UPDATE - ESPN2 changes air time of World Championships broadcast to one hour earlier on Thursday, Oc

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Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling)
10/22/2003


ESPN has notified USA Wrestling that it has changed the time that it will air the second showing of the World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling, held in Madison Square Garden in New York City.    This one-hour show with coverage of the gold-medal round will be broadcast on ESPN2 on Thursday, October 23, starting at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.    The show was scheduled to be aired an hour later in previous announcements.    The tournament features the world's best men and women freestyle wrestlers, competing in the world's most famous sports arena, Madison Square Garden. The event was held September 12-14, and the show will be aired on a tape-delayed basis.    The first airing of the show on ESPN2 was broadcast today.    The broadcast team for the show featured play-by-play announcer Russ Hellickson, the head wrestling coach at Ohio State, who has announced the wrestling competition at every Olympic Games since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. He was joined by color commentators Kendall Cross, a 1996 Olympic gold medallist in freestyle wrestling, and sports broadcaster Joe Miller.    The United States had a strong team in both the men's and women's divisions. The show will focus on the U.S. team's attempt to capture the team title in both the men's and women's divisions.    This competition will also served as a qualifying event for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. There were over 60 nations participating with more than 400 competitors.    ESPN has aired a number of major international amateur wrestling events in recent years, including the World Cup, USA vs. Russia duals, USA vs. Iran duals and the U.S. Nationals.    If you are unable to watch the event on your TV, please remember to reset your VCR to the new airtime and capture the excitement of the memorable World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling in New York City.