Wrestling Gets A New Hold On Olympics, Avoids Being Cut

By Bill Chappell

Published September 8, 2013 at 11:16 AM CDT

The delegation of the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles celebrates as its sport is voted to be included in the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

Wrestling, which was bounced from the Olympics' permanent roster of sports earlier this year, has been given a reprieve: It will be part of the 2020 and 2024 Olympics. In a vote held Sunday, the International Olympic Committee chose it over squash and a combined bid from baseball and softball.

Wrestling was cut from the list of 25 core Summer Olympic sports in February. As NPR's Mike Pesca reported, the cut came as a shock.

"There was never an inkling that all styles of men's and women's wrestling could be dropped too," Mike said in February. "But at a closed-door meeting in Switzerland, the members of the IOC's executive board decided to eliminate the sport, which has been held at every summer games except Paris in 1900."

Sunday's vote means that wrestling will continue its presence at the Olympics uninterrupted through at least 2024. The sport had already been on the slate of events at the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro.

As we reported Saturday, the 2020 Games will be hosted by Tokyo, which was chosen by the International Olympic Committee over rival bids from Istanbul and Madrid.