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Wrestling dropped from the Olympics


hektor

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This decision wrecks of corruption, with Juanito being on the EB and all. The fact that the FILA or the FIH weren't even aware that their sport where in danger is just ridiculous.

The entire thing smells of MaFIFA.

Canoeing being in there too is surprising, considering the 5 most talked about sports were badminton, taekwondo, shooting, modern pentathlon and table tennis.

And any member of the ExCo that had connections to a summer sport federation was in a conflict of interest and should have recused themselves.

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If everything regarding the Olympic Games - not only the host city elections and the marketing at and around the Games - depends on lobbying and maybe even brown-nosing, these aren't my Olympic Games anymore.



Canoeing being in there too is surprising, considering the 5 most talked about sports were badminton, taekwondo, shooting, modern pentathlon and table tennis.

Not to forget: Where are the talks about scrapping the doping-ridden weightlifting and cycling (at least road cycling)?

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No, that is no longer the case, certainly with the Olympic Games. I think it used to be - and believe it still is with regards to the Commonwealth Games. However, the sports programme for the Olympic Games these days is decided purely by the IOC.

There are core sports for the commonwealth games - 5 or 6 by memory. Then the other sports are picked by the host city.

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What is MF, WF and MGR? Regarding acronyms, sometimes less is more.

I hate to say that I have to agree.

Yes.

And I feel that I feel that way. But I've followed the very closely ever since 2006 and this is the first time I've seen them make a decision that I can't rationalize without invoking cronism if not outright coruption. Not that they haven't made a lot of decisions that I disagree with (there has been a lot of them) but this is the first time I can't rationalize what they did assuming good faith.

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Yes.

And I feel that I feel that way. But I've followed the very closely ever since 2006 and this is the first time I've seen them make a decision that I can't rationalize without invoking cronism if not outright coruption. Not that they haven't made a lot of decisions that I disagree with (there has been a lot of them) but this is the first time I can't rationalize what they did assuming good faith.

Since I have watched the Olympics in 1998, there has been about 2 dozen major decisions with regards to the program, hosts and a president. Every single one of them makes more sense than this, every one. I cannot understand or fathom this. I mean this makes the general vote in 2005 look sane and it is was the most widely panned decision I have ever seen here before this. I just cannot understand this at any level, other than bad-faith on the part of various people and nations involved. Especially since this is a clear slap in the face to) The next country to host an Olympics (Russia) and two of three bidders for the 2020 event themselves (Turkey and Japan).

Unless this is IOC trying to ensure none of the potential non-Olympic sports by placing it against a sport that will get a lot of sympathy, especially now that there is so much outrage.

And on a personal level, I wrestled for 11 years until my knees gave out. So imagining going to an Olympics without being able to see wrestling is horrible.

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Maybe this foreshadows a Madrid victory. Kidding.

I think it may speak volum on the power Juanito might have in the IOC. He really pulled a rabit out of his ass.

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I think the IOC should personally go up to all of the young aspiring wrestlers and break the news to them. Tell those young kids that their Olympic dreams are crushed. And then we'll see if this changes any of their minds.

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Like most people so far I thinks it’s a bit silly to drop wrestling but one thing is for sure in 4 years timewhen they are having the same executive board meeting to drop a sport I bet all 26 sports will be pushing their case and not taking their place in the Olympics for granted. I also feel that just a 14 person committee is a bit small for
this sort of decision.


I did read somewhere that they were given a document with statistics on all sports. It contains spread of medals, TV rating and Olympic attendance
details. Does anyone have a copy of this document of know where it can bedownloaded? I have had a look but can’t find it as it might just be an internal IOC ocument but would be an interesting read.



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I did read somewhere that they were given a document with statistics on all sports. It contains spread of medals, TV rating and Olympic attendance

details. Does anyone have a copy of this document of know where it can bedownloaded? I have had a look but can’t find it as it might just be an internal IOC ocument but would be an interesting read.

It would be. But as you can guess by now, Wrestling obviously ranked low in terms of TV ratings. So, even though I enjoy watching some wrestling, when they get locked into a hold that neither can move, then I think...boring! So the sport, if it wants back in, has to change to make it more TV-dynamic and appealing.

[bTW, I have a cousin who got into the sport late in life, and works as a self-appointed photographer for his daughter's school's wrestling team, even though his daughter is NO LONGER at that school. I think his 'pictorial' interest in the sport, seems a little too unhealthy...if u know what I mean. And he only likes the men wrestling...NO INTEREST whatsoever in the women's division. ]

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Maybe this foreshadows a Madrid victory. Kidding.

I think it may speak volum on the power Juanito might have in the IOC. He really pulled a rabit out of his ass.

Yes, seriously speaking, I don't know if this foreshadows a Madrid victory, but it does show how influential Samaranch is within the IOC, and there are 2 other Spanish IOC members vs. only 1 Japanese and 1 Turk.

I think the IOC should personally go up to all of the young aspiring wrestlers and break the news to them. Tell those young kids that their Olympic dreams are crushed. And then we'll see if this changes any of their minds.

