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Olympics Moves to Drop Wrestling in 2020 Olympics Moves to Drop Wrestling in 2020
(about 1 hour later)
 Wrestling, one of the most ancient and elemental Olympic sports, was removed from the Summer Games in a stunning and widely criticized decision Tuesday by the International Olympic Committee. Wrestling, one of the most ancient and elemental Olympic sports, was removed from the Summer Games in a stunning and widely criticized decision Tuesday by the International Olympic Committee.
 Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling will be contested at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, but they will be excluded from the 2020 Summer Games, which have not yet been awarded, the I.O.C. said Tuesday. Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling will be contested at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, but they will be excluded from the 2020 Summer Games, which have not yet been awarded, the I.O.C. said Tuesday.There is a chance that the Olympic committee can change its mind at a meeting in May, when it considers the 26th sport to add to the 2020 Games, but wrestling’s future seems doubtful at the moment, according to veteran observers of the Games.
  There is a chance that the Olympic committee can change its mind at a meeting in May, when it considers the 26th sport to add to the 2020 Games, but wrestling’s future seems doubtful at the moment, according to veteran observers of the Games. Tuesday’s decision to drop wrestling was made by secret ballot by the Olympic committee’s executive board at its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. Reasons for the decision were not given in precise detail.
   Tuesday’s decision to drop wrestling was made by secret ballot by the Olympic committee’s executive board at its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. Reasons for the decision were not given in precise detail. In recent years, however, the I.O.C. has expressed concern about the growing size of the Summer Games and has wanted to cap the number of athletes at about 10,500. It has also said it wants to draw younger viewers among the international television audience. Among the sports that wrestling must compete with for future inclusion in the Games are climbing and wakeboarding. The I.O.C. may have also grown frustrated that Greco-Roman wrestling did not have any events for women, experts said. Women began participating in freestyle wrestling at the 2004 Athens Games.
   In recent years, however, the I.O.C. has expressed concern about the growing size of the Summer Games and has wanted to cap the number of athletes at about 10,500. It has also said it wants to draw younger viewers among the international television audience. Among the sports that wrestling must compete with for future inclusion in the Games are climbing and wakeboarding. The I.O.C. may have also grown frustrated that Greco-Roman wrestling did not have any events for women, experts said. Women began participating in freestyle wrestling at the 2004 Athens Games. Surviving Tuesday’s vote was modern pentathlon, a threatened and less popular sport than wrestling, but one that was invented by Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Games, and supported by the son of former I.O.C. president Juan Antonio Samaranch.Mark Adams, a spokesman for the I.O.C., told reporters in Lausanne that “this is a process of renewing and renovating the program for the Olympics.” He added: “In the view of the executive board, this was the best program for the Olympic Games in 2020. It’s not a case of what’s wrong with wrestling, it is what’s right with the 25 core sports.”But the dropping of wrestling surprised many.
   Surviving Tuesday’s vote was modern pentathlon, a threatened and less popular sport than wrestling, but one that was invented by Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Games, and supported by the son of former I.O.C. president Juan Antonio Samaranch. “I think this is a really stupid decision,” the Olympic historian David Wallechinsky said. “It was in the ancient Olympics. It has been in the modern Olympics since 1896. In London, 29 different countries won medals. This is a popular sport.”
    Mark Adams, a spokesman for the I.O.C., told reporters in Lausanne that “this is a process of renewing and renovating the program for the Olympics.” He added: “In the view of the executive board, this was the best program for the Olympic Games in 2020. It’s not a case of what’s wrong with wrestling, it is what’s right with the 25 core sports.”
   But the dropping of wrestling surprised many.
   “I think this is a really stupid decision,” the Olympic historian David Wallechinsky said. “It was in the ancient Olympics. It has been in the modern Olympics since 1896. In London, 29 different countries won medals. This is a popular sport.”