Speak Out: Should Wrestling Remain In Olympics?

The executive board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided to remove wrestling from the 2020 Summer Games.

The sport, which first appeared in the ancient Olympic Games in 708 B.C., was not included on the list of "core sports" to be proposed to the 125th IOC Session. 

Twenty-five sports were recommended after the board reviewed 26 sports on the current Olympic roster.

The elimination of one of the 26 sports allows the IOC to add a new sport to the program later this year, according to a report from ABC News. 

The board voted after reviewing a report by the IOC program commission report that analyzed 39 criteria, including television ratings, ticket sales, anti-doping policy and global participation and popularity. With no official rankings or recommendations contained in the report, the final decision by the 15-member board was also subject to political, emotional and sentimental factors.

According to a news release from the IOC, the Olympic Programme Commission "systematically reviews every sport following each edition of the Games" in an effort to ensure the Olympics remain relevant to sports fans of all generations.

Wrestling is among eight sports that will seek inclusion in the 2020 Olympic Games at the executive board's meeting in May, the release said. Those sports are baseball/softball, karate, roller sports, sport climbing, squash, wakeboarding and wushu.

Wrestling will still appear at the 2016 Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro.

Should wrestling remain in the Olympics? Tell us in the comments.