IOC votes to drop wrestling from 2020 Games
The Olympics without wrestling?
That might happen in 2020, according to the International Olympic Committee, which recommends to drop the ancient sport from its list of 25 "core" sports, listed here via the Star Tribune.
University of Minnesota wrestling coach J. Robinson predicts wrestling won't go away without a fight. He tells the Pioneer Press that former Eastern Bloc countries will fight the decision, as will he.
Apple Valley wrestling star Mark Hall II, a freshman who has spent years dreaming of competing in the 2020 games calls the decision a load of bull. He tells the Pioneer Press: "What are they going to replace it with, lawn darts?"
Supporters of the sport can petition to get back on the Olympic program, but the Associated Press reports it's unlikely wrestling will get a reprieve when the IOC votes on the recommendation later this year.
Wrestling, which combines freestyle and Greco-Roman events, goes back to the inaugural modern Olympics in Athens in 1896.
The last sports removed from the Olympics were baseball and softball, voted out by the IOC in 2005 and off the program since the 2008 Beijing Games.
