ENG 417: IOC Drops Wrestling

Photo: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

International Olympic Committee (IOC) leaders dropped wrestling from the 2020 Olympic program Tuesday.

The move means that one of the oldest sports in modern Olympic history (dating back to the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896) has been given the boot.

"This is a process of renewing and renovating the program for the Olympics," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said in an Associated Press article. "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."

According to Adams, the decision was made by secret ballot over several rounds. Among the other choices were modern pentathlon, taekwondo and field hockey, according to officials.

The AP says the board voted based on a report by the IOC Program Commission which included stats on television ratings, ticket sales, anti-doping policy and global participation. The report didn't make any explicit conclusions nor did it rank the sports in any fashion. The AP also said that the "final decision by the 15-member board was also subject to political, emotional and sentimental factors."

According to the AP, wrestling featured 344 athletes competing in 11 medal events in freestyle and seven in Greco-Roman style at the London Olympics. Now, the sport will join seven others in reapplying for inclusion into the program, although it's unlikely the sport will be reinstated.

"Today's decision is not final," Adams said. "The session is sovereign and the session will make the final decision."

Honestly, I was shocked by this. It particularly hit home with me because I have a few friends who wrestled in high school and who are involved with it in college. I was also surprised since the modern pentathlon has come under a lot of scutiny, yet it was retained. That was partly because it received a lot of support from a few IOC leaders and, thus, was kept on the program.

The pentathlon combines fencing, horse riding, swimming, running and shooting. It's a very demanding olympic sport and one that I, personally, don't like to watch. 

It'll be interesting to see what happens with this as there will surely be a lot of upset athletes and fans.