Reflecting on Wrestling's Exclusion from the Olympic Games
CHINO Keiko / Journalist
March 13, 2013
The decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to exclude wrestling as a candidate for the events at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games sent out shock waves that reverberated around the world.
Officials from major wrestling nations flocked to Iran, where the Freestyle Wrestling World Cup was being held, for an emergency meeting that even gave rise to an unlikely alliance between the United States and Iran – two countries that usually lock horns in the international political arena. President Vladimir Putin of Russia, another major wrestling nation, is reportedly planning to appeal directly to IOC President Jacques Rogge for reinstatement of the sport when the IOC Executive Board meets in St. Petersburg this May.
It was devastating new for Japan as well. And for good reason: judo had lost its luster as a national sport amid an ongoing scandal, and these days most of Japan's gold medals come from wrestling. It is particularly noteworthy that three out of seven gold medals at the London Olympics were from women's wrestling, including the gold won by Yoshida Saori, which marked her third consecutive Olympic victory. So, let’s hear it for the sport – Go for it, wrestling!
Meanwhile, I can't help wondering: why now? Having caught wind of the looming crisis, South Korea managed to salvage its national sport taekwondo from the same fate, thanks to the lobbying activities of then President-elect Park Geun-hye. Learning of such maneuverings only increases our amazement at the level of information gathering and crisis management on the part of those involved in Japan, who were taken by complete surprise by the decision.
No offense to taekwondo, but is it truly more worthy than wrestling to be an Olympic sport? If anything, wrestling is a sport that has symbolized the Olympic Games since ancient times. For this reason, those in the wrestling community didn't even dream it could become a candidate for exclusion from the competition. Yet, if such had been the case, we should also question their conceit and overconfidence, in addition to their risk management capability. Tradition alone does not guarantee survival.
Having said so, what I find most questionable and objectionable in this matter is the status of the IOC Executive Board, which monopolizes the authority to make life or death decisions on each competitive sport. The Board consists of 15 members including the President, four Vice-Presidents and ten directors. There are currently nine European members including the President, two Vice-Presidents and six members, which gives them a more than comfortable majority.
None of the members are from major wrestling nations – the United States, Russia, Iran, Turkey and Japan. Neither are there any members affiliated with international wrestling organizations. Incidentally, modern pentathlon was retained along with taekwondo in the latest decision. But does it rank so much higher than wrestling in terms of the number of contestants, spectators and fans? When we learn that the First Vice President of the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) happens to be the son of former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch and that he himself sits on the IOC Executive Board, it is no wonder that questions arise over fairness and transparency.
Members of the Executive Board serve a four-year term. They are elected at an IOC Session, although in reality nominations are made at the President's discretion, according to sports writers. Thus a considerable number of the members are expected to be replaced in September, when President Rogge is scheduled to retire.
The latest news reminded me of the term "Old Europe" expressed by former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld some time ago. Over a century has passed since the IOC was established and the modern Olympic Games began. The IOC should be commended for the effort and political muscle it has shown in becoming an international institution with an overwhelming presence despite its technical status as an NPO. However, new countries have emerged and the world has undergone dramatic change. The same can be said about the world of sports. The IOC Executive Committee, which has been likened to an aristocratic salon, should shed its old skin and transform itself into a new forum befitting the 21st century.
Keiko Chino is a journalist.
Officials from major wrestling nations flocked to Iran, where the Freestyle Wrestling World Cup was being held, for an emergency meeting that even gave rise to an unlikely alliance between the United States and Iran – two countries that usually lock horns in the international political arena. President Vladimir Putin of Russia, another major wrestling nation, is reportedly planning to appeal directly to IOC President Jacques Rogge for reinstatement of the sport when the IOC Executive Board meets in St. Petersburg this May.
It was devastating new for Japan as well. And for good reason: judo had lost its luster as a national sport amid an ongoing scandal, and these days most of Japan's gold medals come from wrestling. It is particularly noteworthy that three out of seven gold medals at the London Olympics were from women's wrestling, including the gold won by Yoshida Saori, which marked her third consecutive Olympic victory. So, let’s hear it for the sport – Go for it, wrestling!
Meanwhile, I can't help wondering: why now? Having caught wind of the looming crisis, South Korea managed to salvage its national sport taekwondo from the same fate, thanks to the lobbying activities of then President-elect Park Geun-hye. Learning of such maneuverings only increases our amazement at the level of information gathering and crisis management on the part of those involved in Japan, who were taken by complete surprise by the decision.
