IN HR0057

The Indiana House of Representatives opposes the International Olympic Committee's Executive Board decision to eliminate wrestling from the Summer Olympic Games beginning in 2020.

Wrestling is one of the world's oldest competitive sports dating back to 3000 B.C. and was included in both the ancient Greek Olympic Games and the first modern Olympic Games.

The United States has won 124 Olympic medals in wrestling, and Indiana has 313 high school wrestling programs with over 280,000 high school participants nationwide in 2012.

Wrestling provides opportunities for athletes of all physical builds and abilities, including students who are blind, deaf, or physically handicapped, and has historically produced U.S. presidents, Supreme Court justices, and other national leaders.

The House directs the Principal Clerk to transmit copies of this resolution to the International Olympic Committee and United States Olympic Committee urging reconsideration to reinstate wrestling as a core Olympic sport.