That's true, but every Olympic sport has its young hopefuls so, unfortunately, there were going to be broken dreams no matter which one they had chosen to remove :(

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IOC president Rogge to meet with wrestling leader

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- IOC President Jacques Rogge says he will meet with the head of wrestling's governing body to discuss ways the sport can fight to save its place in the 2020 Olympics.

The IOC executive board dropped wrestling from the program of the 2020 Games on Tuesday, removing it from the list of 26 sports at last year's London Olympics.

The decision, which still must be ratified by the full IOC in September, has been criticized by wrestling organizations around the world.

Rogge says he has been contacted by Raphael Martinetti, the president of international wrestling federation FILA. He says "we agreed we would meet at the first opportunity to have discussions."

Rogge says he was encouraged that FILA had "vowed to adapt the sport and vowed to fight to be eventually included in the 2020 slot."

AP

http://www.wkyc.com/news/article/283427/4/IOC-president-Rogge-to-meet-with-wrestling-leader-

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And Greco-Roman is probably at the heart of its exclusion. I am sure the IOC would have rathered 7 male and female freestyle categories.

I think instead of looking at sports and looking at number of sports. The IOC should be looking at disciplines. I think if the IOC held a full vote based on disciplines you would probably see parts of a few sports cut (like rhythmic gymnastics, synchronized swimming, Greco-Roman wrestling)

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And Greco-Roman is probably at the heart of its exclusion. I am sure the IOC would have rathered 7 male and female freestyle categories.

I think instead of looking at sports and looking at number of sports. The IOC should be looking at disciplines. I think if the IOC held a full vote based on disciplines you would probably see parts of a few sports cut (like rhythmic gymnastics, synchronized swimming, Greco-Roman wrestling)

In 2002 the IOC considered doing that exact thing.

The executive board has yet to act on a series of other recommendations, including:

_ exclusion of either Greco-Roman or freestyle wrestling, citing " low public and media comprehension of differences between the two disciplines."

_ boxing remain in the Olympics but its status be reviewed because of image problems; women's boxing not be considered for inclusion.

_ elimination of canoe-kayak slalom; three-day eventing in equestrian; race walking in track and field; keelboat class in sailing; synchronized swimming team event; lightweight rowingevents; badminton mixed doubles event, and a reduction in athletes and events in shooting.

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I'm surprised that wrestling got the "nod", as it were. I wouldn't be surprised if it did manage to come back, however. But I worry that its fate may already be sealed.

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Via George

EAD: Greek wrestling federation slams IOC decision to cut sport

Eds: Adds further reax from other countries



Athens (dpa) - Greece‘s wrestling federation on Wednesday slammed a decision by the International Olympic Committee to cut the ancient sport from the Olympics.

"The gentlemen of the IOC have decided the kill the Olympic spirit," said the President of the Greek wrestling federation, Kostas Thanos on Greek state television.

"The leadership of the IOC have so little to do with the Olympicspirit that they do not even know that wrestling is mentioned in their own Olympic anthem in the second verse ... when running, wrestling and throwing," said Thanos.

"If wrestling is abolished then they should also do away with the Olympic rings or even the name Olympic Games and instead rename the event - Business Games," he added.


The IOC executive board was meeting to review the 26 sports on its summer programme in order to cut one of them so it could add one later this year.

It decided to keep modern pentathlon, which consists of fencing, horse riding, swimming, running and shooting and cancel wrestling.

Wrestling will still be included at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and the sport can lobby for re-entry later this year.

The vote by the IOC‘s executive board on Tuesday to cut the sport from the 2020 Games has stunned wrestlers around the world, mainly in the sport‘s big nations such as the United States, Russia, several former Soviet Republics and Iran.

The Soviet Union and its successors led by Russia have garnered arecord 77 gold medals in the sport and three-time Olympic champion Alexander Karelin of Russia suggested that the Olympians had been outto break that dominance.

"I am not a fan of conspiracy theories but to me real reasons are pretty obvious," Karelin said.

Olympic champion Farid Mansurov of Azerbaijan spoke of a "historic mistake," Russian wrestling federation president Mikhail Mamiashvili said he was "horrified" and Iranian counterpart Mohammad Ali-Abadisaid his federation plans to protest against the decision.

"This decision by the IOC executive is certainly a huge loss forIranian sport, and we will protest against it," Ali-Abadi told theMehr news agency.

In the US, where wrestling is big at especially the collegiallevel, the Boston Globe said: "By any empirical or historicalyardstick, wrestling belongs as one of the Games‘ 25 core sports.

"It is a classic, simple, inexpensive undertaking that is easy tounderstand and televise, and it makes for extraordinary human drama."

Olympic historian David Wallechinsky told the New York Times the decision was "stupid" and pointed out that at London 2012, "29 different countries won medals. This is a popular sport.

The world governing wrestling body FILA is to deal with the issue at a board meeting on the weekend in Thailand. There have been suggestions that president Raphael Martinetti may have to go as somebelieve that FILA did not lobby enough ahead of the vote, and had too many rule changes which led to confusuion.

"He has delivered catastrophic work and didn‘t defend our sportbefore the IOC," Mamiashvili said.dpa cp svb bag Author: Christine Pirovolakis, Sven Busch

LOLLLLLL

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