Twenty-four years later, in 708 B.C., wrestling and pentathlon were added to the games. According to Ron Dicker, a freelance writer who covered sports for the New York Times from 1996 to 2005, Plato was a brawny wrestler. Homer may have been the world's first sportswriters, covering some epic wrestling matches. In short, from its beginning, wrestling has been a big deal in the Olympics.
In 2002, though, the International Olympic Committee determined wrestling lacked "global popularity" and suffered from low media coverage. As a result, last week they determined both free style and Greco-Roman wrestling will be eliminated from the Olympics, beginning in 2020.
In announcing their decision, the IOC said it wants to remain "relevant to sports fans of all generations." Mark Adams, spokesman for the IOC noted the decision was not because something is wrong with wrestling, but because of what is right with the 25 core sports. The IOC also pointed to a lack star power.
In my mind, this leaves some serious holes. Citing several sources, Cole Scott, bronze medalist at the London games, reported that nearly every wrestling session was sold out. He also pointed out that millions of boys and girls, men and women in more than 200 countries compete. Sounds like an awful lot of global popularity to me.
And star power? Name one competitor in badminton, handball, sailing, trampoline, mountain biking or BMX, all of which will be in the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Look, I admit I'm a traditionalist when it comes to the Olympics. I long for the amateur days; I am not at all a fan of the basketball Dream Teams or NHL superstars playing in the winter games. But I can understand the decision to let highly paid professionals compete much more easily than I can comprehend the elimination of one of the earliest, most sacred sports in the games.
Fortunately, wrestling is not going quietly. Several petitions and protests have taken place and are being planned, including a "lie in" at this week's Wrestling World Cup in Tehran, Iran, where wrestling is king.
Sorry, IOC, but it seems to me you got this one wrong.
I agree with your article. While I attended UCM, one of my first assignments was to cover the Mules wrestling team. The first thing I noticed was how much pride the athletes have for what they do. This isn't to say that other athletes of other sports don't have the same dedication, but wrestlers dedicate their minds and bodies to the sport all day, every day.
ReplyDeleteI was very shocked when I heard they were going to drop wrestling because it has been a part of the Olympics for so long. If they were going to eliminate any event, I would have thought the pentathlon because it hasn't been around as long, and it didn't have as many viewers.
As you said, luckily wrestling has some people in the midst willing to fight for the sport and keep it in the Olympics. It is good to see that at least they aren't going out without a fight.