Since the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
began in Athens in
1896
Events
January–March
* January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers.
* January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.
* January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that Wil ...
, wrestling (in the form of
Greco-Roman wrestling
Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling (Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mod ...
) became a focus of the Games, with the exception of the
1900 Summer Olympics
The 1900 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1900, link=no), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 1 ...
when wrestling did not appear on the program.
Freestyle wrestling
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 ...
and weight classes both made their first appearance in
1904
Events
January
* January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''.
* January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system.
* ...
. The women's competition was introduced in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
.
In 2013, the IOC voted to drop wrestling from the Summer Olympic programme. The president of the sport's governing body, FILA (now
United World Wrestling
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 ...
), resigned after a subsequent
motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
, and several of the FILA leadership followed suit. Following these and revisions to the programme for
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
(including rule changes and additional women's competitions), wrestling successfully campaigned to be readmitted to the Summer Olympic programme.
Summary
Summary of overall best wrestling nation at each Olympics, which includes combining all styles that were contested. Greco-Roman has been contested since the
1896 Summer Olympics
The 1896 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896, Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 1896), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 1ης Ολυμπιάδας, Agónes tis 1is Ol ...
, with men's freestyle being contested since
1904
Events
January
* January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''.
* January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system.
* ...
and women's freestyle since
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
.
Removal and reinstatement
In an effort to control the size and costs of the Summer Olympics, and make the Games "relevant to sports fans of all generations", the IOC evaluated the Olympic event programme in place for the
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
, and voted on 25 "core" sports that would comprise the programme of the
2020 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July.
Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
(which was postponed to 2021 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
). One vacancy was to be left open for a new sport. In February 2013, IOC members voted to remove wrestling from the Olympic programme; ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' cited several potential factors in the decision, including the lack of universally-known talent unlike other sports, and concern for the lack of women's competitions in wrestling (having only introduced women's freestyle competitions in 2004). FILA (now
United World Wrestling
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 ...
), the governing body of Olympic wrestling, immediately criticized the decision. The organization cited wrestling's long-standing history as an Olympic event, which dates as far back as the
ancient Olympic Games
The ancient Olympic Games (Ὀλυμπιακοὶ ἀγῶνες; la, Olympia, neuter plural: "the Olympics") were a series of athletic competitions among representatives of city-states and were one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. ...
.
The decision resulted in immediate backlash;
Armen Nazaryan
Armen Nazaryan ( hy, Արմեն Նազարյան, bg, Армен Назарян, born 9 March 1974) is an Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler who later represented Bulgaria. Nazaryan is a two-time Olympic Champion (1996, 2000), a three-time World ...
and
Sagid Murtazaliev both returned gold medals to the IOC in protest, while Nazaryan also staged a
hunger strike until the
2013 European Wrestling Championships. FILA president Raphaël Martinetti resigned after a vote of non-confidence by the organization's staff.
Martinetti was replaced as acting president by
Nenad Lalović. Under his leadership, the organization began to make changes to its Olympic programme for 2016, including rule changes designed to make bouts faster and encourage more aggression, as well as additional women's weight classes. These changes were intended to help improve audience interest, and address the shortcomings that likely led to the removal of the sport; wrestling joined
baseball/
softball, as well as
squash, on a final shortlist of three sports to be included in the core Olympic programme for 2020.
On 8 September 2013, at the
125th IOC Session
The 125th IOC Session took place at the Buenos Aires Hilton in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 7 to 10 September 2013. On 7 September, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) elected Tokyo as the host city of the 2020 Summer Olympic ...
, the IOC selected wrestling to be reinstated in the Olympic program for 2020 and
2024
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
***''Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney's fi ...
. Lalović was largely credited for his role in the reinstatement; he remarked that "normally this is done in a few years, we did it in a few months. It was a question of our survival."
