Olympic wrestlers will need to find new sports jobs instead of training for the 2020 Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that wrestling will be cut from the 2020 Olympic games.

The news comes as a shock to the wrestling world, as the sport is one of the oldest in Olympic history. Wrestling has been a part of the Olympics since they began in 1896.

The unexpected decision was made via secret ballot during a meeting on Tuesday in Lausanne, Switzerland. The vote was completed over several rounds and the final totals were not released to the public. IOC members made the decision by looking at television ratings, ticket sales and doping rules.

Projections showed that the pentathlon would be the event that got the boot, but that wasn’t the case as pentathlon officials pushed hard to keep their spot.

“This is a process of renewing and renovating the program for the Olympics,” said IOC spokesman Mark Adams. “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 (other) 25 core sports.”

Watch the following video of the 2012 gold medal wrestling match and you may think that the IOC made the wrong move.

London 2012 Olympic Wrestling – USA Vs IRAN – Final

Wrestling will now have to face off with multiple other sports that are fighting for inclusion in the 2020 Olympics.

Baseball



Softball



Karate



Squash



Roller Derby



Sports Climbing



Wake Boarding



Wushu The Associated Press said it is “extremely unlikely” that wrestling would be brought back so soon after the committee voted to eliminate it. The IOC has not yet announced which sport will take its place.

Maybe Olympic wrestlers can follow the path of former Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle and take a run at professional wrestling as a new sports job? Surely, if they can withstand a grueling battle on the Olympic mat, they can take a chair shot or be dropped through a breakway table.

Photo Credit: canada.com