The International Olympic Committee dropped wrestling from the 2020 Olympics at its executive board meeting Wednesday.

The decision was made by secret ballot over four rounds, with 14 members voting each time on which sport should not be included in the 25 “core” summer sports. IOC president Jacques Rogge did not vote. 



Despite more than a century of history in the modern Olympics and roots that go back over 2,000 years, wrestling lost out to modern pentathlon, field hockey, taekwondo and canoeing. The final result surprised even some IOC members.

Wrestling faces an uphill climb. It will now join seven other sports in applying for inclusion in 2020. The eight sports will be vying for a single opening. The IOC executive board will meet again in May to decide which sport or sports to propose for 2020 inclusion. The final vote will be made at the IOC session in September.

(swchun@heraldcorp.com)