Wrestling is a sport of physical engagement between two unarmed persons, in which each wrestler strives to obtain a position of advantage over their opponent. Wrestling involves different grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Many different wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sports and military systems. The sport can either be genuinely competitive or sportive entertainment.
Greco-Roman, Graeco-Roman, classic wrestling or French wrestling is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been in every edition of the summer Olympics held since 1904. This style of wrestling forbids holds below the waist, which is the main feature that differentiates it from freestyle wrestling. This restriction results in an emphasis on throws, because a wrestler cannot use trips to bring an opponent to the ground or hook/grab the opponent's leg to avoid being thrown.
Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced in collegiate, school, or other amateur level competitions. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games: freestyle and Greco-Roman. Both styles are under the supervision of the United World Wrestling. A similar style, commonly called collegiate, is practiced in colleges and universities, secondary schools, middle schools, and among younger age groups in the United States. Where the style is not specified, this article refers to the international styles of competition on a mat. In February 2013, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to remove the sport from the 2020 Summer Olympics onward. On 8 September 2013, the IOC announced that wrestling would return to the Summer Olympics in 2020. The rapid rise in the popularity of the combat sport mixed martial arts (MMA) has increased interest in amateur wrestling due to its effectiveness in the sport and it is considered a core discipline.
Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling is conducted under different rules and is termed scholastic and collegiate wrestling. American collegiate women's wrestling is conducted under freestyle rules.
The United States competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. 400 competitors, 316 men and 84 women, took part in 185 events in 21 sports.
Since the Olympic Games began in Athens in 1896, wrestling became a focus of the Games, with the exception of the 1900 Summer Olympics when wrestling did not appear on the program. Freestyle wrestling and weight classes both made their first appearance in 1904. The women's competition was introduced in 2004.
Bulgaria competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. 130 competitors, 106 men and 24 women, took part in 92 events in 15 sports.
United World Wrestling (UWW) is the international governing body for the sport of amateur wrestling; its duties include overseeing wrestling at the Olympics. It presides over international competitions for various forms of wrestling, including Greco-Roman wrestling, Freestyle wrestling, Grappling, for men and women, as well as others. The flagship event of UWW is the Wrestling World Championships. It was formerly known as the FILA, having assumed its current name in September 2014.
Jabrayil Hasanov is a male freestyle wrestler from Azerbaijan who has competed in the 66, 74 and 79 kg categories. He is an Olympic bronze medalist and multiple World Championships medalist. He is the winner of Yasar Dogu Grand-Prix.
The women's freestyle 48 kg competition of the wrestling events at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, was held on October 22 at the CODE II Gymanasium. The defending champion was Carol Huynh from Canada.
The women's freestyle 55 kg competition of the wrestling events at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, was held on October 22 at the CODE II Gymanasium. The defending champion was Jackeline Rentería from Colombia.
The women's freestyle 72 kg competition of the wrestling events at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, was held on October 22 at the CODE II Gymanasium. The defending champion was Kristie Marano from the United States.
The men's freestyle 66 kg competition of the wrestling events at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, was held on October 23 at the CODE II Gymanasium. The defending champion was Geandry Garzon from Cuba.
The men's freestyle 60 kg competition of the wrestling events at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, was held on October 24 at the CODE II Gymanasium. The defending champion was Yandro Quintana from Cuba.
The Men's freestyle 74 kg competition of the wrestling events at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, was held on October 24 at the CODE II Gymanasium. The defending champion was Ivan Fundora from Cuba.
The wrestling competition at the 2003 Pan American Games was held from August 6–8, 2003 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. This was the first edition of the Pan American Games to include women's wrestling.
Wrestling World Cup is an international wrestling competition among teams representing member nations of the United World Wrestling (UWW) the sport's global governing body. The cups have been conducted by FILA every year since the 1973 tournament. The World Cup began as a dual-meet competition for the top teams on each continent, but now features the top teams in the rankings of the previous year's world championships.
The men's freestyle 120 kilograms is a competition featured at the 2011 World Wrestling Championships, and was held at the Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey on 18 September 2011.
The European Wrestling Championships is the second oldest international wrestling competition of the modern world and the main wrestling championships in Europe. It predates World Wrestling Championships and other regional wrestling championships and is second only to the wrestling events at the Olympics. From its inception in 1898 till 1927 only Greco-Roman wrestling was contested. Since 1929 separate freestyle wrestling events were held as well. Since 1970 the two Olympic wrestling styles were contested together during the same unified events. Since 1973 Sambo wrestling was included into the championships programme along with GR and freestyle wrestling. Since 2014 associated traditional wrestling styles recognized globally by UWW were incorporated into the annual championships schedule.
