Below is the letter, written by Olympic champion Jeff Blatnick, sent to the International Olympic Committee as well as its Vice President James Easton of the United States.    Mr. J. Easton  International Olympic Committee    Dear Sir,    It is with amazement that I am writing you today. The Olympic Ideal is something that dates to our antiquity. It was the ancient Olympic Ideal that Pierre de Coubitan resurrected with the world in 1896. The Olympics were seen as pure and inclusive. The sports were chosen on merit, respect, participation and competitiveness. How is it in 2002, the IOC is thinking of dropping one of the original Olympic sports??    Olympic Wrestling consists of two styles: Greco Roman and Freestyle. Greco Roman's roots are from ancient times. Greco returned to the Games in 1896. Freestyle is the more contemporary form of wrestling being added in 1904. The differences are obvious if one takes a minute to watch.     Greco Roman wrestlers can only use upper body techniques and tactics. Greco Roman wrestlers are in a more upright stance because the legs can't be attacked. Most of all, Greco Roman is punctuated with hurtling high amplitude throws. These are spectacular!    Freestyle Wrestling involves total use of the body. Freestyle wrestlers are more crouched because of the need to protect the legs. Grabbing and seizing an opponent's legs is the primary attack used in Freestyle. Because a wrestler can use his entire body, creativeness can be expressed using power, quickness and flexibility which all can lead to entertaining styles. Freestyle is punctuated with aggressive tackles, many getting airborne.    The report by the Programme Commission/IACR shows a distinct lack of research. Wrestling can boast the following:    - over 150 nations participate internationally. Wrestling uses qualifying criteria limiting the size of the Olympic field. World Championships are considered open and draw even more competitors. This participation is represented in BOTH styles!    - Turkey, Russia, The United States, Iran and Mongolia are just some of the nations that have chosen wrestlers to carry the country's flag during the Open Ceremonies. Wrestlers have have also been chosen to carry the country's flag during Closing Ceremonies, an honor given by their very Teammates.    - Alexander Karelin, The Great wrestler from Russia was considered by many to be the greatest Olympic athlete ever. Karelin was looking for his 4th straight Gold Medal and had never been defeated in 13 years. He lost in the finals to Rulon Gardner of the United States. President Samaranch, Henry Kissenger and a worldwide audience watched the upset. Russia's President Putin nearly made the trip to watch. If Karelin won and was the greatest Olympic Athlete ever, would the IOC still drop the sport, a mere 2 years after?    - after the breakup of the Soviet Union into The Commonwealth of Independent States, many of the new emerging countries first Olympic Medals were in the sport of wrestling.    - wrestling has made strides internally to improve inclusion. The original format was only men and had 10 weight classes per style. Today, wrestling has added Women's Freestyle to the Olympics. The men's wrestling now has 7 weight classes per style. The women get the remaining 4 weight classes. This still leaves the 18 slots despite the addition of a new population of competitors. Why didn't the IARC point out that the sport of wrestling's IGB has been efficient and effective with the athlete quota given them.    I quote the commission, "In comparison to this lack of global popularity, the Commission noted the high athlete quota and the number of events in the sport of wrestling. The Commission therefore recommends the exclusion of one of the wrestling disciplines from the Programme of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad."    How could they draw this conclusion when the facts are so obviously against it??    Currently the sport of wrestling's International Governing Body, FILA, ranks among the best for country participation. How can a commission conclude lack of popularity? Is the commission using television ratings??    There have only been a total of 2 events for wrestling. Greco Roman and Freestyle. With the addition of the women, the Games will now have 3 events. Just 3. Despite the addition of the women's event, wrestling maintained the same athlete quota. Wrestling is not allowed any alternates. How many events, athletes and alternates does track have? How many does swimming have? How many does gymnastics have? How many does short track speed skating have? What proof did the commission use to conclude wrestling has a high number of events and a high athlete quota?    I strongly urge the IOC to safeguard Wrestling's place in the Games NOT because wrestling was an original Olympic sport or NOT because the sport of wrestling has existed in nearly every culture known to mankind. Wrestling is the first form of play for all creatures. I would like Wrestling to be safeguarded because the IOC RECOGNIZES a growing and thriving sport!!!    I have covered the sport of Olympic Wrestling since 1988 for NBC. Since Steve Fraser won an Olympic Gold Medal the night before I did, the United States has enjoyed 16 years of ever growing successes in Greco Roman.  I have watched this country become more and more aware of the sport and its athletes.    I question the facts the Commission used to draw their conclusion. I'm quite sure the amount of factual information you are now receiving will help with your research. As a Vice President of US Olympians, I would like to ask if any Olympic Athlete was on this Commission. I don't believe there is a single Olympic Athlete out there who would say a sport should be removed from the Games.     I ask the IOC to disregard the Commissioníss initial findings and keep both Greco Roman and Freestyle in the Games. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.    Yours in Sport,  Jeff Blatnick  1984 Greco Roman Champion