Muaythai, Cheerleading On Path To Olympics With Provisional Recognition From IOC

The martial art of muaythai and cheerleading, "with its strong youth appeal, received provisional recognition as Olympic sports" by the IOC, according to Karolos Grohmann of REUTERS. The two sports "will now be able to tap into some IOC funding and take part in a number of programs, including athlete development and anti-doping." They take the number of recognized Olympic sports to 37. At the end of their three-year provisional recognition period, "they can apply to become part of the Olympic Games sports program." IOC Sports Dir Kit McConnell said, "Muaythai is an organization with 135 national federations, nearly 60 are recognized by their national Olympic Committees and nearly 400,000 registered athletes. The international cheer union has over 100 national federations and nearly 4.5 million registered athletes." McConnell, who said that 16 sports had applied for recognition, added that both muaythai and cheerleading would receive $25,000 a year "as direct funding from the IOC" (REUTERS, 12/6).