Wrestling president quits after Olympic omission
FILE - The Aug. 6, 2012 file photo shows Sayed Abdelmonem Hamed of Egypt competing against Zaur Kuramagomedov of Russia (in blue) during the 60-kg Greco-Roman wrestling competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. IOC leaders have dropped wrestling for the 2020 Games in a surprise decision to scrap one of the oldest sports on the Olympic program. The IOC executive board decided Tuesday, Feb. 12, 1013 to retain modern pentathlon ? the event considered most at risk ? and remove wrestling instead from its list of core sports. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
PHUKET, Thailand >> The president of the international wrestling federation has quit in the wake of the IOC’s decision to remove the sport from the 2020 Olympics.
Raphael Martinetti’s resignation was announced Saturday at the FILA executive committee meeting in Phuket. The Swiss had been in the position since 2002.
On Tuesday, the executive board of the International Olympic Committee dumped wrestling from its guaranteed berth in future Summer games, forcing the sport to compete for a spot on the program.
U.S.A. Wrestling executive director Rich Bender said Martinetti’s departure “provides international wrestling with an opportunity to change and improve,” giving the sport a chance “to create a fresh new relationship” with the IOC.
Wrestling will still be on the program at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
