WRESTLING ORIGIN
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With the possible
exception of track and field (athletics), wrestling is the most
ancient sport known to have been continuously practised
competitively. Wrestling was introduced into the ancient Olympics in
708 BC, shortly after the Games' recorded history began in 776 BC.
Wrestling pre-dates the ancient Olympic Games. Cave drawings of
wrestlers from 3000 BC in the Sumero-Akkadian civilisation have been
found. Similar wall paintings exist from ancient Egyptian
civilisations circa 2400 BC.
There are literally hundreds of styles of wrestling world-wide today,
with many nations having indigenous forms. Among these are Glíma
wrestling in Iceland, Schwingen wrestling in Switzerland, and
Cumberland wrestling in Britain. But there are four main forms of
amateur competitive wrestling practised internationally today: Greco-Roman
wrestling, freestyle wrestling, judo wrestling and sombo wrestling.
Judo is considered a separate sport at the Olympics. Sombo is a
combination of freestyle and judo and is most popular in the republics
of the former Soviet Union, but it has not yet been contested in the
Olympics. Freestyle wrestling is similar to American collegiate style,
or folkstyle wrestling. Holds are relatively unlimited, provided they
are not dangerous, and can be applied to any part of the body. Greco-Roman
wrestling limits holds to the upper body.
OLYMPIC HISTORY
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Wrestling was on
the programme at the first modern Olympics in 1896, and 1900 was the
only year that wrestling did not feature on the programme at all. Both
freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling have been consistently contested
at the Olympics since 1920. Prior to that (except in 1908), only one
form was used, usually Greco-Roman. Today the dominant country in
wrestling is Russia, especially in the Greco-Roman style. The United
States is close to the Russians in freestyle, however. Other countries
which produce top international wrestlers include Iran, Turkey and
Mongolia, and wrestling is the national sport of these three nations.
At the 2000
Games in Sydney the wrestling programme underwent a change. Since
1972, wrestling has had 10 classes in both freestyle and Greco-Roman,
but during the Sydney Games only eight classes were contested in each
style. The weights also changed slightly, and the lightest class,
usually termed light-flyweight, has basically been eliminated.
When the modern Olympic Games resumed in Athens in 1896, organisers
considered wrestling so historically significant that it became a
focus of the Games. They remembered tales of wrestling competition in
708 BC, of oiled bodies fighting on sand in the ancient Games. Greco-Roman
wrestling was deemed a pure reincarnation of ancient Greek and Roman
wrestling.
Eight years
later, Olympic officials added a second category with far less history
and far less grandeur, but great popularity. Commonly known as "catch
as catch can", freestyle wrestling had become the staple of 19th-century
fairs and festivals in Great Britain and the United States, a form of
professional entertainment. Like Greco-Roman wrestling, it became a
staple of the Games themselves.
In Greco-Roman
competition, now dominated by Russia, wrestlers use only their arms
and upper bodies to attack. In freestyle, where Olympic medallists in
1996 represented 17 different countries, wrestlers also use their legs
and may hold opponents above or below the waist
WEIGHT CATEGORIES
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Weight Categories for Men
|
55kg
|
60kg
|
66kg
|
74kg
|
84kg
|
96kg
|
120kg
|
|
Weight Categories for Women
|
48kg**
|
51kg
|
55kg **
|
59kg
|
63kg **
|
67kg
|
72kg **
|
**
Olympic weights
|
|