Olympic gold medalist (2014, 2018) Yuzuru Hanyu trained in Sendai during their childhood. Tohoku Fukushi University and Sendai Ikuei Gakuen High School are well known for their strong sports programs, the latter for baseball. In 2006, Sendai hosted some games of the 2006 FIBA World Championship. Before that, the city had some experience at hosting international basketball events such as the 1994 and 2004 editions of the FIBA Women's Asia Cup. Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling is a joshi wrestling company based in sendai. Baseball Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (Pa.League) Basketball Sendai 89ers (B.League) Football Vegalta Sendai (J.League) MyNavi Sendai（WE.League） Futsal Voscuore Sendai（F.League） Volleyball Ligare Sendai（V.League） International relations Twin towns – sister cities Sendai has a long history of international relationships. Its affiliation with Riverside, California, on March 9, 1957, is the second oldest sister city partnership in Japan. Sendai is twinned with: Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico (since October 1973) Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain (since October 1970) Changchun, Jilin, China (since October 1980) Dallas, Texas, United States (since August 1997) Gwangju, South Korea (since April 2002) Minsk, Belarus (since April 1973) Rennes, Brittany, France (since September 1967) Riverside, California, United States (since March 1957) Friendship cities Sendai also cooperates with: Oulu, North Ostrobothnia, Finland (since November 2005) Tainan, Taiwan (since January 2006) International events The Sendai International Music Competition takes place every three years, welcoming participants from around the world. Sendai has hosted international conferences about disaster management, as is recognized as a model city for disaster risk prevention. Notable people Akitoshi Saito, Japanese professional wrestler who currently works for Pro Wrestling Noah (Currently lives in Nagoya, Aichi) Hirohiko Araki, manga artist; creator of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The fictional city of Morioh that appears in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is based on Sendai. Miho Arakawa, voice actress Chris Broad, British YouTuber based in Sendai Mika Doi, voice actress Mimori Yusa, singer-songwriter Yuzuru Hanyu, figure skater and two time Olympic champion (2014-2018) Eugen Herrigel lectured at Tohoku Imperial University from 1924 until 1929 Sharla Hinskens, Canadian YouTuber based in Sendai Kanata Hongō, actor and model Karen Iwata, member of girl-group AKB48 Monkey Majik, band, formed and based in Sendai Hikaru Minegishi, footballer Yūsei Oda, voice actor Minene Sakurano, manga artist; creator of Mamotte Shugogetten Kimi Sato, composer Somei Satoh, composer Satomi Satō, voice actress Shizuka Arakawa, figure skater and Olympic Champion (2006) Yoko Kanno, composer Ayumi Ishida, member of girl-group Morning Musume '17 Ai