Americans have invited the Iranian freestylers at four junior weight categories of 55kg, 60kg, 74kg and 84kg as well as two senior weight categories of 74kg and 86kg to vie at freestyle wrestling dual meet between defending team world champion Iran and the United States.
The event is organized by Beat The Streets, a New York City-based not-for-profit organization which traditionally raises several hundred thousand dollars for programs in five boroughs of New York City.
Featuring some of the world’s greatest athletes, the event is free to the public, and will also be shown on the single largest face LED screen in Times Square.
The Americans have said in their invitation that the event will be a great opportunity to line up the two wrestling powers Iran and America leading to a beautiful event for lovers of wrestling in the world to recall the ‘Wrestling Month’ in May of 2013 which helped to keep wrestling in the Olympics.
The event will simultaneously help the promotion of wrestling in the Olympic year of 2016 as well as prove to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) the continued efforts of countries to grow the ancient sport.
In addition, all costs of deployment and accommodation of the Iranian team will be undertaken by the hosts.
On February 12, 2013, In a move that astonished the sporting world, the IOC’s Executive Board excluded the sport of wrestling in its Top 25 core Olympic sports, leaving the sport that help start the Olympic Games almost 3,000 years ago left out of the Olympic Program beginning in 2020.
Later on April 4, 2013 FILA announced that May has been designated as World Wrestling Month and the 177 countries that are members of the organization will feature activities which promote the sport of wrestling and its campaign to remain in the Olympic Games.
On May 15, 2013, Russia, Iran and the United States, three countries that don’t always see eye-to-eye with each other, came to New York City united and determined to prove to the world that Wrestling belongs in the Olympics. The three competed in the “Rumble on the Rails” in world-famous Grand Central Terminal and were part of a series of international events celebrating the designation of May as World Wrestling Month.
Eventually, on September 8, 2013, wrestling battled back to regain its spot in the Olympic Games in a resounding first-round vote by the IOC in its Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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