No offense to taekwondo, but is it truly more worthy than wrestling to be an Olympic sport? If anything, wrestling is a sport that has symbolized the Olympic Games since ancient times. For this reason, those in the wrestling community didn't even dream it could become a candidate for exclusion from the competition. Yet, if such had been the case, we should also question their conceit and overconfidence, in addition to their risk management capability. Tradition alone does not guarantee survival.
Having said so, what I find most questionable and objectionable in this matter is the status of the IOC Executive Board, which monopolizes the authority to make life or death decisions on each competitive sport. The Board consists of 15 members including the President, four Vice-Presidents and ten directors. There are currently nine European members including the President, two Vice-Presidents and six members, which gives them a more than comfortable majority.
None of the members are from major wrestling nations – the United States, Russia, Iran, Turkey and Japan. Neither are there any members affiliated with international wrestling organizations. Incidentally, modern pentathlon was retained along with taekwondo in the latest decision. But does it rank so much higher than wrestling in terms of the number of contestants, spectators and fans? When we learn that the First Vice President of the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM) happens to be the son of former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch and that he himself sits on the IOC Executive Board, it is no wonder that questions arise over fairness and transparency.
Members of the Executive Board serve a four-year term. They are elected at an IOC Session, although in reality nominations are made at the President's discretion, according to sports writers. Thus a considerable number of the members are expected to be replaced in September, when President Rogge is scheduled to retire.
The latest news reminded me of the term "Old Europe" expressed by former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld some time ago. Over a century has passed since the IOC was established and the modern Olympic Games began. The IOC should be commended for the effort and political muscle it has shown in becoming an international institution with an overwhelming presence despite its technical status as an NPO. However, new countries have emerged and the world has undergone dramatic change. The same can be said about the world of sports. The IOC Executive Committee, which has been likened to an aristocratic salon, should shed its old skin and transform itself into a new forum befitting the 21st century.
