Wrestling is one of the world's oldest sports and enjoys a rich Olympic history. In the sport of wrestling, two competitors will compete head to head. Bouts take place on a mat where wrestlers will use nothing but their bodies to compete. The goal of any wrestler is to pin his opponent's back shoulders to the ground.
History
Evidence indicates that the sport of wrestling dates back to the earliest human recordings, with depictions of the sport appearing in the wall paintings of ancient ruins. Wrestling has been an Olympic sport since the days of the ancient games. The first modern Olympic Games in 1896 included the Greco-Roman form of wrestling. Every modern Olympics since then has included the sport of wrestling with the exception of the 1900 games. The freestyle event was added in 1904. Women were included in the wrestling program at the 2004 games.
Types
The two major types of wrestling are Greco-Roman and freestyle. Greco-Roman is the older of the two Olympic events. It allows competitors to use only their arms and upper body during an attack and to hold their opponent. Freestyle wrestling allows competitors to use any part of their body to makes moves and holds. It is sometimes known as "catch as catch can."
Genders
Today both males and females compete in sport of wrestling although in separate competitions. Men compete in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling in the Olympics while women recently began competing in the freestyle event only.
Categories
A wrestler will compete in a specific category based on body weight. Men once competed in one of 10 categories. Today they compete in seven categories for freestyle wrestling in the Olympics, and women compete in four categories. Greco-Roman wrestling has seven categories. In the lightest weight category, men cannot weigh more than 121 lbs. and women cannot weigh more than 105.5 lbs.
Format
A bout lasts a maximum of three two-minute periods with a 30-second rest between periods. Athletes begin competition with a weigh-in to ensure they qualify for their selected weight category. Pairings are selected by a random draw. Wrestlers then participate in single elimination bouts until a final match between two individuals takes place. The winner of this match receives the gold medal, and the loser is awarded the silver. All wrestlers who lost to one of the two finalists will compete in one of two groups of repechage matches, one for the losers of each finalist. The winners of each of the groups are given a bronze medal.
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