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Hundreds of wrestlers descend on Vancouver for international festival

Two competitors in the wrestling festival this weekend.
Two competitors in the wrestling festival this weekend. Global News

VANCOUVER – The second annual Vancouver International Wrestling Festival is taking place at Robson Square this weekend.

The event was created last year, as a local response to the International Olympic Committee’s recommendation to remove wrestling from the Olympic Games.

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Close to 300 competitors, including several former Olympians from Canada and the U.S. compete in the festival.

“They essentially picked a fight with not ballerinas, but wrestlers,” said Andrew Cook, wrestling coach, Mt. Vernon, WA. “And so, as a wrestling community worldwide we’ve banned together to save wrestling in the Olympics and just this last September, we were passed as a preliminary sport. So we’re back into the Games through the 2020 Games.”

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