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Oklahoma State coach John Smith 'sick' about IOC's decision

The former Olympic champion from Del City vowed that the sport will fight to regain its place in the Games.

By Ed Godfrey | Published: February 12, 2013 Comment on this article

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“We have almost 200 countries that participate in wrestling,” Smith said. “Comparing that with the other core sports in the Olympics, it's one of the highest.

“We have over a million wrestlers just in the United States. There's not a million athletes in some of the sports that are participating in the Olympics.”

The decision to kick wrestling out of the Olympics is personal for wrestlers in Oklahoma, he said.

“It's probably our most successful sport in the Olympics for the state,” Smith said. “I'm fighting for that 12-year-old kid in Oklahoma. I'm fighting for that kid that has that dream.”

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