Wrestling wins first round, makes IOC short list
Photo: Huiling Wu/ Iowa State Daily
Michael Moreno fights to get out from under Virginia Tech’s Peter Yates in the semifinals of the 165-pound wrestlebacks at the 2013 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on Saturday, March 23, 2013. Moreno lost to Yates 12-2.
May 30, 2013
Olympic wrestling landed on the IOC’s final list of sports for the 2020 Olympic games in Buenos Aires, just three months after it was removed from the games.
Karate, roller sports, sports climbing, wakeboarding and the Chinese martial art of wushu were all vying for spots in the 2020 games, however they were beat out by wrestling, squash and baseball-softball. Baseball-softball merged into a single federation after the 2006 games.
Each of the eight sports gave a short, 30-minute presentation to the IOC board on Wednesday, May 29, with the three winners getting through by majority vote. On Sept. 8, 2013, the final decision will be made as to what sport will be entered into the 2020 games.
In August, former Cyclone wrestler Jake Varner took home the Olympic gold at 96 kg. in wrestling. Other former Cyclone wrestlers to win an Olympic gold include Glen Brand, Ben Peterson, Dan Gable, Cael Sanderson and current coach Kevin Jackson.
