Weightlifting confirmed as core sport for the 2020 Olympic Games
IOC Executive Board recommends 25 core sports for 2020 Games
The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today agreed on the 25 sports it will propose to the 125th IOC Session for approval as the core sports for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
The 25 sports are: athletics, rowing, badminton, basketball, boxing, canoeing, cycling, equestrian, fencing, football, gymnastics, weightlifting, handball, hockey, judo, swimming, modern pentathlon, taekwondo, tennis, table tennis, shooting, archery, triathlon, sailing and volleyball.
The EB recommended that wrestling, governed by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA), not be included on the list of core sports. Wrestling will now join the seven shortlisted sports – baseball/softball, karate, roller sports, sport climbing, squash, wakeboarding and wushu – vying for inclusion in the 2020 Olympic programme as an additional sport.
The eight sports are scheduled to make presentations to the Executive Board at its meeting in St Petersburg, Russia, in May. The EB will select which of the eight sports to recommend to the 125th IOC Session for inclusion as an additional sport on the 2020 programme.
In an effort to ensure the Olympic Games remain relevant to sports fans of all generations, the Olympic Programme Commission systematically reviews every sport following each edition of the Games.
Golf and rugby sevens were added in 2009 as additional sports to the 2016 Olympic programme.
Official article on the IOC Website
The review considered factors as the sports’ universality, and television viewing figures. The most “influential factors” in the decision, the IOC spokesman said: “This process has been going on for more than a year, and it was extremely comprehensive. People from all of the sports were interviewed, and data was put together“.
The sports management, the financial stability, the events calendar, spectators as well as grassroots development were also matters of concern in the decision making process.
The decision of the IOC Executive Board confirms the stability of the weightlifting sport in the Olympic movement.
Read the letter of the IOC President addressed to the IWF President
