The announcement comes after a massive worldwide lockdown in response to the global spread of COVID-19. Athletes, National Olympic Committees, and international federations had all expressed concern about the Tokyo Games scheduled July start and most believed that their athletes would be ill-prepared for the Games, and/or they'd be unable to qualify athletes in a fair manner. With the outcome clear the IOC made the historic decision to delay the Games.
Ultimately, the decision means the Olympics will take place sometime in 2021, but it's unclear the effect that it will have on the qualification process for wrestling and other sports. Guidance on the process should come out this week, or early next week, though it could be delayed given the range and scope of concerns from stakeholders.
For wrestling the process is hopefully/probably/maybe straightforward. If the IOC doesn't create an overarching stipulation that all sports must start from scratch, then wrestling is just in an extended qualification pause. The remaining continental qualifiers would be rescheduled for later in 2020, or early 2021, and the "Last Chance" World qualifier would be a few weeks later. Come spring/summer 2021 all the wrestlers would have been qualified normally and Bob's your uncle.
There would still be the issue of when to schedule final Ranking Series event, the manner in which the tournaments would be operated regarding the health of the athletes, finding suitable locations, adjusting costs to local organizers in addition to about a million other concerns. If you wonder why there are delays, think about the organizational effort it will take for wrestling to reorganize these events and then multiply it by 30 -- that's what the international sports community is facing over the next 18 months.
The construction of the international qualification calendar is also important for the national federations, like the United States, who have yet to complete their national trials. The USA could technically finish those trials until just before United World Wrestling is required to send the names of the athletes to the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee. However, USA has yet to qualify two weight classes in Greco-Roman and one in freestyle, a tournament for which I'm assuming they'd prefer to send their top athletes. They would also need to reschedule and rebook the facilities, line up sponsors, and do in only a few weeks what initially required months.
This is all to say that the next 12 months will be incredibly fluid in the world of wrestling. The moratorium on competitions is likely to last several more months and even as athletes find their ways into more credible training situations the time for high level competition will be even further down the road.
The real goal remains the same. It's time to stay inside, to keep distance from those vulnerable to the disease, and to help each other as we can. Sport is an amazing gift and wrestling is its premier offering, but it is vital that for the foreseeable future that we each do our part to get past this plague.
To your questions …
Cary Kolat coaching at the Midlands Championships (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com)Q: Were you surprised Cary Kolat took the Navy head coaching position? Other than his ties to Maryland, what do you think attracted him to the job?
-- Mike C.
Foley: The Navy job has typically gone to men who either have a service background, understand service, or look like they could be in Special ops. The only reason that Cary Kolat seemed like a surprise hire was that he is known to be a bit of a contrarian -- to think outside the normal parameters and push the boundaries. Those aren't military-first instincts.
However, I think that he was unquestionably the best available coach in the nation and Navy did an incredible job to attract him to campus. It will be interesting to see how long it will take for him to be successful, but Navy has every opportunity to be a big-time program. Huge numbers of disciplined, easy-to-coach athletes can always lend itself to positive outcomes.
Q: Maybe use rankings, coaches polls and NCAA seeds to award All-Americans to the top 12 wrestlers (top 12 allows for error/upsets)? No great way to solve this but All-Americans should be awarded.
-- Rich H.
Foley: I agree. There should be a vote. These are unprecedented times and some type of acknowledgment of these athletes and their seasons is overdue. Though there would be intense controversy over any number of factors, I think that it will reward those athletes who had long productive seasons and were lining up for All-American honors.
I think the makeup should be media (30%), coaches (30%), seeds (30%), and fan vote (10%).
Q: Every year since 2014, at least one freshman has won an NCAA title. An unprecedented streak.
2014: Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern), J'Den Cox (Missouri)
2015: Isaiah Martinez (Illinois), Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State)
2016: Myles Martin (Ohio State)
2017: Mark Hall, Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State)
2018: Spencer Lee (Iowa), Yiani Diakomihalis (Cornell)
2019: Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech).
Who do predict (if any) would have been the freshman champ in 2020? Real Woods (Stanford), Sammy Sasso (Ohio State), David Carr (Iowa State), Shane Griffith (Stanford), Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State), Trent Hidlay (NC State), Aaron Brooks (Penn State), Tony Cassioppi (Iowa), or someone I missed?
-- D.B.
Foley: Good list.
