Wrestling, baseball/softball and squash made an IOC shortlist "for potential inclusion" in the 2020 Olympics on Wednesday, according to Karolos Grohmann of REUTERS. The sports "will be put to the vote" at the IOC session in Buenos Aires in September with only one of them winning a place on the '20 program. Five other sports -- karate, wakeboarding, sports climbing, wushu and roller sports -- "did not make the shortlist, meaning their chances of Olympic inclusion were dashed for at least another four years" (REUTERS, 5/29). BLOOMBERG's Bensch & Levinson reported the sports "were chosen by secret ballot over several rounds." Wrestling gained approval in the first round with eight of the 14 votes; baseball/softball beat karate 9-5 in a head-to-head vote; and squash "got through in the final round with eight votes, topping wushu (four votes) and sport climbing (two votes)." Former Int'l Baseball Federation President Harvey Schiller said, "There’s no question wrestling will get selected but the real question is will there be motions from the floor to expand the number of sports" (BLOOMBERG, 5/29).
A FAIR PROCESS: IOC President Jacques Rogge said, "It was never going to be an easy decision. But I feel my colleagues on the board made a good decision in selecting baseball/softball, squash and wrestling to be put forward in Buenos Aires [where the decision will be made]" (BBC, 5/29). Int'l Wrestling Federation President Nenad Lalovic said, "We had the opportunity to have a second chance to compete. We took the opportunity. We won the first match but there is another one to fight" (AP, 5/29). In N.Y., Matthew Futterman reported the IOC exec board, "which isn't known for admitting mistakes," could have selected just one sport and recommended that the full IOC rubber-stamp its decision. However, officials said that selecting three finalists "would allow for a fairer process." Also, four exec board members "are running to replace" Rogge as IOC president. Voting against wrestling "could have angered former Olympians who are IOC members and are considered strong supporters of wrestling." Baseball and softball "would appear to have the toughest fight." Europeans dominate the IOC, and the sport "isn't particularly popular there, though it does have support in Asia and Latin America" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/29).
