After news came concerning the removal of wrestling from the official olympic games, a cavalcade of MMA fighters made their voices heard as they campaigned to bring a sport which defined their lives, back to the biggest stage available to it.

Now with a majority vote of 49 votes from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), wrestling has beaten out baseball/softball and squash, who received 24 and 22 votes, respectively.

BBC spoke to English 2010 Commonwealth bronze medalist Leon Rattigan who was pleased with the favorable vote:

“Wrestlers across the world continue to have something to work for.”

This vote means that wrestling will not be dropped from the games for the 2020 and 2024 Olympic games as its removal of recognition as an official Olympic game took effect after the 2016 games in Rio. It will return to Tokyo in it what will be a well-received return.

“With this vote, you have shown that the steps we have taken to improve our sport have made a difference,” Fila President Nenad Lalovic stated. 

Wrestling’s official reinstatement to the official games marks a continuation not only of a history dating back the inaugural modern Olympic games in 1896 but also of one of the most fundamental skills that a human being can possess. A skill that dates back to 708 B.C.

344 athletes competed in the 2012 Olympic games. Now, hundreds of athletes again get the chance to prove their talents in front of the entire world. The United States had four athletes receive medals in 2012, two of which winning gold as Jake Varner and Jordan Burroughs placed among the top in their respective divisions.

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