Out of protest to the IOC decision to remove wrestling as an Olympic sport beginning in 2020, Russian Olympic champion Sagid Murtazaliyev decided to return the gold medal he had won in Sydney. This is how Murtazaliev explains his decision.
“It is a human act and my position as the Olympic champion. People are asking me whether is it hard for me to part with this medal. But I hope that by parting with the medal I won for our great country, I will help to keep wrestling on the list of the Olympic sports and later I’ll be able to win new medals for Russia and its republic of Dagestan, where I come from. I think that all the Olympic wrestling champions will join me and the IOC will listen to us.”
The NFWOA, like wrestling fans and athletes around the world who dream of Olympic gold, will join in the fight to bring wrestling back to the Olympics. We have decided to give a donation to the US Olympic Committee on behalf of the sport of wrestling.