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IN A.D. 393, the ancient Olympic Games were abolished — they had become too corrupt. Wrestling was among the first sports in those ancient Games; wrestling was also included at the start of the modern Olympics, in 1896.
Yet on Tuesday in Lausanne, Switzerland, the executive board of the International Olympic Committee voted by secret ballot to eliminate wrestling, starting in 2020. At the same meeting, it voted to keep the modern pentathlon.
You might have missed the modern pentathlon last summer in London, where only 26 countries participated in the combined shooting, horseback-riding, running, swimming and fencing event. In the same Olympics, there were wrestling medalists from 29 countries. In other words: more countries won medals in...
So how can wrestling save itself from extinction as an Olympic sport? Maybe it needs to start bribing the shit out of members of the International Olympic Committee, preferably with vacations and hookers. The IOC's decision to... more »
This should thoroughly explain the International Olympic Committee’s decision on Tuesday to drop wrestling from its roster of sports starting with the 2020 Games. Nah … actually, it won’t. Among the many things the IOC does... more »
"It's not a case of what's wrong with wrestling, it is what's right with the 25 core sports," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said after the organization voted to remove the sport from the 2020 Olympic program. To the contrary.... more »
Look: I know everyone is bummed about losing Olympic wrestling—a hundred-plus years of history and all that—but cheer up! Wait until you experience the nonstop thrill ride that is Olympic golf. You thought the Bridgestone... more »
Even in a post-Lance world, word today that the International Olympic Committee had decided today to cut wrestling from the 2020 games came across as a craven stunner. And I won’t be surprised when they back... more »
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