Three-time NCAA wrestling champion Danny Hodge waits during a watch party at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Sunday in Stillwater. Wrestling was reinstated for the 2020 and 2024 Olympics. JACKIE DOBSON / The Oklahoman
STILLWATER - One of the greatest days in the life of Danny Hodge was winning a third-place medal in his first wrestling tournament at Perry Junior High School.
Sunday came pretty close to matching that joy for Hodge.
Wrestling was reinstated for the 2020 and 2024 Olympics and Hodge was among a handful of Oklahoma wrestling legends, coaches and future Olympic hopefuls that cheered the decision on Sunday morning at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
"When I won that medal in junior high was one of the happiest days of my life," said Hodge. "This is pretty close for me. I am so happy. Wrestling is back in the Olympics where it belongs.
"Wrestling is the original sport. Getting the Olympics back in the Olympics was the news this old country boy from Perry wanted to hear."
Former Olympians, current national team members, coaches and wrestling fans were among a large group of people that watched the International Olympic Committee meeting from Argentina on televisions throughout the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Oklahoma State coach John Smith, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, said it was a great day for wrestling but also just the beginning of an ongoing effort to modernize his sport.
"This is a huge day for our sport," said Smith. "I think what all of this has done is wake up our sport globally. It reminds us that our sport has a role, an important role, in the Olympic movement.
"Wrestling has been a part of the ancient Olympics going back nearly 3000 years and it has been a core sport since the start of the modern Olympics. What this did was serve as a wake-up, a reminder that we need to always be working to improve and modernize our sport."
Oklahoma wrestling coach Mark Cody, along with several Olympic hopefuls from Norman, was also at the Hall of Fame with high hopes that wrestling would be reinstated.
When news came he jumped for joy.
"I didn't feel comfortable about it until they announced we won the vote," said Cody. "You just never know, but I think wrestling made a great case for itself and thankfully the International Olympic Committee listened.
"When it was first announced that we might be left out of the future Olympics it came as a surprise and it was a big wake-up call for all of us in the sport. I think it was a call for us to make the changes to keep our sport relevant not only here in the United State but around the world. We are making changes and I think we made believers out of those people on the International Olympic Committee."
Wrestling won a majority of the IOC vote between wrestling, baseball/softball and squash.
In February, the OIC voted for 25 "core sports" to be contested in the Olympics after 2016. Wrestling was not included in the list.
So, wrestling went into a group of eight sports hoping to be reinstated as an "additional sport" for the 2020 and 2024 Olympics. That list of eight was cut down to three in May.
Wrestling's presentation to the IOC on Sunday included a number of reforms including some rules changes and a new weight-division alignment. It includes more opportunities for women wrestlers in the Olympics.
"I think the IOC was sending a message to all federations in all sports that they need to be constantly willing to change and modernize and to remain relevant globally," said Lee Roy Smith, executive director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
"What this does is allow us to get back in the Olympics and once again become one of the core sports in the Olympics. I think this is our opportunity to expand our sport and maybe help bring more sports back to the Olympics with us.
"To be honest, this whole experience has helped us bring about the reform we needed in wrestling. The news that we might fall out of the Olympics helped bring about a revolution in our sport around the world that I think is very good for us."
Much of wrestling's appeal to be reinstated was based on the popularity around the world along with the willingness to institute changes and modernize rules.
"I have been an Olympic wrestler and Olympic coach and I'm a wrestling fan," said John Smith. "Some day I won't be involved in the sport any longer but I'm always going to be a wrestling fan. So, I ws hopeful we would be reinstated because I think it was important to the future of our sport.
"I just think the entire process we've gone through has been good for the sport. We now know how strong we can be when we work globally together for wrestling."
Wrestling did make a strong case to the IOC. There are 177 national wrestling federations on six continents.
In the 2012 Olympics, 71 countries qualified to participate in the wrestling competition and 29 countries won Olympic wrestling medals.
"We made our case and now we'll continue to work to strengthen our sport," said Smith. "This wasn't wrestling vs. baseball/softball or squash. In fact, I believe baseball/softball should have been reinstated, too.
"This is about us doing the right things and making changes and helping our sport to grow."
Original Print Headline: Wrestling back 'where it belongs'
Related Items
Klein's Korner: Click here to read John Klein's blog
John Klein
Oklahoma State needed a game. The players needed to play. The coaches needed to coach. The fans needed to cheer. Everyone needed a break from the daily barrage of wild accusations and nasty allegations in a Sports Illustrated series of stories about OSU football.
The tone of Oklahoma State's response to allegations has been serious and determined.
