IOC Removes Wrestling from the Olympics

In a move that baffles absolutely every, the International Olympic Committee has removed wrestling from the 2020 Olympics. A sport that is quite possibly one of the oldest and most practiced around the world. A veritable symbol of the Olympic games, both historic and modern.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...

As a fan and a practitioner of grappling this is absolutely baffling, especially considering the sports that got to keep their place. The IOC president is meeting with a wrestling representative, but the fact that that meeting even has to take place is absurd.

Anyway, thought some people would want to know.

Graphical look through wrestling around the world:

The greatest athlete to ever participate in the Olympics was a wrestler. Dan Gable not only won every match by over 3 points (the rules at the time), he didn't get scored on the entire time. Why is it Curling keeps its spot but Wrestling gets the boot?

Grenn wrote:

The greatest athlete to ever participate in the Olympics was a wrestler. Dan Gable not only won every match by over 3 points (the rules at the time), he didn't get scored on the entire time. Why is it Curling keeps its spot but Wrestling gets the boot?

Because curling is in the winter games and wrestling is in the summer games?

But yeah, I completely agree with your sentiment.

Why is this in Everything Else and not Sports?

And yes, what the hell is wrong with the IOC? :p

Stele wrote:

Why is this in Everything Else and not Sports?

And yes, what the hell is wrong with the IOC? :p

Ack, that's my fault. I never visit that forum and forgot it was there. My mistake.

EDIT: Ok, there we go.

Whaaaaat? This sounds crazy. I wrestled a bit in middle school and high school. I wasn't really all that good, but I certainly have a deep respect for the sport. I certainly respect it more than any of the other Olympic events.

This is crazy. How do you get rid of one of the few things that's actually a sport?

Probably not enough money in it via tv.

Yet this is still an Olympic sport:

IMAGE(http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/web05/2012/8/9/12/anigif_enhanced-buzz-12127-1344528237-1.gif)

As a former high school wrestler, they can eat a bowl of dicks and spiderwebs.

maverickz wrote:
Stele wrote:

And yes, what the hell is wrong with the IOC? :p
Why is this in Everything Else and not Sports?

Ack, that's my fault. I never visit that forum and forgot it was there. My mistake.

Edited to clear up why the IOC did this.

Yeah, they're going to add American Football now that wrestling is gone.

I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks this decision is ludicrous.

Yah this is stupid.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

Whaaaaat? This sounds crazy. I wrestled a bit in middle school and high school. I wasn't really all that good, but I certainly have a deep respect for the sport. I certainly respect it more than any of the other Olympic events.

Me too, except not middle school and strike out "deep". As someone not terribly fond of the Olympics, this is not terribly surprising.

In theory not all hope is lost for the sport. It goes in to the pot of sports trying to gain a place for 2020. Considering that only squash should be taken seriously out of those new sports (baseball/softball, climbing, roller sports are the others). It stands a good chance of making it back in.
Although the inclusion of golf and rugby 7s for 2016 shows that sense isn't always the motivating factor.
That said it is hardly one of the glamour events at the Olympics.

The IOC are arrogant aholes... Can't stand their attitude at all even after the uproar from the Wresting and Olympic fan community. If "Modern" Pentathlon or taekwondo was axed their would not be a thread here.

As I said in the horrible news stories thread:

Yeah, a move that doesn't make sense in
the least. It blows me away that they're
eliminating one of the original sports while
at the same time keeping synchronized
everything, ribbon dancing, walking, ping
pong, and other "athletic events".

RolandofGilead wrote:

strike out "deep".

*scrunches face up* If it wasn't you, I guess some other GWJer would've gone there. It's been too long since I was involved in the sport. I should have used a better adjective.

Just spectacularly dumb, a crass move done entirely for the sake of ratings and advertising dollars.

It speaks volumes that the IOC has removed wrestling and ESPN has poker on as a "sport".

It is only a matter of time before the world collapses under the weight of its own sloth and gluttony.

