Last Tuesday, a day that will live in infamy in the hearts of wrestlers, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to drop wrestling for the 2020 summer games and thereafter. Wrestling is a sport that was held not only since the beginning of the modern games, but was also a part of the original Olympics in Ancient Greece. A sport held in such tradition cannot be so easily discarded. The IOC made a terrible mistake by deciding to exclude wrestling from the games.

Wrestling itself can be dated back almost 15,000 years to cave drawings through Europe and the Middle East.  The Ancient Greeks saw it as the most prominent of the sports in the ancient Olympics.

Its popularity remained high throughout the Middle Ages and into the Modern Era. There was a reason it was included in the 1896 modern games. Wrestling is steeped in tradition like no other sport can ever be.  On that alone, the IOC erred in its decision.

In the 2012 Olympic Games, 29 countries had medal winners in 18 different events ranging from the United States to Japan to Iran. Because so many countries have participated in this sport, It has worldwide popularity and diversity. If it didn’t, there would definitely not be so much  participation. The argument made by the IOC that wrestling lacks merit and is extremely unpopular.

The IOC removed one of the 26 sports because it was looking to revitalize the games. What will take the place of wrestling has yet to be announced. Whether or not a new sport was needed, or if any sport should have been removed at all, is of no concern to me.

In either case, wrestling should have been left alone.  Wresling can never be replaced in the hearts of many.
Having been a wrestler for seven years, I know the dedication and heart that has to be put into the sport.
All sports have their own merits, but wrestling is in a league of its own.

There are few sports in which you are as vulnerable as you are in wrestling.

By vulnerable, I mean that it is one-on-one and you can’t hide. Your mistakes are your own, and there is no teammate to help you out.

For that reason, wrestling is an all-consuming sport that pushes its participants to their physical and emotional limits—the  very definition of one’s athleticism.

To exclude a sport like that is simply devastating.

Wrestling has a special place in my heart, and I know that I am not alone in that regard. This is a sport practiced around the world.

Now, the world can mourn its loss as an Olympic sport.

I only hope that there is a push by olympic committees, athletes and nations to reinstate it in the future.