Olympic wrestling decision gets mixed reviews

GREEN BAY - There may not be room for one of the oldest Olympic sports come the 2020 Games.

The International Olympic Committee announced Tuesday it has dropped wrestling.

The committee acted after reviewing 26 sports on the current Olympic program.

Eliminating one sport allows the IOC to add a new sport to the program later this year. The news is getting mixed reviews.

Bay Port senior Garrett Heder has been wrestling for 12 years.

"I plan to wrestle in college, wherever I go," Heder said.

Needless to say, both he and his coach were disappointed to hear the opportunity to wrestle in the Olympics may not be an option.

"It's always something in the back of my mind, I think more for me it's the enjoyment of the sport, I guess if it gets that far, then yea, I'd love to get to the Olympics for it," Heder explained.

"There's no pro-level in our sport, so that's the highest level you can reach and to take that opportunity away from those kids, yea there are a lot of great sports out there, but wrestling has been there since the beginning," explained Bay Port wrestling coach Brad Shefchik.

The news came as a shock to Olympic medalist and Fox Valley native Garrett Lowney. He feels it was the wrong move.

"It's a sport that truly embodies the whole idea and concept of the Olympic Games and it's just mind-boggling how they came to that decision," Lowney said during a phone interview.

Wrestling can apply for inclusion in 2020, but there will be seven other sports applying for the one opening.

That includes baseball and softball.

"We're starting to see baseball players from South Africa, Germany, those places are starting to build up," explained Timber Rattlers director of media relations Chris Mehring. "The Timber Rattlers have had players from South Korea, the Netherlands and Japan, Columbia and Venezuela, so it's a worldwide sport. It belongs in the Olympics."

The IOC is expected to make a final decision next fall.