Reaction was sharp and critical Tuesday among the Island wrestling community as their sport 鈥� among sa国际传媒鈥檚 most successful in the Summer Olympics 鈥� was voted out of the Games by the International Olympic Committee executive board effective in 2020.
鈥淚鈥檓 in disbelief and very disappointed,鈥� said Taras Hryb, who came out of Victoria to win Pan Am and Commonwealth Games medals and to represent sa国际传媒 in the 1972 Munich Olympics.
鈥淭his is a sport that touches every culture in the world, men and women. It is as old as humanity itself. It takes in all builds and body types. And it brings out the finest in character and physical development.鈥�
Wrestling has been on the Olympic program since the first modern Games in 1896 at Athens.
鈥淭his chokes me up,鈥� said Ed Ashmore, the dean of wrestling coaches on the Island, who produced Olympians such as Victorians Hryb and Clark Davis, the latter who finished fourth at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
鈥淚 really don鈥檛 understand it because this sport touches so many parts of the world from Eastern Europe to Asia to Iran,鈥� added the 78-year-old Ashmore, who still coaches the Victoria Bulldogs club out of Cedar Hill Middle School.
鈥淚 hope this doesn鈥檛 hurt wrestling in sa国际传媒. That鈥檚 the fear. But those who really want to wrestle will stay at it. There are still provincials, regionals, nationals . . . and the world championships.鈥�
One of the most inspiring Island stories of the 2008 Beijing Olympics involved wrestler Travis Cross and the 64 fans from his hometown of Port Alberni who travelled to China to watch him compete in the Games.
鈥淓ver since I started wrestling, I aspired to go to the Olympics,鈥� Cross told the Alberni Valley Times on Tuesday.
鈥淚t was something I always held in the back of mind as a dream, and it was something that I could use to keep me focused and fuelled. It鈥檚 disappointing it鈥檚 not there for the younger generation to look forward to.鈥�
sa国际传媒 has had a strong Olympic history in the sport, including the unlikely saga of Daniel Igali. At the 1994 Victoria Commonwealth Games, on the drive from the wrestling venue at Juan de Fuca Arena to the Athletes Village at UVic, Igali informed his volunteer Games driver that he wished to defect from Nigeria and remain in sa国际传媒. Six years later, Igali won gold for sa国际传媒, his adopted country, at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Carol Huynh, whose family settled in Hazelton as immigrants from Vietnam, won gold for sa国际传媒 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and bronze at London in 2012, while Tonya Verbeek of Ontario won silver at Athens in 2004, bronze at Beijing in 2008 and silver at London in 2012.
鈥淲e are deeply surprised,鈥� said Wrestling sa国际传媒 president Don Ryan, in a statement Tuesday.
鈥淲restling is one of the core sports, dating back to the [first modern] Olympic Games of 1896 in Athens. sa国际传媒鈥檚 wrestling programs have been strong and successful at the international level, and posted strong results in the recent Games. We have a strong International Federation [FILA] and we will work closely with them as called upon to lobby and appeal to the IOC members to reverse this decision that has yet to be ratified by the IOC.鈥�
Ashmore, pointing to the quick and negative reaction around the world, agreed there may be time to counter the IOC鈥檚 controversial decision.
The IOC annually re-evaluates its agenda of sports, but it was thought taekwondo and modern pentathlon were the most vulnerable for expulsion. The entire IOC will have a ratification vote in September. A new sport will be voted in for the 2020 Summer Games, which will take place in Istanbul, Madrid or Tokyo.
鈥� With files from the Alberni Valley Times
