Wrestling

Histoire

Wrestling may be the oldest combat sport: wall paintings in the tombs of Beni Hasan in Egypt, about 4,000 years old, show hundreds of wrestling holds. It entered the ancient Olympic Games in 708 BC.

Modern Olympic wrestling has two styles. In Greco-Roman, on the programme since 1896, holds below the waist are forbidden; in freestyle, added in 1904, the legs can be attacked. Women's wrestling joined at Athens 2004. The world body, United World Wrestling (formerly FILA), was founded in 1912. In 2013 the IOC voted to drop wrestling, but a worldwide campaign brought it back months later.

Le saviez-vous ?

• A match is won at once by a "fall": pinning both of the opponent's shoulders to the mat.
• Cuba's Mijaín López won five Olympic golds in a row (2008–2024) in Greco-Roman.
• Japan's Kaori Icho was the first woman to win four consecutive individual Olympic golds.
• There are hundreds of folk styles: schwingen, glima, kurash, bokh, yağlı güreş and more.

Glossaire des techniques

Single-leg

takedown grabbing one leg

Double-leg

takedown grabbing both legs

Suplex

lifting throw backwards

Gut wrench

turning the opponent over on the mat

Fireman's carry

throw over the shoulders

Bridge

arching the neck to avoid a pin

Fall / pin

both shoulders on the mat

Armes et équipement

Singlet

one-piece suit, red or blue

Wrestling shoes

light high boots

Figures clés

• Aleksandr Karelin (1967–) — Russian Greco-Roman giant, three Olympic golds
• Dan Gable (1948–) — American legend as wrestler and coach
• Kaori Icho (1984–) — Japanese, four Olympic golds
• Mijaín López (1982–) — Cuban, five Olympic golds

Sources: United World Wrestling (UWW) · International Olympic Committee