Events
Men
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, - align=center
, align=left, Greco-Roman light flyweight
,
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,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
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,
X
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X
,
,
,
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, 7
, - align=center
, align=left, Greco-Roman flyweight
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,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
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X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
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X
,
,
,
,
,
, 14
, - align=center
, align=left, Greco-Roman bantamweight
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
, 23
, - align=center
, align=left, Greco-Roman featherweight
,
,
,
,
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
,
, 23
, - align=center
, align=left, Greco-Roman lightweight
,
,
,
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
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,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
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X
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X
,
X
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X
,
X
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X
,
X
, 26
, - align=center
, align=left, Greco-Roman welterweight
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
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X
,
X
,
X
,
X
, 21
, - align=center
, align=left, Greco-Roman middleweight
,
,
,
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
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X
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X
,
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,
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,
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,
X
,
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,
X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
, 26
, - align=center
, align=left, Greco-Roman light heavyweight
,
,
,
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
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X
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X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
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X
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X
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X
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X
,
X
,
X
,
,
,
,
,
,
, 20
, - align=center
, align=left, Greco-Roman heavyweight
,
,
,
,
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
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X
,
X
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X
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, 25
, - align=center
, align=left, Greco-Roman super heavyweight
,
,
,
,
X
,
,
,
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,
,
,
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,
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X
,
X
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X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
, 14
, - align=center
, align=left, Greco-Roman open
,
X
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,
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,
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,
,
,
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,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
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,
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,
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,
,
,
,
, 1
, - align=center
, align=left, Freestyle light flyweight
,
,
,
X
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
,
,
,
,
,
, 8
, - align=center
, align=left, Freestyle flyweight
,
,
,
X
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
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,
X
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X
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X
,
X
,
X
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X
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X
,
X
,
,
,
,
,
, 15
, - align=center
, align=left, Freestyle bantamweight
,
,
,
X
,
X
,
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,
X
,
X
,
X
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X
,
X
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, 25
, - align=center
, align=left, Freestyle featherweight
,
,
,
X
,
X
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,
X
,
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
,
X
,
X
,
,
, 24
, - align=center
, align=left, Freestyle lightweight
,
,
,
X
,
X
,
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
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X
,
X
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X
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X
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,
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, 26
, - align=center
, align=left, Freestyle welterweight
,
,
,
X
,
,
,
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
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X
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X
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X
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X
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X
, 24
, - align=center
, align=left, Freestyle middleweight
,
,
,
,
X
,
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
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X
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X
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X
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X
,
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,
X
, 25
, - align=center
, align=left, Freestyle light heavyweight
,
,
,
,
,
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
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,
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,
X
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X
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X
,
X
,
X
,
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X
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,
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,
,
, 18
, - align=center
, align=left, Freestyle heavyweight
,
,
,
X
,
X
,
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
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X
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X
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X
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X
,
X
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X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
,
X
, 26
, - align=center
, align=left, Freestyle super heavyweight
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
X
,
X
,
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, 13
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, - align=center
, align=left, ''Total''
, 1
, 0
, 7
, 9
, 5
, 10
, 13
, 13
, 14
, 14
, 16
, 16
, 16
, 16
, 16
, 16
, 20
, 20
, 20
, 20
, 20
, 20
, 20
, 16
, 14
, 14
, 14
, 12
, 12
,
Women
Participating nations
The following nations have taken part in the wrestling competition. The numbers in the table indicate the number of competitors sent to that year's Olympics (X means qualified wrestlers for the next Olympics).
All-time medal tables – 1896–2020
All-time medal table combined – Greco-Roman, Freestyle men's and women's – 1896–2020
Sources:
All-time medal table – Greco-Roman – 1896–2020
Sources:
[
]
All-time medal table – Freestyle men's, women's – 1904–2020
Sources:[
]
See also
*List of Olympic medalists in Freestyle wrestling
This is the complete list of Olympic medalists in freestyle wrestling.
Current program Men Bantamweight
* 56.70 kg: 1904
* 54 kg: 1908
* 56 kg: 1924–1936
* 57 kg: 1948–1996
* 58 kg: 2000
* 55 kg: 2004–2012
* 57 kg: 2016–present
Lightwei ...
* List of Olympic medalists in Greco-Roman wrestling
* List of Olympic venues in wrestling
* Politics and sports
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wrestling At The Summer Olympics
Sports at the Summer Olympics
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...