympics.
But the FIG also wants to use test events the year before the games as a second qualifying competition for the London Games.
"We hope the IOC will understand our need to use the test events as the second qualification for the Olympic Games to avoid the introduction of another new event, since we already have a lot of them," Grandi said.

The quota of gymnasts at Beijing will be 324, up 12 from the Athens Olympics, to allow for more competitors in the rhythmic gymnastics competition.
Also, Grandi said he plans to run for re-election in 2009.
The Italian has been president since 1996.
"I am not finished with my work and I think have a duty to finish it," said Grandi, who was behind the overhaul of the sport's judging system after a series of controversies at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Source:  fig-information, SI.com