It is a sport that is rarely seen on television or in sports arenas. However, this discipline is one of the stars of the Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games! Before the next edition of these Games, let's make a little recap on wrestling.
Wrestling is a very old sport, which is first mentioned in stories dating back to more than 3000 BC! As early as 708 B.C., wrestling was included in the ancient Olympic Games of Greece. This means that wrestling has an important place in this international competition!
This combat sport is therefore practiced in the modern Olympic Games since the first edition, in 1896. The athletes then competed in Greco-Roman wrestling, a form considered more noble, because it was closer to ancient practices. It is necessary to wait for the Games of Saint-Louis (1904), for the free wrestling to be added to the program, while the female events are accepted only from 2004. During these Paris Games, the fans will be able to see wrestling at the Grand Palais Éphémère (also named Aréna Champ-de-Mars), from August 5 to 11. Here are the details of the events:
Women's freestyle wrestling
Men'sfreestyle wrestling
Men's Greco-Roman Wrestling
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Wrestling is one of the oldest sports, according to our knowledge. For the ancient Greeks, wrestling was a fundamental sport, which allowed to train young men and made the honor of the athletes. This sport was very brutal, and caused many injuries.
Over the centuries, wrestling gradually lost the interest of spectators, but it kept its reputation as a noble discipline at the Olympic Games.
Wrestlers compete on a 12 x 12 meter mat. Athletes are divided into weight categories. A match lasts six minutes, divided into two parts of three minutes. To win, you must succeed in knocking down your opponent by holding his shoulders down for at least one second. It is also possible to win by accumulating as many points as possible, or by showing technical superiority, while having a lead in the score.
Wrestling is a bare-knuckle combat sport. However, there is no question of hitting your opponent, choking him or making keys, as in martial arts. The goal is to put your opponent on the mat with a fall. Freestyle wrestling allows full-body actions, while Greco-Roman wrestling prohibits grabs below the belt.
To date, Russia (or more precisely the former Soviet Union) holds the most titles in wrestling. Among the great nations of this sport, we find Iran, the United States, Georgia, but also Japan, which stands out in female wrestling.
Did you know that?
The longest wrestling match lasted 11 hours and 40 minutes! In 1912, at the Olympic Games in Stockholm, spectators witnessed an anthology semi-final between Estonian Martin Klein and Finnish Alfred Asikainen. The two men faced each other in a fight that lasted almost half a day.
Klein won this match, but was unable to fight the next day: he therefore left these Olympics with a silver medal - and a fight registered in the Guinness Book of Records .
Today, the duration of the fights is regulated and strongly shortened.
France also has some wrestling champions in its ranks. Our chances of a medal rest on the shoulders of Koumba Larroque (vice-champion of the world in the under 65 kg category), Pauline Lecarpentier (-68 kg, silver medallist at the 2022 European Championships), Kendra Dacher (-72 kg women, bronze medallist at the 2022 European Championships) and Saifedine Alekma (-79 kg freestyle wrestling, silver medallistat the 2021 European Wrestling Championships).
Thanks to the Olympic Games, you have become passionate about this combat sport? Then it's time to start practicing! Discover the clubs near you to learn freestyle or Greco-Roman wrestling.
Freestyle, women's and Greco-Roman wrestling: where to practice in Paris and the Ile-de-France region?
Are you passionate about combat sports? Why not try wrestling? Here's a list of clubs in Paris and Île-de-France. [Read more]
Freestyle, women's and Greco-Roman wrestling: where to practice in Paris and the Ile-de-France region?
