Local reaction to the IOC's decision to drop wrestling: 'It's just terrible'
Don't tell gold medalists Rulon Gardner or Jordan Burroughs or Jake Varner or revered wrestling icon Dan Gable that wrestling is becoming irrelevant.
The International Olympic Committee seems to think otherwise, and in a secret vote Tuesday, decided to end its affiliation with one of its core Olympic sports.
Unless it reverses course, the 2016 Olympics will be the last time wrestling – freestyle and Greco-Roman – will appear on the docket. It seems inconceivable that a sport with world popularity and participation would be shelved, while rarely-seen sports such as the modern pentathlon remains.
NCAA Division One wrestling champion J.P. O'Connor, an Oxford Academy graduate, responded by text message hours after the IOC decision, but declined to comment at this time saying his thoughts were too emotional. "I would like to talk to a few more people first," O'Connor wrote in his text message reply.
Wrestling dates to ancient times, and even as far back as cavemen where drawings of wrestling scenes have been documented. It was a founding sport in the first modern Olympic Games in Greece in 1896, and has retained worldwide popularity with 70 countries submitting entries into the 2012 games in London.
"I have no idea why they did it," said Greene head wrestling coach Tim Jenks, who has around 45 years of experience as a wrestler and coach. "Why get rid of a sport that so many countries are good at? This being the oldest sport, I just can't imagine (the Olympics) without it."
Former Norwich wrestling coach Don Kovalchik, a member of the New York chapter of the National Hall of Fame, was saddened to hear of the IOC's decision. Kovalchik has nearly a 60-year affiliation with the sport, and still actively follows all aspects of it.
"It's a sport that is known all around the world," Kovalchik said. "Some say it's the world's oldest sport. There is just something elemental about it – it's man versus man. It requires so much self-discipline, and it puts people on the mat who are equals in terms of size with the better man winning."
In the United States, wrestling remains popular, and as of last year, was sixth in participation in boys' sports. According to figures on the National Wrestling Coaches Association website, the number of high school wrestlers have grown by over 30,000 since 2002-2003.
On the collegiate level, 81 new intercollegiate teams – all division levels – have been established since 2002, and wrestling typically ranks in the top five in revenue production among all NCAA national championships.
Internationally, 135 nations sponsor wrestling federations. "I don't know how the (IOC) works, but there are petitions out there, and I hope a half-million signatures will make a difference," said Sherburne-Earlville assistant wrestling coach Brian Hicks. "It's just terrible, and for us, what horrible timing with the state championships coming up and NCAA nationals right around the corner.
"I know a lot of kids have dreams beyond high school and college. There isn't a professional level for these kids, so what else is there for them other than the Olympics?"
The IOC will make a final decision on the fate of wrestling and other Olympic sports when it re-convenes this fall.
The International Olympic Committee seems to think otherwise, and in a secret vote Tuesday, decided to end its affiliation with one of its core Olympic sports.
Unless it reverses course, the 2016 Olympics will be the last time wrestling – freestyle and Greco-Roman – will appear on the docket. It seems inconceivable that a sport with world popularity and participation would be shelved, while rarely-seen sports such as the modern pentathlon remains.
NCAA Division One wrestling champion J.P. O'Connor, an Oxford Academy graduate, responded by text message hours after the IOC decision, but declined to comment at this time saying his thoughts were too emotional. "I would like to talk to a few more people first," O'Connor wrote in his text message reply.
Wrestling dates to ancient times, and even as far back as cavemen where drawings of wrestling scenes have been documented. It was a founding sport in the first modern Olympic Games in Greece in 1896, and has retained worldwide popularity with 70 countries submitting entries into the 2012 games in London.
"I have no idea why they did it," said Greene head wrestling coach Tim Jenks, who has around 45 years of experience as a wrestler and coach. "Why get rid of a sport that so many countries are good at? This being the oldest sport, I just can't imagine (the Olympics) without it."
Former Norwich wrestling coach Don Kovalchik, a member of the New York chapter of the National Hall of Fame, was saddened to hear of the IOC's decision. Kovalchik has nearly a 60-year affiliation with the sport, and still actively follows all aspects of it.
"It's a sport that is known all around the world," Kovalchik said. "Some say it's the world's oldest sport. There is just something elemental about it – it's man versus man. It requires so much self-discipline, and it puts people on the mat who are equals in terms of size with the better man winning."
In the United States, wrestling remains popular, and as of last year, was sixth in participation in boys' sports. According to figures on the National Wrestling Coaches Association website, the number of high school wrestlers have grown by over 30,000 since 2002-2003.
On the collegiate level, 81 new intercollegiate teams – all division levels – have been established since 2002, and wrestling typically ranks in the top five in revenue production among all NCAA national championships.
Internationally, 135 nations sponsor wrestling federations. "I don't know how the (IOC) works, but there are petitions out there, and I hope a half-million signatures will make a difference," said Sherburne-Earlville assistant wrestling coach Brian Hicks. "It's just terrible, and for us, what horrible timing with the state championships coming up and NCAA nationals right around the corner.
"I know a lot of kids have dreams beyond high school and college. There isn't a professional level for these kids, so what else is there for them other than the Olympics?"
The IOC will make a final decision on the fate of wrestling and other Olympic sports when it re-convenes this fall.
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