I am proud to admit that I was an Olympic hopeful (in judo). by the age of 16 I was on the Olympic track. My dad no longer put me in
low level tournaments. Competing across the company and sometimes outside of
the U.S. was normal. I did judo five to six days a week and did
conditioning seven days a week. Sometimes I would condition two times a day
depending on my schedule and if I was cutting weight.
I missed out on a lot of things, but I gained a lot to. I had many life experiences that others don't get to have. My friends went to college...I moved to the Olympic Training Center. I trained with some of the best athletes and met some great people. I will always cherish the memories of my training. It was hard, but it was fun. I know the dedication and time demands it takes to pursue this type of track.
It was devastating to hear that the International Olympic Committee is removing wrestling as an Olympic event. To me wrestling is the definition of a traditional Olympic sport. "Wrestling was among the first sports in those ancient Games; wrestling was also included at the start of the modern Olympics, in 1896 (Irving, 2013)." The New York Times article, How Wrestling Lost the Olympics, goes on to discuss if wrestling is not an Olympic sport then will it impact high school and college school wrestling programs in the United States? I'm sure that it will.
I missed out on a lot of things, but I gained a lot to. I had many life experiences that others don't get to have. My friends went to college...I moved to the Olympic Training Center. I trained with some of the best athletes and met some great people. I will always cherish the memories of my training. It was hard, but it was fun. I know the dedication and time demands it takes to pursue this type of track.
It was devastating to hear that the International Olympic Committee is removing wrestling as an Olympic event. To me wrestling is the definition of a traditional Olympic sport. "Wrestling was among the first sports in those ancient Games; wrestling was also included at the start of the modern Olympics, in 1896 (Irving, 2013)." The New York Times article, How Wrestling Lost the Olympics, goes on to discuss if wrestling is not an Olympic sport then will it impact high school and college school wrestling programs in the United States? I'm sure that it will.
Wrestling as had a long history
with the Olympics. I am optimistic knowing that this decision can be appealed.
There has already been a large movement to "Keep Wrestling in the Olympics." They invite people to sign petitions, like and follow pages
on both Facebook and Twitter. They also have an official website. Amazing how inclined people are with social
media. I received a tweet which directed me to a French site to sign their
petition to keep wrestling in the Olympics.
I hope that their Olympic dreams can live on.
Irving, John. (2013). How
Wrestling Lost the Olympics. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/16/opinion/how-wrestling-lost-the-olympics.html
I agree that wrstling should not be removed from the games. This a sport that has been with the games since 1896. There is alot of tradition that would be lost. Though not as glamerous as some of the games, it shows the raw strength of the competitors. This decison really must be reconsidered!
ReplyDeleteI must agree with you. Wrestling is a classic sport. I think it is the "true definition" of an Olympic sport.
ReplyDeleteI really hope that this doesnt happen for good. I would love to forsee the outcome. However as Chael Sonnen and Tom Brands said, with the evolution of international wrestling and the Olympics it is hard for one to honestly say that we didnt see this coming. With the drastic change of rules I would like to know what the mass majority would think if it came down to wrestling or judo for one having to go. Or if it cmae down to women's freesytle or greco?
ReplyDeleteJudo is known for being one of the largest sports in the world. It's amazing how many people in the U.S. don't know about it. I still think both sports have enough history to have staying power. It seems like there is quite a large movement to keep wrestling in the Olympics. I have gotten tweets to sign petitions. One once from France. Once I signed I received an email. All we can do is support and see how it plays out. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
ReplyDeleteHow can they just cut a sport?!
ReplyDeleteAlso I would love read a blog post about your life at the the Olympic Training Center!