BUENOS AIRES — Wrestling, hoping to win back its spot in the 2020 Olympics, was reprimanded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) this week for breaking campaigning rules last month, officials said Friday. The sport is bidding to return to the 2020 Olympics after losing its spot in February before making it back to a shortlist with squash and softball/baseball. “It was a letter sent by a Japanese wrestling official to IOC members sent back in August, arguing the case for the sport's Olympic return,” a wrestling official said. The official said the letter had been sent outside the date limits for contacting IOC members. “The matter is now closed,” the official said. On Sunday the IOC will select one sport for inclusion in the 2020 Games with wrestling the overwhelming favorite. Madrid, Tokyo and Istanbul make last push The final day of campaigning to host the 2020 Olympics started with Madrid saying its proposal based on economic austerity can become the new model for future games. Madrid began the three cities' final push to lure International Olympic Committee members' votes Saturday. Tokyo and Istanbul are scheduled to hold news conferences later Friday. “We believe that having a responsible budget represents the new way to understand the games,” Madrid Mayor Ana Botella said. “We believe that it's a new model to organize the games at a time marked by political and economic turbulence around the world.” Spain's economic struggles, highlighted by a 27 percent unemployment rate, have been seen as the main weakness of Madrid's bid heading into the IOC meetings. Tokyo has fending off questions about the radioactive leak in the Fukushima nuclear plant, while Istanbul has had to deal with concerns about the civil war in neighboring Syria. Madrid officials have been trying to assure the IOC members who will vote on Saturday that the economic problems don't pose a significant challenge for the games and that having a proposal based on economic austerity is something positive for the future of the Olympic movement. “We are proposing a new model of games which are adjusted to the current times,” Botella said. “We believe that having this type of budget is something really good for the future.” Madrid, in its third-straight attempt to win the bid, claims that it has one of the lowest Olympic budgets ever, taking advantage that 80 percent of venues are in place in a compact layout. — Agencies
