Heinrich Barnes (born 12 December 1986, in Pretoria, South Africa) is a South African former freestyle and folkstyle wrestler. He participated in the men's freestyle 66 kg at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He was eliminated in the 1/16 round, losing to Mongolian Buyanjavyn Batzorig. Barnes also competed in collegiate wrestling for two years at Oregon State University, where he earned All-American status by placing 8th at the 2009 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
Wrestling is a martial art and combat sport that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. 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. Wrestling can either be genuine competition or athletic theater.
Wrestling at the 2000 Summer Olympics took place in the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre and was split into two disciplines, Freestyle and Greco-Roman which are further divided into different weight categories. The freestyle competitions were held from 28 September to 1 October, and the Greco-Roman events were held from 24 to 27 September. In the freestyle 76 kg Alexander Leipold of Germany originally placed first, but was disqualified after he tested positive for Nandrolone.
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 at Olympic, collegiate, school, or other amateur level competitions. There are two international wrestling styles performed at the Olympic Games: freestyle and Greco-Roman. Both styles are under the supervision of the United World Wrestling (UWW). The amateur style of collegiate wrestling, 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. The rapid rise in the popularity of the combat sport mixed martial arts (MMA) has increased interest in amateur wrestling, due to its effectiveness within the sport and is considered a core discipline.
Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. 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 are conducted under different rules and termed scholastic and collegiate wrestling. American collegiate women's wrestling is conducted under freestyle rules.
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.
At the 1952 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 events were held at Messuhalli.
This article details the Wrestling at the 2008 Summer Olympics qualifying phase.
Randall Scott Lewis is an American wrestler and Olympic champion. He competed at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where he won the gold medal in freestyle wrestling in the featherweight class.
Yogeshwar Dutt is an Indian freestyle wrestler. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he won the bronze medal in the 60 kg category. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2013. He won gold medals at the 2010 and the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He is one of only 5 male wrestlers in India to win an Olympic medal.
Sushil Kumar is a former Indian wrestler. He carried the Indian flag at the opening ceremony of 2012 London Olympics. His 2008 Olympic medal was second for India in wrestling, and the first since Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav's bronze medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics. In July 2009, he received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna – India's highest honour for sportspersons. On 3 October 2010, Kumar handed the Queen's Baton to Prince Charles in the Queen's Baton Relay for the 2010 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony. Sushil won the gold medal in the 74 kg division at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.Sushil won the gold medal in 74 kg division at 2018 Commonwealth Games
Makharbek Khasbiyevich Khadartsev is a Soviet-Russian politician and former wrestler who later competed for Russia and Uzbekistan, two times Olympic champion and five times world champion in Freestyle wrestling. He was born in Suadag, Alagirsky District, North Ossetia.
Adama Diatta is a male freestyle wrestler from Senegal. He participated in the Men's freestyle 55 kg at the 2008 Summer Olympics. In the round of 16, he lost to Tomohiro Matsunaga from Japan. In the repechage round, he was beaten by Turkish Sezar Akgul.
Buyanjav Batzorig is a former Olympian freestyle wrestler and a Mongolian national wrestling team coach. Since January 2017, he has been working as coach. As a wrestler he participated in Men's freestyle 66 kg at 2008 Summer Olympics. In the 1/16 of final he beat Heinrich Barnes, but in the 1/8 of final he was eliminated by Irbek Farniev from Russia.
Lila Ram Sangwan was an Indian wrestler from Charkhi Dadri district of Haryana, who was the first Indian to win a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games. He won a gold medal in the heavyweight (100 kg) category in the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. Lila Ram competed in the freestyle wrestling in heavyweight and superheavyweight categories at the national as well as international level.
Wrestling at the 2012 Summer Olympics were held between 5 and 12 August, the final day of the Games, at ExCeL London. It was split into two disciplines, Freestyle and Greco-Roman which were further divided into different weight categories. Men competed in both disciplines whereas women only took part in the freestyle events, with 18 gold medals awarded. Wrestling has been contested at every modern Summer Olympic Games, except Paris 1900.
Bajrang Punia is an Indian freestyle wrestler, who competes in the 65-kg weight category. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Punia won a bronze medal by defeating Kazakhstan's Daulet Niyazbekov with a 8–0 margin. Punia is the only Indian wrestler to win 4 medals at the World Wrestling Championships. He is one of the leaders of the ongoing 2023 Indian wrestlers' protest against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
South African Wrestling Federation (SAWF) is the organization that governs amateur freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling for men and women in South Africa. South African Wrestling Federation is affiliated to United World Wrestling (UWW) and is the national governing body of the sport. SAWF is also affiliated to SASCOC, and organizes national competitions such as the SAWF Presidents and Masters Championship.