Olympic wrestling to add two women's weights

USA Wrestling posted news that the International Olympics Committee announced Friday that it will add two weight classes for women's wrestling at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The additional medal opportunities for women wrestling will come at a price.

With a cap on the number of athletes (10,800) competing in the Olympic Games, one weight will be eliminated from men's freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, dropping both to six weights apiece. Women will increase from four to six weights.

FILA, the international governing body for wrestling, suggested the changes. It was the IOC to make the change for the 2016 Olympics. The changes come a month away from an IOC vote to disregard a suggestion to cut wrestling from the Olympic programme for the 2020 Olympic Games or even select it as a provisional sport in 2020. Wrestling is competing with squash and baseball/softball for the provisional spot, if it is not reinstated as a core sport.

In February, the IOC Executive Board suggested to drop wrestling. Officials said gender equity for competitors and leadership was one of the issues IOC had after reviewing the sport.