Tradition be damned.
The International Olympic Committee made a shocking decision Tuesday to remove wrestling from the Olympic program for the 2020 Games, eliminating the storied sport featured since the inaugural modern Olympics in Athens in 1896.
While wrestling was removed from the list of 25 “core sports” — igniting athletic outrage around the world — canoeing, equestrian and table tennis were among the events still considered “core sports.” Taekwondo and judo also occupy two spots.
“This is a process of renewing and renovating the program for the Olympics,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said. “In the view of the executive board, this was the best program for the Olympic Games in 2020. It’s not a case of what’s wrong with wrestling, it is what’s right with the 25 core sports.”
Wrestling still could be revived, with the IOC able to add one more sport for 2020, but it is unlikely to occur after being voted out, vying for the spot with fan-favorites like wushu (kung-fu) and wakeboarding, along with squash, karate, roller sports, sport climbing and a combined bid from baseball and softball.
Wrestling has been one of the United States’ greatest Olympic events, with Americans capturing a world-best 125 medals, including 50 gold, making it the country’s fourth-highest medal total.
Never was wrestling more celebrated, an athletic performance so revered, as when American Rulon Gardner ended Russian Aleksandr Karelin’s 13-year undefeated streak in a 2000 gold-medal match. Yesterday, the owner of one of the country’s greatest athletic achievements was filled with sadness that others may never get a similar opportunity to live out their dreams.
“It’s the IOC trying to change the Olympics to make it more mainstream and more viewer-friendly instead of sticking to what they founded the Olympics on, and that was basically amateur sports,” Gardner told the Associated Press. “In wrestling, this is our one opportunity to represent our sport we love and our country. It’s a true shame.”
The decision was made by secret ballot over several rounds, with members voting each time on which sport should not be included in the core group. The vote came after the board reviewed a report by the IOC program commission that analyzed 39 criteria, including ticket sales, television ratings, anti-doping policy, global participation and popularity.
The governing body of wrestling, FILA, said it was “greatly astonished” by the decision and will take “all necessary measures” to convince the IOC to maintain wrestling’s Olympic status when the members meet in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in September, but little action or lobbying was taken prior to the meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, as opposed to the other endangered sports — modern pentathlon, taekwondo and field hockey — with wrestling perceived to be safe from Olympic extinction due to its deep roots in the Games.
“Given the history and tradition of wrestling, and its popularity and universality, we were surprised when the decision was announced,” USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said in a statement.
USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender said: “It is one of the most diverse sports in the world, with nearly 200 nations from all continents participating in wrestling. We look forward to telling the story about wrestling to the International Committee leadership and the entire world about our great sport and why it should be part of the Olympic movement forever.”