IN SR0054

Indiana Senate opposes the International Olympic Committee's Executive Board decision to eliminate wrestling from the Summer Olympic Games beginning in 2020 and urges reconsideration to reinstate wrestling as a core Olympic sport.

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

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

Wrestling provides opportunities for athletes of all physical builds and those with disabilities who may not have access to other sports, and has historically produced U.S. presidents, Supreme Court justices, and other national leaders.

The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit copies of this resolution to the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic Committee.