THE Olympics went down in my estimation this week when it axed wrestling from its list of sports.

The reason is simple. It’s just not sexy enough.

Wrestling has been a staple of the greatest sporting show on earth since its inception in 1896.

One of only nine sports contested at those games 117 years ago, it has been contested at every Olympics since, apart from Paris in 1900.

But this week it saw its presence at the Games ended at a meeting of the International Olympic Committee.

They had been expected to get rid of modern pentathlon or taekwondo – both fine sports which should also be at the Olympics – but made the shock decision to axe wrestling instead.

That went down badly in Bolton where the town’s traditional wrestling club has the word ‘Olympic’ in its name because of the number of members it has sent to previous Games.

They say they may now have to remove that word and be known simply as Bolton Wrestling Club, which would be a massive shame locally.

Across town, Sharples Wrestling Club has a 16-year-old starlet in George Ramm who is the English Junior champion and won silver at the Youth Olympics in Australia last month.

His dream, like all youngsters who get involved in wrestling, is to compete at the Olympics. That isn’t going to happen unless there is a change of mind during his career. And I wouldn’t hold my breath.

And that’s the point. The Olympics is about dreams. It realises them for wrestlers where it doesn’t even register on the radar for players of sports like football and tennis, which are two of the 28 Olympic sports.

The reason those two are included is because they fit the criteria of mass popularism, which largely dictates what’s in and what’s out of the Games.

Why do you think beach volleyball is in? Due to its proud traditions? Do me a favour.

It’s there because it’s popular with the viewing public.

Football and tennis are there for the same reason, even though the Olympics is regarded as a fourth-rate event on the football calendar and second-rate at best in tennis circles.

It’s a disgrace those three sports are in and wrestling is out. But, hey, they make more money for the Olympics, and that seems to matter more than little things like dreams and tradition.