CannibalCrowley wrote:

As I said in the horrible news stories thread:

Yeah, a move that doesn't make sense in
the least. It blows me away that they're
eliminating one of the original sports while
at the same time keeping synchronized
everything, ribbon dancing, walking, ping
pong, and other "athletic events".

Having seen table tennis live in London, I can safely say it is one of the most exciting live sports to watch, it is so fast and the players are insanly skilled, it rightly deserves its place in the Olympics. As for the synchronised sports, well they are a bit odd but I think you are all looking in the wrong places for sports that shouldn't be in the Olympics in their current form.
The Olympics should be the pinnacle of a sport, which it isn't for men's football, tennis and golf, all these have things that are bigger and better (the world cup, grand slams and majors), with a few adjustments it could be but as it stands now, it is these sports that should be making way.

goman wrote:

The IOC are arrogant aholes... Can't stand their attitude at all even after the uproar from the Wresting and Olympic fan community. If "Modern" Pentathlon or taekwondo was axed their would not be a thread here.

The modern pentathlon has been in the Olympics since 1912 so the same arguments some people are using for wresting (it has been there ages) could be used to defend that. I'm sure some people would be up in arms maybe not on here since this is a very American centric forum so nobody is up in arms about wresting been removed from the programme on any of the British centric forums I go on because we don't care about the sport.

onewild wrote:

The modern pentathlon has been in the Olympics since 1912 so the same arguments some people are using for wresting (it has been there ages) could be used to defend that. I'm sure some people would be up in arms maybe not on here since this is a very American centric forum so nobody is up in arms about wresting been removed from the programme on any of the British centric forums I go on because we don't care about the sport.

So, two things. While the same argument can be made for the pentathlon, it's does not hold water due to the history of wrestling as a sport. Wrestling has been in the Olympics since the very first games, in ancient Greece. Secondly, while the British community may not be up in arms, it's silly to call it an "American centric" sport. The sport of wrestling is practiced all over the world, we're not talking American football here. You simply need to look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...

I didn't call it an American Centric sport, I called this forum American Centric.

Is it correct that they removed wrestling, and added golf? I think the IOC is just seeing dollar signs -- they see the potential of getting the pro players there, and just went for it.

What really sucks is that while this will be just another round of golf (granted with a different trophy for the winner), in eliminating wrestling, they are eliminating the very thing all wrestlers strive for. It is their biggest event, and now its gone.

I can only assume the IOC is made up of some of the most clueless individuals on the planet. This decision is terrible.

They didn't remove wrestling to add golf. Golf is already in the Olympics for 2016, as wrestling will be. It has been removed for 2020. Not that makes the inclusion of golf a good thing.

So remove one of the oldest olympic sports, dating back literally thousands of years, and keep in...rhythmic gymnastics.

RIBBON TWIRL WHEEEEEEE!!!

IMAGE(http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2011/09/17/Sports/Images/75843276.jpg)

Instead of getting rid of sports they should be combining them. That rhythmic gymnast looks like she knows a hold or two.

I love rhythmic gymnastics though I would be sad if they removed it from the Olympics, and I'm sad that it's so sparsely televised.

Not that I think wrestling should be removed though.

onewild wrote:

I didn't call it an American Centric sport, I called this forum American Centric.

Right, maybe I misunderstood, I had some trouble parsing your sentence honestly. But the "up in arms"siness is going on all over the world. Partially because wrestling is so widely played, and partially because it WAS removed, whereas pentathlon was not.

Unfortunately, there is A LOT of money and politics tied into the sports that get to be in the Olympics. And now it's affecting some of the more baseline sports.

Wrestling is the only summer sport that Canada sometimes wins gold in. So that's annoying.

I do find the Summer Olympics the more ridiculous of the two Olympics but I am 100% biased.

I also don't like golf. Or rugby. Or almost every event in the Summer Olympics.

I have zero interest in wrestling, but removing it from the games is about as logical as removing the marathon. It's one of the foundations of the games, FFS.

Also — I watched some rugby this weekend and enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to it being in the Olympics and getting to learn more about the sport.