Senator Anders Blewett (D-Great Falls) has introduced SR 55, a Senate resolution urging the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to reconsider its decision to drop the sport of wrestling from the Olympic games. The decision to remove wrestling from the 2020 Olympics has been widely criticized around the world and within the United States.
Montana has a strong tradition of producing world class wrestlers including 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist Kendall Cross, 1976 Olympic Bronze Medalist Gene Davis, 2008 Olympian Mike Zadick, 2006 World Champion Bill Zadick, and 2001 World Silver Medalist Brandon Eggum.
Former Helena High wrestling standout Toby Erickson placed third in the 2012 Greco Roman Olympic Team Trials. He currently trains full-time in preparation of the 2016 Olympics at the United States Olympic Education Center in Marquette, Michigan.
Blewett believes the elimination of wrestling from the Olympics will hurt wrestling programs in Montana and throughout the country. “What the IOC has done is essentially wipe out the Super Bowl of wrestling,” said Blewett. “This is a crushing blow for every young Montana wrestler who aspired to be like Mike Zadick and wrestle in the Olympics.”
Blewett, whose law firm sponsors an annual high school all-star wrestling tournament, is a former state champion wrestler and high school teammate of World Silver Medalist and Olympian Mike Zadick. The resolution is co-sponsored by Sen. Llew Jones (R-Conrad), a former wrestling coach whose sons Eddie, Daniel and Aaron won a combined eight state titles and went on to wrestle at Harvard University and Brown University.
A copy of the resolution is available at: http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2013/billhtml/SR0055.
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