Italy, France to host rowing, cross-country Worlds

The International Federation for Intellectual Impairment Sport (World Intellectual Impairment Sport) has added indoor rowing and cross-country running to its 2017 World Championships calendar.

The 2017 World Intellectual Impairment Sport World Indoor Rowing Championships will take place in Gavirate, Italy, from 25-26 November. Featuring six medal events, athletes will compete for individual and mixed relay medals over 500m and 1,000m.

It will be the fifth edition of the World Championships and the third time top class rowers have travelled to Italy for the event. Also in Gavirate in 2015, Hong Kong dominated the medals table with six podium finishes

Gavirate 2017 is being organised by the A.S.D. Canottieri Gavirate and the Italian Rowing Federation.

The 2017 World Intellectual Impairment Sport World Cross Country Championships in Epernay, France, will conclude the major international competition calendar on 10 December.

Returning to France for the second time, it will be the eighth edition of the World Championships. The organisers are the Fédération Française du Sport Adapté.

The last cross-country World Championships were held in 2014 in Ostrzeszów, Poland. The host’s European track champion Daniel Pek and Paralympic track gold medallist teammate Barbara Niewiedzial dominated the men’s and women’s respectively.

Nick Parr, World Intellectual Impairment Sport Executive Director, said: “These two high-level competitions complete the 2017 calendar perfectly.

“It brings the number of World Championships held this year to 10 across a wide variety of sports. We have also sanctioned and organised a series of other competitions.

“I am sure that rowers and runners will put on a huge show to win coveted world titles and end the year on a high. Our thanks go to the organisers for providing athletes with the perfect stage to reach their best.”

Entries for both World Championships are now open. More information can be found at www.inas.org/events.

Support us

The International Federation for Intellectual Impairment Sport (World Intellectual Impairment Sport) represents more than 300,000 athletes with intellectual impairments around the world. We give elite athletes the chance to compete at an international level and on the Paralympic stage. But we cannot continue our work towards the inclusion of the world’s biggest impairment group in sport and society without your support.

We are a registered charity and your help can make a big difference.