Simley Wrestling Coach: Without Olympics, 'Your Dream is Gone'

A strong tradition in the Inver Grove Heights community was wrestled down Tuesday, when the International Olympic Committee announced it will cut wrestling from the Olympic games, beginning in 2020.

"If you say there are no Olympics, then your dream is gone,” Short said.," said Will Short, Simley High School's athletic director and wrestling coach, told CBS Minnesota.

Simley's program has won nine state wrestling championships, and Short told CBS he feels that the Olympic Committee's decision was financially motivated.

“I think the IOC is looking at some other sports where they have big-time sponsorships that are going to generate revenue for the Olympics,” he said.

He said the decision was also a disappointment for his son, Jake, who will wrestle at the University of Minnesota and hopes to compete for a position on the Olympic team.

Mark Hall II, a nationally ranked freshman at Apple Valley High School, has already won two Minnesota championships and spent half of last year training at the U.S. Olympic wrestling facility in Colorado.

The Olympic Committee's decision has left him angry.

"I've dreamed about it ever since I was a kid, then in 2020 they take it away," he told the Pioneer Press. "It's one of the very first Olympic sports. How can they just drop it?"

His father, Mark Hall, told the paper that his son would aim to wrestle on the Olympic team in 2016 but he had his doubts.

"I don't know if he will be ready for them yet," he said. "I don't know what they're thinking. I suppose I can understand to a point that revenue isn't there and it can be a dangerous sport. What are they going to replace it with, lawn darts? The dreams and aspirations of a lot of quality wrestlers have just been dashed."

Olympic wrestling still has a chance to survive. Yahoo Sports reported Tuesday that the wrestling governing body, International Amateur Wrestling Federation (FILA) plans an emergency campaign to be chosen again in September to participate in the Olympics. That's when it will be one of seven sports bidding for a spot in the 2020 Olympics — for the vacancy it left after being cut.

The decision to cut wrestling was announced by the committee in Switzerland. The Telegraph in London reports the reasons behind the decision included "a perceived lack of television appeal and the failure of the sport’s governing body to recognise it was under threat." USA Today cites reasons such as low global participation and declining popularity.

A St. Michael community member wrote on St. Michael Patch's Facebook page that it's a "sad day when the Olympic committee is concerned with making TV money versus keeping the integrity of the Olympic games. There must be Roman Goths spinning in their graves."

Wrestling first appeared in the ancient Olympics in 708 B.C. In 2012, 71 countries were represented at wrestling games across the freestyle and Greco-Roman disciplines, reported The Telegraph.

According to USA Today, IOC spokesman Mark Adams said, "This is a process of renewing and renovating the program for the Olympics. In the view of the executive board, this was the best program for the Olympic Games in 2020. It's not a case of what's wrong with wrestling, it is what's right with the 25 core sports."