U of C grapplers astonished
Calls sport synonymous with Games
At first, Nick Proctor thought it was just a viral joke.
“Initially, I opened my email in the morning and at first it didn’t make any sense to me,” related the University of Calgary wrestler. “Then I went on Facebook and it was an outbreak of these statuses because I have wrestlers on my Facebook, obviously.
“So then I did some research of my own on Google and it shocked me. At first I was really upset; I’ve got my own Olympic aspirations, I’m shooting for 2016 right now.”
As it is, Proctor may just get there. There was a lot of shock expressed at the U of C on Tuesday as the wrestling club prepared for its workout — the fact that the International Olympic Committee had announced that the sport was dropped from the Olympic 2020 program weighing on everyone’s mind.
Synonymous with the ancient Games, it goes back to the inaugural Olympics in 1896.
“When I think Olympics I think wrestling, I think athletics …,” Proctor added. “When you think Greece, you think wrestling; they have it on all the vases and stuff.
“I work as hard as I can every day, working harder isn’t an option. But for others it’s heartbreaking really to even think of so many kids … I know when I was coming up, as I progressed, it’s the cornerstone of our sport. It’s something we all shoot for. To take that away … it’s bad.
“It’s not mainstream, but there is no NFL, NBA for us. The Olympics is the most publicized event we’re ever going to get to, it’s our holy grail.”
Gen Haley, a five-time gold medallist as a Dino who was Carol Huyhn’s training partner at the 2012 London Games, was among those who was blindsided by the news.
“Sad and confused and in disbelief,” said Haley, summing up her emotions. “If anything, we were hoping to get more weight classes.
“The Olympics carries from generation to generation. Having gone to the Olympics and having seen the whole show, it really brought that to life and for me it made me dream and want more for the sport. It’s disappointing not just from an athlete’s perspective, but athletes that have dreams of being coaches, support staff, there are so many roles that come with the Olympic experience and that’s a big shame.
“I’m probably a bit biased,” Haley continued, “but I think it’s something, whether they’re fans or not, a lot of people associate the tradition of the Olympics with wrestling. It’s a classic.”
As far as Mitch Ostberg — head coach of both the U of C club team and its varsity squad — is concerned, the sport will be fine, though lacking this particular goal to work toward will have some impact.
“The sport is still a great sport … but Olympic membership is pretty important in the long run,” he admitted. “It’s the ultimate dream, so I hope very much that the IOC can find a way to include us again in the Olympic program. It takes time to develop the skills in our sport, especially in our nation. It takes us well into our 20s to have athletes at the competitive level at the Olympics, so kids in late teens have a two-Olympic cycle idea of when they could be the most competitive. So it does affect some people right now and what they might look forward to. I’m hoping our international federation can do a great job of doing what it takes to stay in the Olympic program.”