While Iran and the United States may have their differences, there seems to be no discord between the nations when it comes to the sport of wrestling. According to the AIPS, wrestlers from Iran, Russia, and the United States will meet in New York on May 15 to compete and petition for the sport, which is on the precipice of being dropped from the 2020 Olympic Games.
The wrestlers are competing at Rumble on the Rails, a USA-Iran-Russia wrestling meet that takes place in the Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal, New York City. The meet is part of World Wrestling Month, and is another chance to highlight the sport of wresting.
There are 26 core sports in the Olympics and earlier this year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided that one sport would have to go to make room for a new one in seven years time. Wrestling, which has been an ever present since the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, is one of the sports that could be on the chopping block.
Wrestling federations and fans of the sport from all over the globe have been canvassing hard to keep the sport as part of the Games. There is a website dedicated to that cause and USA Wrestling has created it’s own Facebook page, Keep Wrestling in the Olympics.
Wrestling, and all the other sports in peril of being dropped form the Olympics, have the opportunity to make their case for retention to the executive board of the IOC in St. Petersburg, Russia at the end of May. The final decision on what sport gets cut is expected in September.
If you love wrestling and want to see it kept at the Olympic Games, then check out the above links and make your voice known! If wrestling can bring athletes from Iran and the United States together in the spirit of friendly competition, then it’s exclusion from the greatest sporting festival of all would be a huge loss to the ties that it fosters.
Check out this “Save Olympic Wrestling” video, narrated by Jay Mohr:
