Wrestling is on the verge of becoming history because the sport that is as old as the Olympics themselves is on its way out of the Games.
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United State's Justin Dashaun Lester competes against Hungary's Tamas Lorincz (in blue) during their match in 66-kg Greco-Roman wrestling competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics. The International Olympic Committee voted Tuesday to recommend wrestling be dropped as one of its 25 core sports, beginning with the 2020 Olympics
Associated Press
It was impossible to squeeze into Excel Center at last summer's London Games and not think, "This is the true Olympics."
It was the only place you could hear "I-ran! I-ran!" drown out "USA! USA!"
When a wrestler from tiny Azerbaijan won a gold medal, his portly national sports chief bounded over the seats and past security. He grabbed the young man like a long-lost son and carried him around the padded circle.
Night after night, flags of all colors waved frantically as pockets of fans spontaneously broke into native song, serenading wrestlers who, at home, were national heroes, just as wrestlers have been throughout history.
But today, wrestling is on the verge of becoming history in a more permanent sense because the sport that is as old as the Olympics themselves is on its way out of the Games.
The International Olympic Committee voted Tuesday to recommend wrestling be dropped as one of its 25 core sports, beginning with the 2020 Olympics. A final decision comes in September, but it's unlikely the vote will be changed.
Officials at FILA, the sport's world governing body, knew wrestling was on a short list of sports being considered for elimination -- among them, field hockey, tae kwon do and modern pentathlon. Seeing that company, FILA did little to lobby on wrestling's behalf.
"Completely astonished" is how FILA described its reaction. Virtually everyone in the sport worldwide expressed the same sentiment. The IOC vote shocked wrestlers and fans, especially in wrestling-rich Northeast Ohio, which has sent numerous men (and one woman) to the Games.
"I thought a friend was joking when he told me," said Nathan Tomasello, a Parma resident and reigning three-time state champion at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy.
The 15-member IOC board took into consideration 39 factors, including TV ratings, worldwide popularity and participation.
FILA and USA Wrestling leaders say they will fight to remain in the Olympics beyond the 2016 Games in Brazil. With one spot remaining on the 2020 docket, wrestling will join other sports vying for inclusion: a combined bid from baseball and softball, karate, squash, roller sports, sport climbing, wakeboarding and wushu (martial arts).
Returning NCAA champion Dustin Kilgore of Kent State and Berea had trouble making sense of that.
"It's very bizarre, with all the sports that are in the Olympics, that they would get rid of wrestling," he said.
Kilgore's primary goal is to be a 2016 Olympian. He and Logan Stieber, of Monroeville, were considered two of the country's rising stars for the next two or three Olympic quadrennials.
This might be their last shot, but for others such as Tomasello, they might not get a shot at all.
"[2020] probably was going to be the year I'd have my best chance," said Tomasello, a two-time U.S. junior national champion.
"I want to still compete at world-level events and try to make the 2016 Olympics and see how it goes. The Olympics are the ultimate goal, but the Worlds also will be good."
Akron native Justin (Harry) Lester, a 2012 Olympic wrestler, is also aiming for a 2016 Olympic berth. He said in an Olympic movement that increasingly emphasizes modern sports such as BMX and trampoline to entice young TV viewers, he understood some of the IOC's reasoning.
"Knowing anytime . . . a sport that isn't really flashy to the public, it's not really hard to understand from an Olympic point of view," he said. "But I was surprised and a little shocked. From the standpoint of Olympic wrestling history, it's hard to understand."
If wrestling leaves the Olympic program, it will mean decreased funding for programs such as Ohio Regional Training Center in Columbus, where Olympic-caliber athletes train, as well as for wrestlers themselves.
"Wrestling is comprised of some great people on a global scale," said former Ohio State national champ Tommy Rowlands, who helped found the ORTC. "It has shaped numerous cultures and impacted millions of lives over thousands of years. We will survive this test. It's time to fight," he said.
The sport remains immensely popular in Ohio. There are more than 11,000 high school wrestlers in the state, and Greater Cleveland is recognized as one of the country's strongest regions. Lester is part of a local Olympic wrestling legacy that includes 1996 silver medalist Matt Ghaffari, who wrestled for Cleveland State; Cleveland native Toccara Montgomery, who was on the first U.S. women's Olympic wrestling team; and 2008 Olympian Andy Hrovat, also a Cleveland native.
Hrovat has reveled in the international language of wrestling, even training in Russia for a time.
"I've been in over 40 countries, and I know that no matter where I go, all I have to do is find a wrestler and I'll have a place to stay and a wonderful meal," he said.
Olympic wrestling -- freestyle and Greco-Roman -- is the United States' third-most successful Summer Games sport, with 124 medals all time, behind track and swimming.
U.S. success has been limited recently, but it did win four medals, including two golds, last year. That was sixth-highest total behind countries such as Iran, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Russia, with 11, won the most medals.
Some of America's enduring Olympic moments involve wrestlers. There was Jeff Blatnick, two years removed from a cancer battle that cost him his spleen and appendix, weeping after winning gold in 1984. An emotional Rulon Gardner left his shoes on the mat after his stunning gold-medal upset in 2004. And last August, Jordan Burroughs won gold, then bounded into the stands to hug his tiny mother.
Wrestling's allure dates back centuries. Images of grapplers adorn cave walls in Mesopotamia. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics portray wrestling moves still in use today.
Wrestling was an original sport in the ancient Greek Olympics. Perhaps the best-known ancient Olympian was Milo of Kronton, who won five wrestling championships between 532 and 516 B.C.
Wrestling has had its place not just in sport, but in international relations ever since. King Henry VIII once challenged King Francis I of France to a match -- and lost -- in the 16th century. While U.S. relations with Iran have been strained, at best, U.S. wrestlers have been welcomed and compete regularly in Iran's Takhti Cup tournament.
It's immensely popular throughout Asia and Eastern Europe and is considered the national sport in places such as Azerbaijan. Olympic champs are rock stars in Japan.
"Wrestling and the Olympics go hand in hand," said gold medalist Cael Sanderson to Reuters. "When you start taking the original sports away from the Olympics, you really change what the Olympic Games are.
"What are you going to do next, change the name of the Olympics?"
