St. Petersburg: The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) here Wednesday recommended that baseball, squash and wrestling be proposed to the 125th IOC session for possible inclusion in the Olympic programme for the 2020 Summer Games.
The EB selected the three sports by secret ballot from a shortlist of eight that also included karate, roller sports, sport climbing, wakeboarding and wushu.
The vote followed a 30-minute presentations by each international federation and an extensive evaluation by the Olympic Programme Commission to determine their potential added value to the Games.
The full IOC membership will meet for the 125th Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina from Sept 7-10 and will vote on which of the three sports to add to the 2020 Olympic programme in addition to the 25 core sports – plus golf and rugby sevens – proposed by the EB in February.
Both were added in 2009 as additional sports to the 2016 Olympic programme.
“The executive board received excellent presentations today from eight international federations,” said IOC president Jacques Rogge.
“It was never going to be an easy decision but I feel my colleagues on the board made a good decision in selecting baseball/softball, squash and wrestling to be put forward in Buenos Aires. I wish the three shortlisted sports the best of luck in the run-up to the vote in September and would like to thank the other sports for their hard work and dedication,” Rogge said.
In an effort to ensure the Olympics remain relevant to sports fans of all generations, the Olympic Programme Commission systematically reviews every sport following each edition of the Games.
The commission uses 39 criteria in determining a sport’s suitability for the Olympic Games, including youth appeal, universality, popularity, good governance, respect for athletes and respect for the Olympic values.
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