74KG MF GOLD: Khetik TSABOLOV (RUS) vs. Jordan Ernest BURROUGHS (USA)
USA Wrestling Will Not Send a Team to Senior World Championships
USA Wrestling will not be sending a team to the World Championships this year despite the tournament still going on. The wrestling organization announced today that while the World Championships are still slated for this December, they cannot send their team in good faith with the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic still looming over the entire world.
“The health and safety of U.S. athletes, coaches and staff is always the number one concern for USA Wrestling. After reviewing updated medical, scientific and government data, and providing an opportunity for athlete and stakeholder input, the Executive Committee concluded that it would not be in the best interest of all involved to organize a delegation to travel to and participate in the Senior World Championships in Serbia,” said Baumgartner, the USA Wrestling president.
The United States is just removed from holding their own Senior Nationals tournament where they saw hundreds of athletes compete. But, being on a bigger stage, the organization has made the decision to sit out while the UWW holds the World Championships.
USA Wrestling and the World Championships
With the Olympics being postponed to 2021, UWW stated that they would be holding their World Championships this year now that the pandemic has loosened it’s grip on the wrestling community. Last week, they announced the tournament would go on and athletes have until early November to sign up.
With Team USA not participating, that leaves a big player out of the tournament, arguably the second biggest behind Russia. USA Wrestling abstaining from the World Championships will hurt revenue for sure, but in times of COVID, revenue isn’t going to be what it once was. It is unclear if other countries will follow in the United States’ footsteps.
Stay posted to My MMA News for all the latest surrounding USA Wrestling, the World Championships and more. Thanks for reading!
