U.S. wrestlers blindsided by Olympic ouster

The others are a combined bid from baseball and softball, karate, squash, roller sports, sport climbing, wakeboarding and wushu. They will be vying for a single opening in  2020.
 
USA Wrestling executive director Richard Bender calls his sport “one of the most diverse,” with nearly 200 nations from all continents participating.
 
“It is an inclusive sport which provides opportunities worldwide, regardless of geography, race, gender or physical characteristics,” he said. “We look forward to telling the story about wrestling to the International Committee leadership and the entire world about our great sport and why it should be part of the Olympic movement forever.”
 
The IOC executive board will meet in May in St. Petersburg, Russia, to decide which sport or sports to propose for 2020.

The final vote will be in September in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
 
“Given the history and tradition of wrestling, and its popularity and universality, we were surprised when the decision was announced,” U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun said. “It is important to remember that today’s action is a recommendation, and we hope that there will be a meaningful opportunity to discuss the important role that wrestling plays in the sports landscape both in the United States and around the world.”
 
Rejoining the Olympic roster for 2020 seems unlikely. Still, former Olympic champion and current Iowa coach Tom Brands said the international wrestling community needs to fight this ouster.
 
“It’s one of those things where your first thoughts are pretty bad,” Brands said. “There’s nothing more sacred to living than learning to overcome struggle. Wrestling is that equivalent, more than any other form of sport, recreation or entertainment. It’s worse than death because you can’t control death, and this is something that maybe we can control or could have controlled. We need to look forward to May and the process in September.”
 
Reaction to the move was swift on social media. A Facebook page titled “Save Olympic Wrestling” was started Tuesday morning and had nearly 5,000 members by noon. A number of fellow Olympians also displayed their displeasure over the decision on Twitter by using the hashtag (hash)SaveOlympicWrestling.

Wrestling can be tough for the average Olympics fan to follow, which is why it rarely earns a TV slot in prime time. Its scoring system can seem complicated and arcane to newcomers. The medal stand is often dominated by athletes who aren’t nearly as marketable as gymnasts and swimmers.  
 
Still, it produces memorable characters like Karelin, the prolifically strong three-time Olympic champion and hero in his native Russia. There are also American icons like Sanderson and Gardner, who beat Karelin and later survived both a plane crash and frostbite.
 
“It just seems like wrestling, if we don’t fight we’re going to die,” Gardner said. “At this point, it’s time for everybody to man up and support the program.”