Seven months after being dropped from the Olympic program, wrestling persuaded the IOC to give it a second chance today. The sport received 49 votes from IOC members, giving it a first-round majority over competitors baseball/softball (24 votes) and squash (22). Reps from FILA rose and pumped their fists when the votes were announced. The sport was the clear favorite coming into today’s vote but its federation had to answer more than a half dozen questions from IOC members about everything from alleged corruption to gender equality. The decision provides wrestling’s federation with a minimum of $14M that the IOC distributes to Olympic sports, and gives it the credibility and int’l broadcast exposure that can be used to attract new participants and business partners.
Tripp Mickle is on the ground in Buenos Aires reporting and tweeting from the IOC meetings. Look for continued posts from him on our On The Ground blog. Other items include:
Decision Analysis: The competition to host the '20 Games wasn’t a beauty contest. It was a contest to see which candidate city could best conceal its blemishes. Tokyo won that battle, with ease. “The other two were just too risky,” IOC member Dennis Oswald said of Istanbul and Madrid after the vote.
IOC presidential candidate Richard Carrion taps into James Carville's election knowledge.
