Fansided

Is wrestling leaving the Olympics?

By Hunter Cooke

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - July 14: USA Olympic greco-roman wrestler Robby Smith, left, practices with visiting wrestler from Finland Oskar Marvik at the Olympic Training Center July 14, 2016. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - July 14: USA Olympic greco-roman wrestler Robby Smith, left, practices with visiting wrestler from Finland Oskar Marvik at the Olympic Training Center July 14, 2016. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The IOC almost decided to eliminate wrestling from the 2020 games./h2>

must read: Who Would Make a Team USA NFL Roster?

The IOC announced years ago that wrestling would no longer be a part of the Olympic games. The IOC typically reviews all of the sports involved with the Olympics to make sure the games stay on top of current trends and that there aren’t any regional sports that get completely one-sided.

However, despite the vote to get rid of the sport, wrestling wasn’t going to be put away forever.

The sport was somehow saved from being banished and will be around for at let the 2020 and 2024 Olympics. How much longer the sport lasts after that is yet to be seen, but it’s looking like wrestling will stick around for a while in the Olympics.

The United States is pretty dominant in terms of aggregate medals in wrestling. Only the Soviet Union with their massive Russian robot men have more gold medals than America. The dominance of the Americas, rising cost to produce, and general TV revenue that comes from the sport are all factors in wrestling going away.

Wrestling was one of the first Olympic games, appearing in the ancient Greek times. It was also part of the modern reboot in 1896. Wrestling is part of an Olympic tradition, and while it will definitely go away for a while, it’s not likely that it’s gone forever. The Olympics are heavy on tradition, and more modern sports like golf will soon become a thing of the past.

For more Olympics news, check out our Olympics Hub. 

Home/Olympics