Boxing, weightlifting out of Olympics?

The sports that gave the Philippines its greatest medal haul in Olympic history are on their way out. According to varying reports, weightlifting, boxing (and modern pentathlon) are either on their way out, or have already been scrapped from the 2028 Games in Los Angeles by the International Olympic Committee, as this writer predicted months ago. They are slated to be replaced by more youth-oriented sports that have roots in California: surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing.

IOC president Thomas Bach has called weightlifting and boxing “problem children of the Olympic movement.”

For over a decade, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has been struggling with steroid use. Since 2008, there have been over 50 positives in urine tests done during and after Olympic competitions. The IOC has been giving the IWF time to institute reform, instead gradually trimming the number of participants from 260 in Rio to 196 in Tokyo to 120 in Paris. Before this year’s Games, the federation held a convention to enforce changes, but were unable to do so, as frequent violators refused to go along. This has forced the IOC’s hand.

The International Boxing Association (AIBA), for its part, has had a soiled reputation of pre-allocating medals that dates back decades. That, the unrecognizable changes and the deteriorating popularity of the sport, have all contributed to its decline. Finally in 2019, the IOC said enough is enough, took AIBA out of the equation, and formed a temporary group to run the bouts in Tokyo. But this model is unsustainable.

Looking at the big picture, the IOC has had to adjust to the times. The gargantuan expense and economic fallout from organizing the Games has dramatically reduced the number of cities bidding to host from almost two dozen down to a handful. Some countries will only bid for a scaled-down version of the Games, while California has proposed becoming the permanent site of the quadrennial competition. This makes it easier to jettison sports that cause problems, and gives hosts more leverage in revising the menu of events. The sports mentioned may campaign for one-time, case-to-case inclusion in succeeding Olympics.

What does this mean for the Philippines? You may think of this as a problem for another day or for the next generation of athletes, but the gold, two silvers and bronze the country hauled from Tokyo came from these sports. If the Philippines wants to keep its best shots at continued success in the Olympics, it has two options. First, the concerned national sports associations must rally support and lobby their mother federations to make the changes needed for their Olympic survival. The second is to target other sports to replace the impending loss of potential medal.