International Olympic Committee presidential candidate Denis Oswald spoke on Monday of his support for adding new sports to the Olympic programme by reducing the number of existing events and disciplines.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Denis Oswald of Switzerland looks on during a press conference after he announced his candidacy to succeed Jacques Rogge as IOC president in Lausanne on June 3, 2013. Oswald spoke of his support for adding new sports to the Olympic programme by reducing the number of existing events and disciplines.
"What I propose is to not limit (the programme) strictly to 28 sports. I think we could reduce the representation of certain sports. Even in major sports there are some disciplines that are not universal," said Oswald, one of six candidates in the running to replace outgoing IOC president Jacques Rogge, at a news conference in Lausanne.
"There are certain disciplines which aren't really universal, or where there are only a few countries that can medal. I think that if we would do a review of the system we could reduce the number of events to reduce the number of athletes, which would create space for other sports," said the head of the International Rowing Federation.
"I don't want to single out one sport in particular, but there are disciplines that are rather similar and that the same athlete can win," added Oswald, a bronze medallist at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.
The Swiss also conceded he was "surprised by the decision" taken by his colleagues on the IOC's Executive Committee in Febraury to remove wrestling from the 2020 Games programme.
"It's a grassroot sport that doesn't require much equipment, a sport that is just as natural as running or throwing something. That the (wrestling) federation - FILA - hadn't made the effort expected of them, it's possible. But I think there are other ways of giving them a warning than to exclude them," reasoned Oswald.
"(However) if, as should be the case, wrestling returns to the programme, we won't have reached the goal we wanted to achieve, which is to have a new sport on the programme," he added.
Oswald, 66, who ruled out Monday putting himself forward for the World Anti-Doping Agency presidency, is in the running alongside former Ukrainian Olympic pole vault champion Sergei Bubka, IOC vice-presidents Thomas Bach and Ng Ser Miang, international boxing federation chief C.K. Wu and Richard Carrion, head of the IOC finance commission.
The election is set to take place on September 10 in Buenos Aires.