A wrestling hunger strike has been threatened by a Russian amateur wrestler in response to the IOC threatening to eliminate wrestling from the Olympic Games. According to Yahoo Sports on March 2, Armen Nazaryan has begun a hunger strike in protest.
Nazaryan, 38, won the gold medal in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games. He is just one of many men to protest the elimination of a sport that has been part of the Olympics since 1896. While the sport has not fully been eliminated, it is on the chopping block and must beat out seven other hopefuls if it wants to remain a competitive portion of the Olympics.
Other protestors include Valentin Yordanov of Bulgaria's and Sagid Murtazaliev of Russia, two gold medal winners who returned their prizes to the IOC in protest, making clear the fact that, if the IOC eliminates wrestling, they won't represent the games as former champions.
A higher profile former gold medalist who has spoken up is Kurt Angle, who went on to star in the WWE and TNA Impact Wrestling as a professional wrestling superstar after winning the medal for his country. As a high profile name in the popular professional wrestling entertainment world, Angle has spoken out harshly against the IOC's decision. TNA President Dixie Carter has taken his side and asked the WWE to stand by them in this protest.
The wrestling hunger strike is the latest protest, but it won't be the last.
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