The only thing more shocking than the IOC’s recommendation to eliminate wrestling from the Olympics is that the vote wasn’t all that close. Wrestling earned the most votes in every round.
Of course, in this instance votes were a bad thing as fourteen members of the IOC executive board convened in Switzerland Tuesday to choose which sport they thought should be dropped after scrutinizing 39 criteria including ticket sales, anti-doping policies, and worldwide popularity.
“It was up to the executive Board members to make a decision, it was not black and white and it was not an easy decision,” said IOC spokesman Mark Adams. “But we wanted to allow room for the renewal of the Olympic program.”
Here’s a quick breakdown of this morning’s IOC vote, round by round, according to Inside the Games:
Round one
Wrestling: 5
Modern Pent: 5
Field Hockey: 2
Taekwondo: 1
Canoe/Kayak: 1
Round two
Wrestling: 7
Modern Pent: 4
Field Hockey: 1
Taekwondo: 1
Canoe/Kayak: 1
Elimination Run-off
Field Hockey: 6
Taekwondo: 5
Canoe/Kayak: 3
Round four
Wrestling: 6
Modern Pent: 5
Field Hockey: 3
Taekwondo: 0
Final round
Wrestling: 8
Modern Pent: 3
Field Hockey: 3