Iowa City selected to host 2012 Olympic wrestling trials

Iowa City has been selected to host the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling.

The event will be held at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on the campus of the University of Iowa from April 21-22, 2012.

Iowa City was one of three finalist cities to make final presentations on their bid to a selection committee on January 12. The committee included USA Wrestling staff and athletes, as well as representatives from the U.S. Olympic Committee.

“We are unbelievably pleased and humbled with the response we received from cities wishing to host our most valuable event property,” said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender. “We would like to thank the leaders from all three finalist cities for their outstanding presentations. We hope that all of these cities continue to be involved with USA Wrestling and host wrestling events in years to come.”

"I believe this is a good decision for the future of wrestling at all levels. This will help increase the visibility of our sport. I see more growth for wrestling as a result. It gets me very excited,” said wrestling legend Dan Gable from the local organizing committee.

“The Iowa City local organizing committee was selected based upon their proven track record of hosting large and successful wrestling events, as well as a history of drawing strong fan support,” said Bender. ‘We are committed to working tirelessly with the organizing committee and the entire community to host the most successful U.S. Olympic Team Trials in our history.”