Olympics: Wrestling Reinstated to 2020 Tokyo Games & 2024 Olympics

After seven months of backlash for eliminating wrestling from the Olympic Games, the sport was reinstated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Sunday, and scheduled to return at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

In a meeting held in Buenos Aires to decide a new sport for the Olympic Games, wrestling received 49 votes, baseball / softball got 24 votes, and 22 voted for squash. Space for a new sport opened up after the IOC dropped wrestling last February (though they were allowed to re-apply).

"Wrestling has shown great passion and resilience in the last few months," said IOC president Jacques Rogge. "They have taken a number of steps to modernize and improve their sport."

FILA (the international wrestling federation) reorganized itself, including the resignation of Raphael Martinetti of Switzerland, and replaced with Nenad Lalovic of Serbia, adding more women in decision-making roles, adding two weight classes for women, and changing some rules to make the sport more accessible to casual fans - including rewarding more aggressive wrestling and punishing passive styles.

Matches, which will be decided on accumulated points, have been restructured from three two-minute rounds to two three-minute rounds. Takedowns are worth two points now, instead of one point.

"The rule changes have made it more exciting to watch," said Canadian Olympic champion Daniel Igali, who runs the Nigerian wrestling federation.

The vote guaranteed that freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling would be contested at least through the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo and the 2024 Olympics, which have yet to be awarded to a host city.

Earlier Sunday, Canadian IOC delegate Dick Pound had his motion to postpone the decision rejected. Pound believes that no new sport was being added by reinstating wrestling, defeating the purpose of the hearings; and wanted to delay five months to allow for a new sport to make a presentation.

"My sense is there's a very strong feeling that wrestling should be retained," said Pound. "If that is expressed by the session then we're back to where we started. There's been no new sport added to the program."