Olympic wrestling is one step closer to get back in the 2020 Summer Games. During a meeting today in St. Petersburg, Russia, the International Olympic Committee’s executive board approved wrestling, baseball/softball and squash as the finalists for the remaining spot. A final vote is planned for September.
Wrestling was originally cut from the Games in February. This caused lots of outcry from the wrestling community as well as the MMA community. MMA competitors like Daniel Cormier and Dan Henderson, were Olympians before moving to MMA.
Olympic wrestling may take on elements from MMA to help live events and increase its chances of going to the Olympics. Possibilities include staged weigh-ins, walk-out music, lighting, visual effects and video screen replays.
Thanks to the vote, other sports like wushu, karate, roller sports, sport climbing and wakeboarding are no longer being considered for the 2020 Games.
After the announcement in February, the United States, Russia and Iran hosted showcase exhibitions to help wrestling get promotion.
