More than 17,000 people have signed an online petition to keep wrestling as an Olympic sport.
The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee recommended dropping wrestling as a sport beginning with the 2020 summer games.
Branstad, Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds and several Iowa legislators sent a letter February 14, 2013 to the International Olympic Committee, asking them to reconsider removing wrestling from the 2020 Olympic games.
The next day, the “Let’s Keep Wrestling” campaign was launched.
Gov. Branstad’s re-election campaign was funding the “Let’s Keep Wrestling” effort, which has a Facebook page in addition to the website. According to the Facebook page, they had about 17,500 signatures on the petition as of Wednesday, February 20.
The petition posted at letskeepwrestling.com asks site visitors to join their opposition by adding their names to the list of those on a petition to allow wrestling to remain an Olympic sport.
“As one of the oldest non-running sports in the history of the world, wrestling has transcended generations in nearly 200 nations and has proved to be an inclusive sport providing opportunities for all genders and backgrounds,” the petition website says.
