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dreds of wrestlers of all ages, from youth through the Olympics and Veteran levels, along with coaches, referees and fans, came together on the raised center mats for a group photo sup- porting the Keep Olympic Wrestling effort. USA Wrestling also celebrated the legacy of women’s wrestling at U.S. Open, honoring the courageous and talented pioneers for the sport in our nation. Almost 20 women’s wrestlers from the 1980s and 1990s came for a social and to be honored. Another pioneer, 1988 Olympic referee Shiela Wager, received FILA’s highest reward, the FILA Gold Star. Wager was the first woman from any country to serve as a mat official at the Olympic Games. The Indiana State Wrestling Association, USA Wrestling’s
state association in Indiana, made a donation of $3,307.30 to CPOW raised from participants at the ISWA Folkstyle State Championships. USA Wrestling-Kansas made a $3,000 dona- tion to CPOW after the Kansas State Wrestling Folkstyle Championships in Topeka, Kan., with nearly 1,500 wrestlers in five age divisions in attendance. USA Wrestling Nebraska made a donation of $1,000 to CPOW. Connecticut’s board members presented the CPOW with $500 at the Connecticut Freestyle Wrestling Tournament in Danbury.
Led by former wrestler and actor Billy Baldwin, a variety of celebrities are stepping up to support wrestling with many scheduled to make appearances at the World Wrestling Month events in the U.S. Among the stars helping wrestling are Ashton Kutcher, Tom Arnold, Alec Baldwin, Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, Mario Lopez, Matthew Modine, Steve Buscemi, Jay Mohr, Nate Parker, Mike Golic, Randy Couture and Jon Jones. Other news items from the Keep Olympic Wrestling move-
ment include: • A petition drive in Japan netted a total of 821,342 signatures calling for the preservation of wrestling in the Olympics. • A new website focusing on all aspects of international wrestling was launched on May 1. Called International Wrestling News, it is managed by U.S. wrestling publication Amateur Wrestling News. The website covers all three Olympic styles of wrestling, with a wide variety of content and features. Fans can enjoy this new website at: http://
internationalwrestling.org • Russian President Vladimir Putin met with FILA Acting President Nenad Lalovic in Sochi, Russia, as wrestling made a presentation to journalists at the AIPS Congress. • The Greek Athletics Federation (SEGAS) announced it opposes the IOC Executive Board recommendation to drop wrestling from the Olympic Games after 2016. • CPOW members and FILA Bureau members Jim Scherr and
Stan Dziedzic of the United States attended the 15th annual IOC Sport for All World Conference in Lima, Peru this past weekend, representing the effort to Keep Olympic Wrestling. Several IOC members, including some Executive Board mem- bers, met with these wrestling leaders. • IOC vice-president Thomas Bach of Germany said that its Executive Board should be flexible when deciding how many of the 2020 Olympic bid sports will be shortlisted next in St. Petersburg. "In my opinion, I don't think we should have an exact number that we should shortlist because I think we should be flexible. If the presentations are good enough and the bid has enough strength, I see no reason why we shouldn't take it through to the next stage,” said Bach. • The Russian Wrestling Federation launched its national
campaign for support Olympic wrestling, which is entitled “Wrestling! To be continued,” as part of World Wrestling Month.
20 USA Wrestler
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