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Olympic champs Cejudo and Gardner star on Tonight Show with Jay Leno
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By Richard Immel USA Wrestling
03/19/2013

Olympic wrestling champions Henry Cejudo (2008) and Rulon Gardner (2000) stole the show last night on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Gardner and Cejudo were invited on the show to discuss the International Olympic Committee’s executive board recommendation to remove wrestling from the Olympic games beginning in 2020 and what the wrestling community is doing to fight this decision.

The host of The Tonight Show, Jay Leno, expressed his dislike for the IOC recommendation numerous times on the show.

"I invited them here because I'm really mad about this," said Leno. “When I think of baseball, you want to go to the World Series. When I think of football, you want to go to the Super Bowl. I think with the wrestling the only place you can go – unless it's goofball TV wrestling – is the Olympics.”

2000 Olympic gold medalist Rulon Gardner has been cemented as a wrestling legend since he defeated the unstoppable Russian Alexander Karelin in the finals at the Sydney Games. Rulon was adamant that wrestling is a unifying force among nations.

“High school and college wrestling is great, but the world comes together through the Olympics and through the sport of wrestling,” Gardner said.

Cejudo echoed these sentiments and also expressed concern for the effect this decision could have on wrestling at every level of competition.

“If they get rid of wrestling at the Olympic level more likely they're probably going to take it out of the NCAAs and then high school and then the pee wee division. That's what I'm afraid of,” Cejudo said.

To watch the entire episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno featuring Henry Cejudo and Rulon Gardner visit nbc.com.

Visit keepwrestlingintheolympics.com to help support the movement to keep wrestling in the Olympic Games in 2020 and beyond. Also, “like” the Keep Wrestling in the Olympics Facebook page and follow @wrestlingvision on Twitter to stay up-to-date on news and information regarding Olympic wrestling.
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