State Wrestling Competitors React to Sport Pulled From Olympics
Families "crushed" over news as fight begins to reinstate sport.
This weekend the NSAA wrestling championships are bringing thousands to Omaha, but this could be the last stop for many. The IOC announced this week it's pulling wrestling for the 2020 games, something many here call heartbreaking.
"My nephew that goes to Grand Island, he was one of the kids that was invited last year to start training, so that was kind of crushing," Marie Rodriguez said.
USA Wrestling has formed a group led by former world champion Bill Scherr to fight the IOC's decision to eliminate wrestling from the 2020 Olympics.
USA Wrestling executive director Rich Bender tells The Associated Press on Thursday that the group's aim will be to lead efforts to restore wrestling to the Olympic program. World and Olympic champions Bruce Baumgartner, John Smith, Rulon Gardner and Dan Gable and two-time Olympians Kerry McCoy and Clarissa Chun will also take part.
Bender says he intends to meet with wrestling leaders from Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Georgia, Bulgaria, Turkey and Belarus next week in Tehran, site of the upcoming World Cup tournament.
Bender says the Russian, Iranian and Japanese wrestling federations have also begun plans to fight the IOC's decision.
Thursday, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley and Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown introduced a resolution to express disapproval by the U.S. Senate of the proposal from the International Olympic Committee Executive Board to eliminate wrestling from the Summer Olympic Games beginning in 2020.
Here's a list of all of the sports for the 2016 Olympics.
Archery
Badminton
Basketball
Boxing
Canoeing
Cycling
Diving
Equestrian
Fencing
Field hockey
Football
Golf
Gymnastics
Handball
Judo
Modern pentathlon
Rugby sevens
Rowing
Sailing
Shooting
Swimming
Synchronized swimming
Table tennis
Taekwondo
Tennis
Triathlon
Volleyball
Water polo
Weightlifting
Wrestling

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