[lonewolfny42]

Heard about this today.....

                 

The International Olympic Committee has dropped wrestling from the 2020 Summer Games, a surprising decision that has bewildered athletes and fans of the longtime Olympic sport.

Story link.... here...

[jimdgoulding]

I remain bewildered.  A longtime tradition.  Like back to the Greeks.  Cost prohibitive?  What else kills art.  Well, sponsers do in our age.

[S Clark]

The IOC has been bizarre for years..... syncronized swimming??

[Letitroll98]

If this goes through, according to the article there is a process whereby wrestling could be left in, I will boycott watching any of the Summer Olympics and put up as much publicity as I can muster to have others boycott watching the games.  This is literally the absolute stupidest thing I have ever heard, and I've heard the Olympic committee do and say some pretty stupid things over the years.  Trampoline, BMX, beach volleyball, rhythmic gymnastics, golf, tennis, and equestrian dressage are left in, but wrestling is out?

Actually, I do agree that wrestling has to make some changes to be more relevant, and perhaps the committee has asked for changes that haven't been forthcoming, I don't know.  But there's no way you can eliminate wrestling anymore than track and field or swimming.  It's a core Olympic sport, it has to stay in order for it to be called the Olympics.

[ctviggen]

The IOC has been bizarre for years..... syncronized swimming??

If I had to choose between watching synchronized swimming and watching wrestling, I'd choose synchronized swimming.  We watched SS with my daughter, and she was enthralled.  Also, the strange dance routines where they use balls and hoops, she loved those. 

Oh the other hand, it seems ridiculous to cut wrestling (though I can honestly say I've never seen a wrestling match at the Olympic or any other level). 

[thunderbrick]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYLaasPdhIs

We need to have this in high school athletic programs.

[JCarney]

Yep, the IOC has gone off the deep end. I wrestled in high school, and love the sport. I convinced my lanky stepson to wrestle, it helped him physically for obvious reasons, and socially due to the amount of interaction at practice and competitions. A few years ago I grabbed my stepdaughter to watch a replay of an American wrestler beating a previously undefeated Russian in the gold medal Greco Roman match (name escapes me). She was not happy that I made her sit there and watch that historic match. She thanked me after the match was over. She realized that it was an historic match, and she got to see it. My heart swelled in that moment. The boys were not home, or they would have been there too. Damn whacko's at the IOC.

JCarney

[S Clark]

. A few years ago I grabbed my stepdaughter to watch a replay of an American wrestler beating a previously undefeated Russian in the gold medal Greco Roman match (name escapes me).

The American was Rulon Gardner.

[thunderbrick]

That was an epic match! Remember it well!

I've always had great respect for wrestlers.  The balance they learn, both physical and mental, serves them well for life.

[jackman]

In my opinion, this news is devastating. As a former wrestler, I am admittedly biased, but wrestling has been one of my favorite Olympic sports through the years. I agree that some changes need to be made and hope that they can be incorporated in time to save this exciting Olympic sport.

Olympic wrestling is like a Chessmatch match on a matt.  Most people have no idea how technical this level of wrestling is, but for me there is no better Olympic sport.  A friend of mine is a college wrestling coach, and he is holding out hope for the Olympic sport.   The next meeting is in Russia and they expect a huge backlash as a result of this bad decision. 

[JCarney]

The American was Rulon Gardner.

Thanks S Clark. 

[2bigears]

   wonder what brought this on ?? it is a true grit sport ,,real training involved.
            but i kinda gotta say,as the common man works harder each day just to get by,
                   how is 50 billion dollars this next round of games coming up, going to help the common man over there in the host country. ????
                      i'm leaning toward this is getting out of hand !!!!        ( i could be wrong .. )

[thunderbrick]

To us it's about the classic sport, how it goes back to the original games, and what a travesty it is that goofy sports are gaining a foothold.

Hell, they keep the javelin and the discus in the Olympics, yet drop wrestling?  Wrestling has a following in colleges, perhaps more so in Big Ten schools, but who goes to see a javelin meet?  How many kids in high school go out for discus? 

And yes, I wrestled in HS intramurals.

[lonewolfny42]

http://espn.go.com/olympics/wrestling/story/_/id/8942869/ioc-president-jacques-rogge-meet-wrestling-leader

[Rob Babcock]

Dubi said the task now for wrestling is to figure out how to improve its presentation so that it can feel fresh. "Wrestling has to look at everything they do and say, 'That's how we will change,'" said Dubi, who had to call FILA, the international wrestling federation, with the unwelcome news of the vote Tuesday afternoon.

Dubi cited changes that archery and fencing have made to make their competitions more appealing and viable in the modern Olympics. Archery changed its scoring so competitions often come down to a final arrow. Fencing now stages matches under a spotlight. Modern pentathlon has compressed its competition to a single day.

"They have to roll up the sleeves and figure out how they can improve," Dubi said. "They have to say how they make it exciting."


Is it just me or was this a long winded way to say "dumb it down"?

[lonewolfny42]

Is it just me or was this a long winded way to say "dumb it down"?

Yeah....may be like....this...

[thunderbrick]

So that means we'll see Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin and their ilk in the Olympics?  Can you imagine the field day the Olympic urine-testers will have with that?

Reminds me of the East German Olympian women back in the day............