Wade Schalles has won 15 national wrestling titles and one world wrestling title. He is also recognized by the Guinness Book of Records for the most pins in his career—in other words, wrestling his opponent to the floor and holding him there. Mr. Schalles says he thinks the sport is in trouble.
“We lost the sport primarily because we were arrogant. We were unwilling to follow the suggestion of the IOC. It was a very strong suggestion, but we overlooked it thinking we were immune from that, because we are wrestling.”
Wrestling has a long tradition in the Olympics. It was featured in the first modern Olympics in Athens, Greece, in 1896. But today’s Olympic Games are much more than tradition. The Olympics are a major television event. And for the IOC—a for-profit organization—the money a sport makes and how popular it is on TV are important considerations.
Mr. Schalles says wrestling has not kept people interested in the sport and has lost TV audiences.
“Wrestling internationally is not fun to watch, in my opinion. Some people would disagree with me. Today, wrestling is so slippery because of the perspiration. Half of your moves you can’t get because you slip off the guy, which then keeps the scoring low, takes away the excitement from the crowd.”
Mr. Schalles proposes major changes. They include adding long sleeves to uniforms and making point-scoring easier.
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25