Wrestling
History
Wrestling is one of the oldest sports in the world. Much before being considered a sport, the concept of defence and attack was already inherent to wrestling, which at the time was aimed at showing superiority in combat. There is evidence that shows that humans have wrestled throughout all eras. Indeed, thousands of years before Christ, from Babylonia to Egypt, Japan, China, Greece and Rome, humans have engaged in wrestling.
As it has been practiced in so many places and for so long, there are obviously several styles of wrestling spread throughout the world, making it difficult to pinpoint its origin. However, the Greeks were the ones who introduced the activity into the sporting world. Wrestling was included in the Games in Ancient Greece as far back as the 7th century BC. Throughout the years and after several editions of the Games, the sport ended up developing its specific features.
The Greek wrestling model inspired the French to develop the style known as Greco-Roman at the beginning of the 19th century. It was the first step towards making the sport professional. Indeed, Greco-Roman wrestling was part of the Olympic programme at the 1896 Games in Athens, in the super-heavyweight class. The first gold medal winner was Carl Schuhmann from Germany.
From the 1904 Games in St. Louis onwards, the Olympics also included freestyle wrestling as part of its programme. When this version of the sport was included in the Olympic programme, it was already divided into weight classes - such as bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight and super-heavyweight. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the Olympic programme again at the 1906 Games in Athens, when freestyle wrestling was left out.
In London 2012, Olympic wrestling awarded a total of 18 gold medals. The biggest winners were Russia, Iran and Japan. The Russians scooped up four gold: three for the men and one for the ladies. Japan imposed its supremacy in the women's competition, ending up with three gold. Iran went home with three gold medals in the men’s competition.
Curiosities
The fall of a legend
The biggest name in the history of Greco-Roman wrestling is Alexander Karelin from Russia. More than being a legend, the wrestler is the holder of an impressive record. From 1987 to 2000, Karelin – nicknamed the Russian Bear, the Experiment or Alexander the Great - did not lose one fight. During this period, he won several world and European titles, in addition to scooping up three gold medals at the 1988 Games in Seoul, Barcelona (1992) and Atlanta (1996).
At the 2000 Games in Sydney, Karelin made it to the final and was looking to win his fourth gold medal, but was finally defeated. Rulon Gardner from the USA was the man to have finally managed to defeat Karelin. In the super-heavyweight Olympic final, the 1.91m tall Russian and the 1.92m tall American had a very even fight, which Gardner won by a very tight margin: 1-0. The result turned the American athlete into a national hero.
Soviet supremacy
The Soviet Union imposed its supremacy in Olympic wrestling at the 1976 Games in Montreal and the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. In the Canadian city, the Soviets won 12 out of the possible 18 gold medals up for grabs, in addition to two silvers and two bronze. Only one weight class did not see a Soviet athlete make it to the podium: the bantamweight, in the freestyle.
Four years later, fighting at home, the Soviet Union kept its supremacy. The Soviets won 12 gold medals in 20 different categories. The American boycott to that edition of the Games also helped, as they had scooped up three gold medals in Montreal.
See also
Confederação Brasileira de Lutas Associadas (CBLA)
Site: www.cbla.com.br
E-mail: cbla@cbla.com.br
Federação Internacional de Lutas Associadas (FILA): www.fila-official.com
