Wrestling considers changing singlet for Olympics

The acting head of wrestling's governing body said Friday the federation is negotiating with manufacturers to produce a new singlet — the skimpy sleeveless T-shirt worn by competitors — that will reduce sweat and look different for Greco-Roman and freestyle events.

It's a sign of how far the sport is ready to go to regain its spot in the Olympics after being cut from the 2020 Games last month by the IOC executive board.

“I want to change the singlets to modernize them,” acting FILA President Nenad Lalovic told The Associated Press. “Sweat is really a problem for the wrestlers. By the end of the match they cannot make grabs, especially for the Greco-Roman.

“Also that will help to distinguish immediately the Greco-Roman wrestler from the freestyle wrestler.”

Currently, Olympic wrestlers in both disciplines wear either red or blue one-piece singlets.

Lalovic said FILA is also working on proposals to include women and active athletes on its decision-making body and make changes to competition formats and venues.

“We want to find something that will make our sport much more watchable and understandable,” Lalovic said. “We want spectators who come to the wrestling hall for the first time to know the rules by the end of the day.”

The changes, which would take effect in 2014, will be voted on at an extraordinary FILA congress in Moscow on May 18 — just 10 days before the IOC executive board meets in St. Petersburg, Russia, to discuss the program for the 2020 Games.

“We have to make changes to modernize our sport,” the Serbian official said in a telephone interview after chairing a FILA meeting in Vevey, Switzerland. “We have to show that something has changed and that we can implement it.”

As part of the campaign, FILA is planning a “World Wrestling Day” on May 24 with national bodies organizing wrestling exhibitions and other events to promote the sport.

FILA had originally planned to hold the congress in Turkey, but that was considered a possible conflict of interest because Istanbul is bidding for the 2020 Olympics.

“We have to be impartial,” said Lalovic, who plans to run for the FILA presidency at the Moscow meeting.

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