Wrestling dropped from 2020 Olympic Games

Wrestling has been dropped from the 2020 Games to make way for a new sport.
The International Olympic Committee's executive board made its decision after assessing the performance of all 26 sports at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
There is a slim chance wrestling may win a reprieve when the IOC meets in Buenos Aires in September to ratify its choice. But it will be vying with seven other sports, among them squash, roller sports and sport climbing, that are hoping for inclusion in the Olympic program.
Modern pentathlon and taekwondo were thought to be the sports most at risk when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) committee met in Lausanne, Switzerland on Tuesday, but wrestling was the surprise choice for the axe.
It will now compete with baseball/softball, squash, karate, sport climbing, wakeboarding, wushu and roller sports for a place in the 2020 Games.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams stated "this is not the end of the process, this is purely a recommendation.
"This is not about what's wrong with wrestling but what is good for the Games."
It is extremely unlikely that wrestling will be voted back in so soon after being removed by the executive board, but Adams stressed "today's decision is not final."
Amateur wrestling's world governing body, the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA), said it was "greatly astonished" by the decision.
In a statement on their website, FILA states "FILA will take all necessary steps to convince the executive committee and members of the IOC of this aberration of a decision against one of the founding sports of the ancient and modern Olympic Games.
"FILA has always complied with IOC rules, is present in 180 countries where wrestling is a national sport for many, offering athletes their only chance of competing at the Olympics and contributing to the Games' universality."
Wrestling, which combines freestyle and Greco-Roman events, was included in the inaugural modern Olympics in Athens in 1896.
It has been in every Games since then, apart from Paris in 1900. At last year's Olympics, it featured 344 athletes competing in 11 medal events.
Before making its decision, the IOC's program commission assessed each sport by looking at such factors as TV ratings, ticket sales, anti-doping and global popularity.
Klaus Schormann, president of modern pentathlon's governing body, said he had lobbied hard to protect his sport's Olympic status, stating "we have promised things and we have delivered.
"That gives me a great feeling. It also gives me new energy to develop our sport further and never give up."
Golf and rugby sevens will be part of the program for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro after winning inclusion in 2010.
The IOC will also decide in September whether Istanbul, Madrid or Tokyo will host the 2020 Games.