Greco-Roman, Graeco-Roman, or classic 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.
Italy competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. 224 competitors, 197 men and 27 women, took part in 123 events in 19 sports.
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.
Bulgaria competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. 98 competitors, 89 men and 9 women, took part in 66 events in 12 sports.
Yuriy Vasilyevich Melnichenko is a Kazakhstani wrestler who won the gold medal in the Greco-Roman bantamweight (52–57 kg) category at the 1996 Summer Olympics. He competed at the next Olympics in the featherweight division and finished 19th.
Syria competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. Five competitors, four men and one woman, took part in four events in three sports.
At the 1972 Summer Olympics, 20 wrestling events were contested, all for men. There were 10 weight classes in Greco-Roman wrestling and 10 classes in freestyle wrestling.
Wrestling competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, were held at the China Agricultural University Gymnasium from 12–21 August 2008. It was split into two disciplines, Freestyle and Greco-Roman which are further divided into different weight categories. Men competed in both disciplines whereas women only took part in the freestyle events with 18 gold medals being awarded. This was the second Olympics with women's wrestling as an event.
At the 1920 Summer Olympics, ten wrestling events were contested, for all men. There were five weight classes in Greco-Roman wrestling and five classes in Catch as Catch Can, predecessor to freestyle wrestling. The competitions were held from Monday, August 16 to Friday, August 20, 1920 (Greco-Roman) and from Wednesday, August 25 to Friday, August 27, 1920 (freestyle).
At the 1948 Summer Olympics, 16 wrestling events were contested, for all men. There were eight weight classes in Greco-Roman wrestling and eight classes in freestyle wrestling. The freestyle competitions were held from July 29 to July 31, 1948 and the Greco-Roman events were held from August 3 to August 6, 1948.
Italy competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden. 129 competitors, 114 men and 15 women, took part in 76 events in 13 sports. As the country hosted the next Olympics in Rome, an Italian segment was performed at the closing ceremony.
Mithat Bayrak was a Turkish sports wrestler and trainer, who won two consecutive gold medals in the Welterweight class of Men's Greco-Roman Wrestling at the 1956 Olympics and 1960 Olympics.
Hamit Kaplan was a Turkish World and Olympic champion sports wrestler in the Heavyweight class. He won the gold, silver and bronze medal in men's freestyle wrestling at three consecutive Olympic Games in 1956, 1960 and 1964.
Kazım Ayvaz was a Turkish Olympic medalist sports wrestler in the lightweight class and a trainer. He won the gold medal in Men's Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1964 Olympics and became world champion twice.
Ignazio Fabra is a flyweight Greco-Roman wrestler from Italy. He won a world title in 1955 and finished second at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics and 1962 and 1963 world championships. He placed fifth at the 1960 Olympics and fourth at the 1964 Olympics.
The Men's Greco-Roman 52 kg at the 1972 Summer Olympics as part of the wrestling program at the Fairgrounds, Judo and Wrestling Hall.
Rıza Kayaalp is a five time world champion and twelve time European champion Turkish wrestler competing in the 130 kg division of Greco-Roman wrestling. He won silver at the 2016 Summer Olympics and won bronze medals at the 2012 and 2020 Summer Olympics. He is a graduate of the Aksaray University Physical Education and Sports Academy and studies his master's degree at Bozok University.
Italy competed at the 1951 Mediterranean Games in Alexandria, Egypt.
Paolo Fucile is a retired amateur Italian Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's lightweight category. He represented his nation Italy at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and later scored a bronze medal in the 60-kg division at the 2009 Mediterranean Games in Pescara. Having worked as a police officer for Polizia di Stato, Fucile trained full-time for the wrestling squad at Gruppo Sportivo Fiamme Oro in Rome, under head coach Mauro Massaro.
Giuseppe Vitucci was an Italian wrestler. He competed in the men's Greco-Roman 82 kg at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
