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.
Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. High school wrestling and men's collegiate wrestling in the United States are conducted under different rules and termed scholastic and collegiate wrestling. U.S. collegiate women's wrestling is conducted under freestyle rules.
The men's Greco-Roman 96 kilograms at the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of the wrestling program were held at the Ano Liosia Olympic Hall, August 25 to August 26.
Ara Abrahamian is an Armenian-Swedish wrestler in Greco-Roman wrestling. He has won two World Championships in the 76 kg and 84 kg weight classes and a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the 84 kg weight class.
Armen Nazaryan is an Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler who later represented Bulgaria. Nazaryan is a two-time Olympic Champion, a three-time World Champion, and a six-time European Champion. After Armenia regained independence in 1991, Nazaryan became the first Olympic gold medalist for the country. He was recognized by the FILA as the best wrestler of the year in 1998 and 2003. In 2007, Nazaryan was inducted as a member of the FILA Hall of Fame.
United World Wrestling (UWW) is the international governing body for the sport of amateur wrestling; its duties include overseeing wrestling at the World Championships and Olympics. It presides over international competitions for various forms of wrestling, including Greco-Roman, Freestyle, Grappling, and others. The flagship event of UWW is the World Wrestling Championships.
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.
Sweden sent a team to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Men's Greco-Roman 84 kilograms competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, was held on August 14 at the China Agricultural University Gymnasium. Italian wrestler Andrea Minguzzi won the gold medal in this event.
Per Oskar "Pelle" Svensson was a Swedish Greco-Roman wrestler and lawyer. His achievements included a silver medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics in the light heavyweight class and two gold medals at the World Championships in 1970 and 1971.
Mikhail Mamiashvili is a Russian former Greco-Roman wrestler of Georgian origin. He won an Olympic gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea, competing for the Soviet Union. After retirement, he has held posts in the Russian Wrestling Federation, currently being its president.
Wrestling at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 14 to 21 August at the Carioca Arena 2 in Barra da Tijuca. Wrestling had been split into two disciplines, freestyle and Greco-Roman, which were further divided into different weight categories. Men competed in both disciplines whereas women only participated in the freestyle events, with 18 gold medals awarded. Wrestling had been contested at every modern Summer Olympic Games, except Paris 1900.
Marek Švec is an amateur Greco-Roman wrestler from the Czech Republic. He is a three-time Olympian, and also, a multiple-time medalist at both the World and European Championships. He also won the bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Shalva Gadabadze is an amateur Azerbaijani Greco-Roman wrestler, who competes in the men's light heavyweight category. He won two bronze medals at the 2009 European Wrestling Championships in Vilnius, Lithuania, and at the 2011 European Wrestling Championships in Dortmund, Germany. He is a member of Atasport Wrestling Club in Baku, and is coached and trained by Eldshin Dshafarov.
Yun Won-Chol is an amateur North Korean Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's featherweight category. Yun represented North Korea at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where he competed in the men's 55 kg class. He received a bye for the preliminary round of sixteen match, before losing to South Korea's Choi Gyu-Jin, who was able to score three points in two straight periods, leaving Yun without a single point.
Gocha Tsitsiashvili is a retired amateur Israeli Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's light heavyweight category. Considering one of the world's top Greco-Roman wrestlers in his decade, Tsitsiashvili had claimed numerous medals in the international scene, including his prestigious gold from the 2003 World Wrestling Championships, and later represented as part of the Israeli team in three editions of the Olympic Games. Tsitsiashvili also became a member of the Hapoel Be'er Sheva Club under his personal coach Yakov Masin.
Georgios Koutsioumpas is an amateur Greek Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's heavyweight category. Koutsioumpas represented his home nation Greece at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, and later picked up a silver medal in the 96-kg division at the 2005 Mediterranean Games in Almería, Spain. Throughout his sporting career, Koutsioumpas, along with his older brother Xenofon, trained as a member of the Greco-Roman wrestling team for Olympiacos F.C. in Piraeus, with whom he won the European CELA Cup in 2006. Since 2012 they have been training at Atlas Mytilenes under their head coach Sotirios Petrakis.
Dimitrios Avramis is a retired amateur Greek Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's light heavyweight category. Dimitrios Avramis has claimed a silver medal in the 76-kg division at the 1997 Mediterranean Games in Bari, Italy, picked up a bronze at the 1999 World Wrestling Championships in Athens, and later represented his nation Greece in two editions of the Olympic Games.
Parviz Zeidvand is a retired amateur Iranian Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's welterweight category. He won two gold medals at the Asian Championships, picked up a bronze in the 74-kg division at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, and represented Iran in two editions of the Olympic Games. Throughout his sporting career, Zeidvand trained full-time for Rahahan Wrestling Club under his coach and mentor Gholamreza Ghetassi.
Maksim Anatolyevich Semenov is a retired amateur Russian Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's welterweight category. He obtained a fourth position in the 66-kg division at the 2002 World Wrestling Championships in Moscow, and also represented his nation Russia at the 2004 Summer Olympics, finishing ninth in the process. Throughout his sporting career, Semenov trained full-time for Torpedo Wrestling Club in Moscow, under his personal coach and mentor Rerik Sadikhanov.
