History was also made as New York native Kyle Dake of Cornell University became the first four-time national champion to win at four different weight-classes and became only the third wrestler to ever win four national titles!
Also in the world of wrestling, it was recently announced that the IOC (International Olympic Committee) has decided to eliminate the sport of wrestling beginning in the 2020 Olympic Games. What?
I, along with hundreds of thousands of others around the globe, find this news shocking and unacceptable.
Let’s start with the fact that wrestling has its roots in the ancient Greek games and has been a part of every modern Olympics since they began in 1896. Wrestling is one of the few sports that is practiced on every continent and in every country on Earth. Wrestling is a sport that builds character, physical fitness, discipline and lifelong skills.
And, important to us, the United States remains one of the most successful active nations, with 50 all-time gold medals and 125 medalists overall.
Apparently, wrestling was chosen for elimination among the “core sports” so that a new sport could be admitted. This sounds like a plausible explanation, but let’s take a deeper look into this situation.
One example of a “core sport” that will continue is the modern pentathlon. You don’t know what the modern pentathlon is? That isn’t surprising. It is an odd mix of shooting, horseback riding, fencing, running and swimming. If you don’t know anyone who competes in the modern pentathlon, you would be like most people. However, I would bet my paycheck that you know someone, or a lot of people, who compete in wrestling. The United States is home to active and flourishing pee wee, high school and collegiate wrestling programs that produce amazing athletes.
Now let’s take a look at the other side: the new sports vying for inclusion into the Olympic Games. They include such popular events as squash, roller sports, sport climbing, wake boarding and wushu.
I won’t bother commenting on that.
One last point that has substantial relevance to this discussion relates to Olympic sports that have a professional counterpart such as basketball, golf, boxing, etc. If you win an Olympic gold medal in wrestling, you ARE the best wrestler in your weight class on the planet. You have beaten the best of the best and solidified your place in history. If you win a gold medal in golf, you may have a shot playing against Tiger Woods someday.
Keep wrestling an Olympic sport!
