25. 02. 2013
Košice (February 25, 2013) - The world of wrestling is in shock! On Tuesday, February 12, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) unexpectedly excluded wrestling from the 2020 Olympic program. In the coming months, the IOC Executive Board will decide on its replacement. The final decision will be made in September at the General Assembly in Buenos Aires.
The world wrestling movement has been mobilizing ever since. Messages and calls to preserve one of the founding sports of the ancient and modern Olympic Games in the program of the pinnacle sporting event are proliferating on social media. Our Wrestling Club (ZK) Košice 1904 is not standing aside.
"We are closely monitoring the development of the situation regarding the so-called exclusion of wrestling from the list of 25 core Olympic sports from the 2020 Olympics," states the president of ZK Košice 1904, Ján Tokár Jr., in a statement for our website www.zapasenie-kosice.sk, and continues: "We fully agree that this is an incorrect and even absurd decision. We draw optimism and faith that this scenario will not ultimately materialize from the statements of world-renowned Olympic champions, as well as from the statements of the broad sporting public."
As the head of Košice wrestling further notes, the legends of wrestling from the USA, Russia, and Iran are currently the most active in preserving wrestling as one of the top Olympic sports. According to the latest information, the IOC committee will meet in St. Petersburg in May, and at this meeting, everything could change, and our sport could remain under the five rings even after 2016. "We hereby appeal to our wrestling community, as well as to all wrestling fans, to spread the good name of our sport in their surroundings and thus contribute to its further promotion. Let's be optimists!" concludes the president of ZK Košice 1904, J. Tokár Jr.