Wrestling came into existence because of its significance in the ancient Greek literature and has been recorded long before the first Olympic Games. Though this sport was considered to be brutal, it was received widely with much enthusiasm by the ancient Romans. Hence, it attracted more spectators when the rules were revised and a more formal touch was given to this sport. In this game, wrestlers use various techniques like clinching, holding, leverage and locking to score over their opponents. This sport was introduced in Olympics over a hundred years ago and included styles such as Greco-Roman, Freestyling, Grappling, Sambo and Beach wrestling. Later, when wrestling became more professional, Greco-Roman and Freestyling gained popularity among the others. This sport has given the world outstanding names in the history such as Rulon Gardner, Boris Gurevich, George Mehnert, Namig Abdullayev, Yandro Miguel Quintana, Elbrus Tedeyev, Isidor Niflot, Robert Curry, Mourad Oumakhanov and many more. This is why the sport has succeeded to cheer large crowds and is continuing to do so.
Wrestling Rules And Regulations
As the wrestling community expands in number, the athletes also grow their techniques with it. Read more to know about the rules and regulations of wrestling.
Wrestling
- Wrestling is held in two categories: Freestyle and Greco-Roman and each of them has its own weight divisions. Both these categories are available for men whereas women have just one discipline: freestyle.
- The sessions are of three periods of two minute each provided with a 30-second break in between.
- The aim of the wrestler is to ground the opponent for two seconds after forcing them over their shoulders. It is termed ‘pin’ and this way you may score points with your moves over your opponent.
- Based on the flip of the opponent, a player is rewarded more points with the flip onto their back considered to be the best.
- In case where neither of the wrestlers has succeeded to pin the other, points given to the wrestlers are counted and the decision is taken with respect to this.
- Difference in both the levels of wrestling indicates that in freestyle the wrestlers are allowed to use their body parts in order to lock or hold their opponent. Whereas in Greco-Roman style, the moves are allowed only above the waist.
Wrestling History
Wrestling has been a part of the Olympics since its inception. Wrestling was considered to be a military exercise without the use of weapons. It was mandatory for the Greek soldiers to learn the art of wrestling along with the academics, which included mathematics, language arts, etc. When the modern form of the game was introduced in 1896 held in Athens, wrestling became the focus of the Games. It was not included in the 1900 Summer Olympics, however. Initially, the Greco-Roman wrestling came into being and was the style used in the Games since the first modern Olympic program in Athens in 1896. Its rules were set up in the game in the 19th century by Exbroyat who was a French soldier. It was in 1904 at St. Louis that the freestyle wrestling and weight classes were introduced. Women's wrestling was introduced in Olympics later in the year 2004 in Athens. Wrestling is widespread with its roots in almost every culture with a solid foundation since the ancient Greek tradition. Today, every country has traditional and modern forms of wrestling being practiced, which is because of the increasing popularity of wrestling.
Wrestling has been a part of the Olympics since its inception. Wrestling was considered to be a military exercise without the use of weapons. It was mandatory for the Greek soldiers to learn the art of wrestling along with the academics, which included mathematics, language arts, etc. When the modern form of the game was introduced in 1896 held in Athens, wrestling became the focus of the Games. It was not included in the 1900 Summer Olympics, however. Initially, the Greco-Roman wrestling came into being and was the style used in the Games since the first modern Olympic program in Athens in 1896. Its rules were set up in the game in the 19th century by Exbroyat who was a French soldier. It was in 1904 at St. Louis that the freestyle wrestling and weight classes were introduced. Women's wrestling was introduced in Olympics later in the year 2004 in Athens. Wrestling is widespread with its roots in almost every culture with a solid foundation since the ancient Greek tradition. Today, every country has traditional and modern forms of wrestling being practiced, which is because of the increasing popularity of wrestling.