ABOUT
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, wrestlers also use their legs and may hold opponents above or below the waist. The Olympic freestyle medallists in 1996 represented 17 different countries, 15 in Sydney and 17 in Athens..
COMPETITION
At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, there were seven events in men’s freestyle. For the first time ever, women participated in four. A total of 344 athletes competed in the three disciplines of this sport, freestyle, Greco-Roman and women’s wrestling.
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, wrestlers also use their legs and may hold opponents above or below the waist. The Olympic freestyle medallists in 1996 represented 17 different countries, 15 in Sydney and 17 in Athens..
COMPETITION
At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, there were seven events in men’s freestyle. For the first time ever, women participated in four. A total of 344 athletes competed in the three disciplines of this sport, freestyle, Greco-Roman and women’s wrestling.
LIST OF EVENTS *
- - - 55kg Men
- 55 - 60kg Men
- 60 - 66kg Men
- 66 - 74kg Men
- 74 - 84kg Men
- - 84 - 96kg Men
- 96 - 120kg Men
- - 48kg Women
- 48 - 55kg Women
- 55 - 63kg Women
- 63 - 72kg Women
* On the programme of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, Beijing 2008
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