The International Olympic Committee decided this week that wrestling was not going to be one of the 25 core sports. Starting in 2020 wrestling will have to fight with 8 other sports for slot in the games. Despite being one of the original sports that were part of the first modern Olympics in 1896, wrestling is now forced to fight for a spot. The situation makes me wonder something about the organization. Does the IOC even care about sports?
The way this was done was by a secret ballot because the parties involved did not want to have own up to whom individually help the sport lose its position in the Olympics. Is it possible that the people in charge of wrestling did not pay the proper fee to keep their sport around? You have wonder who in their right mind would think that dressage was a more respectable sport than wrestling. Can anyone name the most recent dressage medalist without the help of Google?
There are other sports that do not even come close to the competition that wrestling brings to the table. There is no way of convincing me that badminton, table tennis (ping pong) or sailing belong in the Olympics. Wrestling is a great sport that is the ultimate competition. It is one on one to prove who the best is. Both parties bring all of the strengths and weaknesses to the mat and see who comes out on top. I guess the IOC doesn’t have time for those kind of athletic events anymore.
Written By
Keith B. Holt
Follow on Twitter @kholtjr
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