FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 6, 2012 file photo Keitani Graham of Micronesia competes against Charles Edward Betts of the United States, right, during the 84-kg Greco-Roman wrestling competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, in London. An official familiar with the decision says IOC leaders have dropped wrestling from the program for the 2020 Olympics. In a surprise decision Tuesday Feb. 12, 2013, the official tells The Associated Press that the IOC executive board decided to retain modern pentathlon and remove wrestling instead. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
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FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 6, 2012 file photo Keitani Graham of Micronesia competes against Charles Edward Betts of the United States, right, during the 84-kg Greco-Roman wrestling competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, in London. An official familiar with the decision says IOC leaders have dropped wrestling from the program for the 2020 Olympics. In a surprise decision Tuesday Feb. 12, 2013, the official tells The Associated Press that the IOC executive board decided to retain modern pentathlon and remove wrestling instead. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
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FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 6, 2012 file photo Amer Hrustanovic of Austria competes against Damian Janikowski of Poland, in blue, during the 84-kg Greco-Roman wrestling competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics, in London. An official familiar with the decision says IOC leaders have dropped wrestling from the program for the 2020 Olympics. In a surprise decision Tuesday Feb. 12, 2013, the official tells The Associated Press that the IOC executive board decided to retain modern pentathlon and remove wrestling instead. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
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FILE - The Aug. 6, 2012 file photo shows Sayed Abdelmonem Hamed of Egypt competing against Zaur Kuramagomedov of Russia (in blue) during the 60-kg Greco-Roman wrestling competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. IOC leaders have dropped wrestling for the 2020 Games in a surprise decision to scrap one of the oldest sports on the Olympic program. The IOC executive board decided Tuesday, Feb. 12, 1013 to retain modern pentathlon — the event considered most at risk — and remove wrestling instead from its list of core sports. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
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FILE - The Aug. 5, 2012 file photo shows Cuba's Gustavo Balart, left, competing with South Korea's Choi Gyu-jin during 55-kg Greco-Roman wrestling competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. IOC leaders have dropped wrestling for the 2020 Games in a surprise decision to scrap one of the oldest sports on the Olympic program. The IOC executive board decided Tuesday, Feb. 12, 1013 to retain modern pentathlon — the event considered most at risk — and remove wrestling instead from its list of core sports. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, file)
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FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2000, file photo, USA's Rulon Gardner waves the American flag following his gold medal win against three-time Olympic gold medalist Alexandre Kareline, of Russia, in the Greco-Roman 130 kg final wrestling match at the Summer Games in Sydney. Gardner's epic upset of Russian wrestling great Alexander Karelin in 2000 remains one of the most compelling moments of the modern Olympics. Starting in 2020, youngsters looking to Gardner and Karelin for inspiration won't have a chance to excel on the sport's biggest stage. Gardner and nearly everyone else associated with the sport in the U.S. were jolted Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013 when International Olympic Committee leaders dropped wrestling from the Summer Games. (AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara, File)
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FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2000 file photo, Rulon Gardner, right, of the United States, holds the arm of Alexander Karelin of Russia during the final bout in the 130 kg class of Greco-Roman wrestling event at the Summer Olympic Games in Sydney. Gardner's epic upset of Russian wrestling great Alexander Karelin in 2000 remains one of the most compelling moments of the modern Olympics. Starting in 2020, youngsters looking to Gardner and Karelin for inspiration won't have a chance to excel on the sport's biggest stage. Gardner and nearly everyone else associated with the sport in the U.S. were jolted Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013 when International Olympic Committee leaders dropped wrestling from the Summer Games. (AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara, File )
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FILE - In this April 21, 2012 file photo, Rulon Gardner speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team Trials in Iowa City, Iowa. Gardner's epic upset of Russian wrestling great Alexander Karelin in 2000 remains one of the most compelling moments of the modern Olympics. Starting in 2020, youngsters looking to Gardner and Karelin for inspiration won't have a chance to excel on the sport's biggest stage. Gardner and nearly everyone else associated with the sport in the U.S. were jolted Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013 when International Olympic Committee leaders dropped wrestling from the Summer Games. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
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FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2012 file photo, New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez takes batting practice before Game 4 of the American League championship series against the Detroit Tigers, in Detroit. Major League Baseball says it is "extremely disappointed" about a new report that says records from an anti-aging clinic in the Miami area link Rodriguez and other players to the purchase of performance-enhancing drugs. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
Russia plans to appeal wrestling's drop from games
MOSCOW (AP) — The head of the
Russian Olympic Committee says it plans to appeal to the IOC to restore wrestling in the games.
The International Olympic Committee's executive committee on Tuesday voted to drop wrestling from the Olympics from 2020.
Wrestling has been one of Russia's strongest sports: Soviet and Russian wrestlers have won 77 gold medals.
Alexander Zhukov, head of the Russian committee, said on Wednesday that "we will use all of our strength to persuade the IOC not to exclude wrestling from the Olympic program."
He said he would write to IOC President Jacques Rogge about the issue, Russian news agencies reported.
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international olympic committee, ap, ioc, jacques rogge, athens, alexander zhukov, olympic committee, russian olympic committee, olympics, 2008 summer olympics, summer olympic games, olympic games, tuesday, wednesday, france, ioc president jacques, games, rogge, russia, sports, wrestling, executive committee, head, strength, gold medals, moscow, olympic program, russian news agencies, russian wrestlers, russian committee
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