ASICS will partner with USA Wrestling to be the official footwear, apparel, and accessory sponsor of the 2003 World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling to be held September 12-14, 2003 at one of the world's most famous arenas, Madison Square Garden in New York City. ASICS and USA Wrestling will also be the presenting sponsors of ESPN's television coverage of the event.
As part of the sponsorship agreement, ASICS will have four 30-second commercials aired during ESPN's coverage as well as billboard placement throughout the program. ASICS will debut a new commercial featuring wrestling superstar Cael Sanderson. Sanderson graduated from Iowa State in 2002 as the NCAA's only four-time, undefeated champion. He compiled an astonishing win-loss record of 159-0.
ASICS has also produced clips featuring Olympians Kerry McCoy and Joe Williams, which will be used to highlight ASICS support of USA Wrestling and the sport of amateur wrestling. The “ASICS Minute” will be shown during the television coverage.
The 2003 World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling is a collaboration between USA Wrestling and the City of New York, the committee trying to bring the Summer Olympics to New York City in 2012. The championships were scheduled to be held in New York City in 2001, but were moved for security reasons. This will mark the first time that the women's championships have been held in New York City.
ASICS has been a sponsor of USA Wrestling and the U.S. National Teams in wrestling since 1980. USA Wrestling is the national governing body of wrestling. This organization holds competitions over 1600 sanctioned events for cadets to seniors across the US including the ASICS/Vaughan Junior & Cadet Nationals held each year which is the largest single event in wrestling in the world. USAW has over 150,000 members. USAW has fielded national teams, which have won 103 Olympic medals, which is the highest of any country plus more than any sport in US history except for T&F and swimming.
