Women’s Wrestling Added to Games

The International Olympic Committee on Wednesday authorized the addition of women’s wrestling to the 2004 Summer Games.

As part of a series of moves aimed at managing the number of sports and athletes and setting schedules for the 2004 Olympics, the IOC’s ruling Executive Board also gave hope to backers of tug of war that it might one day come back to the Olympic program but denied official recognition to the international bodybuilding federation.

In addition, the board told boxing to cut one of its weight divisions. Final approval of women’s wrestling is also tied to a cut in men’s wrestling events.

The action by the board affirmed a commitment by new IOC President Jacques Rogge to control the size of the Games--in part by limiting the number of athletes to about 10,500.

IOC sports director Gilbert Felli said, “Until now, we added an average of 20 or more events per games since the 1950s.”

The IOC plan for 2004 envisions 10,508 athletes competing in 299 events.

In Sydney last year, 10,655 athletes took part in 300 events.

Felli said he believed the heaviest boxing weight class, super heavyweight, would be the one cut.

The board also gave formal recognition to the international federation of tug of war--a necessary designation before a sport can become an Olympic event.

IOC Medical Director Patrick Schamasch, meantime, announced that athletes in endurance sports must take blood tests upon arrival at the Olympic Village at the Salt Lake City Winter Games. Those who fail the tests aimed at detecting drug use would then have to take a decisive urine test for the banned synthetic hormone EPO.

EPO use is of particular concern among these athletes. It increases red blood cell levels, increasing oxygen-carrying capacity--and endurance.

A definitive urine-only test for EPO is expected by mid-November, Schamasch said. It will replace a blood-urine combination test used at last year’s Sydney Games; no athlete tested positive for EPO at those Games.

Finally, Schamasch announced a progress report on a study of 600 dietary supplements bought at stores worldwide: Of the first 200 jars, 15% to 20%, “higher than we expected,” contained substances such as nandrolone or ephedrine, that could produce a positive drug test.

The study was launched in response to claims by athletes that they unknowingly ingested banned substances while using dietary supplements they believed to be within anti-doping rules.