Keiko Chino is a journalist.
The English-Speaking Union of Japan
レスリングの五輪競技除外に思う
千野境子 / ジャーナリスト
2013年 3月 13日
ＩＯＣ（国際オリンピック委員会）理事会による２０２０年夏季五輪競技種目からレスリングを除外候補とするとの決定は、世界に大きな衝撃と波紋を投げかけたようだ。
折しもレスリングＷ杯開催中だったイランには急遽、レスリング大国関係者が参集、国際政治では仇敵同士の米国・イランの共同戦線まで生まれた。もう一つの大国ロシアのプーチン大統領は、五月に地元サンクトペテルブルクでＩＯＣ理事会が開かれるのを機にロゲＩＯＣ会長に復帰を直談判するらしい。
日本も真っ青だ。何しろお家芸柔道は輝きを失い、スキャンダルの最中、いまや日本の金メダルの大半はレスリングで、とくに女子はロンドン五輪で五輪３連覇の吉田沙保理はじめ全七個の内三個を獲得しているのだ。
レスリングよ、ガンバレとここは精一杯、声援を送ろう。
しかし一方で、なぜ今頃になってという気もする。除外の危機を察知した韓国のお家芸ともいえるテコンドーは、朴槿恵・次期韓国大統領(当時)のロビー活動が効を奏したと聞けば、決定を寝耳に水のように驚く日本関係者の情報収集力と危機管理力に逆に驚く。
テコンドーに恨みはないけれど、テコンドーは果たしてレスリングよりも五輪競技に相応しいだろうか。むしろレスリングこそ古代五輪から五輪の象徴的競技種目だったといってもよい。だからレスリング関係者は除外候補になるとは夢にも思わなかったー。もしそうだとすれば、危機管理力に加えて関係者たちの慢心や過信も問題だ。伝統に胡坐をかいているだけでは生き残れない。
とはいえ、今回の決定でもっとも疑問を覚え異議を唱えたいのは、競技種目の生殺与奪の権限を一身に集めるＩＯＣ理事会の存在である。同理事会は会長１名、副会長４名、理事１０名の合計１５名から成るが、現在会長、副会長２名、理事６名と過半数を大きく超す９名が欧州出身だ。
レスリング大国の米露、イラン、トルコそして日本はゼロ。国際レスリング関係者もいない。一方、今回テコンドーと共に残留が決まった近代五種競技は競技人口や観客、ファン数などの点で、レスリングをどれほど上回るのだろうか。同協会副会長がサマランチ前ＩＯＣ会長の子息でＩＯＣ理事だと聞けば、公平性や透明性に疑問を抱かれても仕方あるまい。
理事の任期は四年。スポーツ記者の話では総会で選出されるが、事実上、会長の指名に任されているのが現状らしい。従って九月に退任が予定されるロゲ会長とともに理事も相当数が交代するのではないかという。
私は今回のニュースで、かつてラムズフェルド元米国防長官が言った「古い欧州」という言葉を思い出した。ＩＯＣが創設され近代五輪が始まってから百年以上が経つ。厳密にはＮＰＯでありながら、絶大な存在感を持つ国際機関となったＩＯＣのこれまでの努力と政治力は評価されてよい。しかし新興国が台頭し、世界は大きく変わった。スポーツの世界も同様だ。貴族的サロンと言われてきたＩＯＣ理事会も、新しい二十一世紀に相応しい場に脱皮すべきであろう。
（筆者はジャーナリスト。）
折しもレスリングＷ杯開催中だったイランには急遽、レスリング大国関係者が参集、国際政治では仇敵同士の米国・イランの共同戦線まで生まれた。もう一つの大国ロシアのプーチン大統領は、五月に地元サンクトペテルブルクでＩＯＣ理事会が開かれるのを機にロゲＩＯＣ会長に復帰を直談判するらしい。
日本も真っ青だ。何しろお家芸柔道は輝きを失い、スキャンダルの最中、いまや日本の金メダルの大半はレスリングで、とくに女子はロンドン五輪で五輪３連覇の吉田沙保理はじめ全七個の内三個を獲得しているのだ。
レスリングよ、ガンバレとここは精一杯、声援を送ろう。
しかし一方で、なぜ今頃になってという気もする。除外の危機を察知した韓国のお家芸ともいえるテコンドーは、朴槿恵・次期韓国大統領(当時)のロビー活動が効を奏したと聞けば、決定を寝耳に水のように驚く日本関係者の情報収集力と危機管理力に逆に驚く。
テコンドーに恨みはないけれど、テコンドーは果たしてレスリングよりも五輪競技に相応しいだろうか。むしろレスリングこそ古代五輪から五輪の象徴的競技種目だったといってもよい。だからレスリング関係者は除外候補になるとは夢にも思わなかったー。もしそうだとすれば、危機管理力に加えて関係者たちの慢心や過信も問題だ。伝統に胡坐をかいているだけでは生き残れない。
とはいえ、今回の決定でもっとも疑問を覚え異議を唱えたいのは、競技種目の生殺与奪の権限を一身に集めるＩＯＣ理事会の存在である。同理事会は会長１名、副会長４名、理事１０名の合計１５名から成るが、現在会長、副会長２名、理事６名と過半数を大きく超す９名が欧州出身だ。
レスリング大国の米露、イラン、トルコそして日本はゼロ。国際レスリング関係者もいない。一方、今回テコンドーと共に残留が決まった近代五種競技は競技人口や観客、ファン数などの点で、レスリングをどれほど上回るのだろうか。同協会副会長がサマランチ前ＩＯＣ会長の子息でＩＯＣ理事だと聞けば、公平性や透明性に疑問を抱かれても仕方あるまい。
理事の任期は四年。スポーツ記者の話では総会で選出されるが、事実上、会長の指名に任されているのが現状らしい。従って九月に退任が予定されるロゲ会長とともに理事も相当数が交代するのではないかという。
私は今回のニュースで、かつてラムズフェルド元米国防長官が言った「古い欧州」という言葉を思い出した。ＩＯＣが創設され近代五輪が始まってから百年以上が経つ。厳密にはＮＰＯでありながら、絶大な存在感を持つ国際機関となったＩＯＣのこれまでの努力と政治力は評価されてよい。しかし新興国が台頭し、世界は大きく変わった。スポーツの世界も同様だ。貴族的サロンと言われてきたＩＯＣ理事会も、新しい二十一世紀に相応しい場に脱皮すべきであろう。
（筆者はジャーナリスト。）
一般社団法人 日本英語交流連盟