Foley: Off the top I think Tony Cassioppi, Real Woods, David Carr, Travis Wittlake, and Trent Hidlay are longer shots at winning the whole thing.
I'm guessing the smart money is on Sammy Sasso, but how do you overlook an undefeated 165-pound wrestler with several wins against top ten opponents? Alex While Marinelli and Vincenzo Joseph have an ever-entertaining rivalry, they aren't leaps better than the rest of the 165-pound class. Assuming Griffith got Joseph in the semifinals I'd have him favored. With Marinelli in the finals it would depend on how both were wrestling.
A lot of the reason he doesn't get more respect is that Stanford is on the West Coast and sometimes overlooked in both hype and accurate assessments. It's too bad he wasn't able to show what he could do at the NCAAs.
Q: What do you suspect will happen with the Olympic Team Trials? Could you see a scenario in which they were held with no fans or at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs?
-- Mike C.
Foley: I discussed this a bit at the top, but I'm guessing they attempt to go with the Bryce Jordan Center at a time later in the year when public gatherings are once again allowable. If that isn't available, or the timeline is too crunched or filled with conflicts, then the OTC is always an option.
Ultimately, it would be an unlikely scenario that USA Wrestling would voluntarily push for something closed off since the event draws a lot of funding for the federation's operating costs. Yet, that might be the necessary pivot if there is a lack of available options, or those willing to pay to host because they'd fear not recouping their money.
One benefit to a closed-off event would be the ability to create a dynamic and clean broadcast while also limiting the exposure of the athletes to anyone who might have COVID-19.
MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME
Parental post game
Parenting during a quarantine is easy. It's having the media second guess you every night before bedtime that's the hard part. #ParentalPostgame pic.twitter.com/cGmcq5Xzaa
�" Roy Wood Jr- Ex Jedi (@roywoodjr) March 26, 2020
El Sayed pummels with his father
When in doubt, make your dad work out!
�" United World Wrestling (@wrestling) March 26, 2020
🎥: Two-time U23 ðŸŒðŸ¥‡Mohamed ELSAYED 🇪🇬 pic.twitter.com/9Rs1qUpfou
Q: Do you think the NCAA will give winter athletes additional eligibility? Just seems like it would be too messy and difficult.
-- Mike C.
Foley: Given the NCAAs more recent player-first approach there is a fair chance that some athletes would be granted an additional year. I don't think that every athlete would receive additional eligibility, but just those who qualified for the NCAAs.
Also, I'm not certain that the NCAA's decision on the start time of the 2020 season will come in time to keep the best wrestlers "on-campus" for another several months. Not to mention that there are certain to be several seniors who see this as a good time to get out and leave school. Imagine that most haven't worked out at all in the past several weeks and they won't again for several more.
Q: Any thoughts about the UFC trying to hold events?
-- Ben W.
Foley: Yeah, Dana White is a stone-cold nincompoop who puts the profits of the company above the safety of any individual. He's a total suck-up to certain powerful people and will do anything to "show" the world that the COVID-19 outbreak is an overblown media circus. While I don't disagree that in a bubble the idea of a closed event would be pretty cool, there are several factors that he's ignoring -- primarily how will any of his athletes prepare for the fight with limited or no access to their gym?
Let's say he gets a few to sign up for the fight (they are underpaid and probably struggling) then there is no guarantee that a fight commission would allow the fights to take place. Also, no matter how small a card you'll need so much support staff that it'll be impossible to successfully screen each individual for COVID-19, especially since getting tested with accurate results is exceedingly difficult.
White is a blowhard who puts his interests and the monied concern of his bosses above all else.
Q: Jon Jones can't seem to get out of his own way. Do you even include him in the conversation for greatest fighter ever? He has tested positive for steroids and has had other outside-the-cage incidents.
-- Mike C.
Foley: I never have. He's a proven drug cheat and repeat offender with an incredible lack of imagination. Look at Daniel Cormier. He's trailblazing as a fighter and high school wrestling coach who is also arguably one of the best commentators in the sport. Beloved by all. That's an original man with an original story to tell and something to give back to the world around him.
Jones is a bad, tired cliché of the gifted fighter who contributed nothing to the world and only complains about how he's been wronged. He deserves to be behind bars. No more second chances, no more of the MMA community heaping praises on him because he hit a few spinning back elbows in fights seven years ago
Bye, Jon.
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