Wrestling Cut from 2020 Olympics
The International Olympic Committee voted to drop wrestling from its schedule for the 2020 Games via a secret ballot during a meeting in Switzerland. Instead of eliminating the pentathlon, like many expected, the IOC decided to scrap wrestling.
The elimination of wrestling was a shocking decision considering the sport traces back to the origins of the Olympics games. Wrestling has been a part of every modern Olympics since 1896.
Many of the "core sports" were at risk of getting the axe as the IOC attempts to streamline the games. Wrestling still has a chance of being included in 2020, but it's got to fight it out against other sports which were eliminated over the past few years -- including baseball and softball -- to get back in the fold. Other sports are grappling against wrestling to be included in the games for the first time, including "karate, squash, roller sports, sport climbing,wake boarding and wushu."
Many believe wrestling won't make it back onto the docket for the 2020 games considering the committee voted to eliminate it in the first place.