Olympic Games

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Wrestling at the Olympic Games

Wrestling was an event at the ancient Olympic Games, and was also included in the first Olympic Games in 1896. Since then, wrestling has been included in every Olympic program.

The organizers of the Olympics introduced Greco-Roman wrestling, a style they believed to be an exact carryover from the wrestling styles used in ancient times.

In 1904, the Olympic Games added the second wrestling event and called it "freestyle", allowed the wrestlers to use their legs for pushing, lifting and tripping, and they could also hold their opponents above or below the waist.

Trivia

• The best all-time performing wrestler at the Olympic Games (not including 2012) is Russian Alexander Karelin with three golds and one silver, from 1988–2000. See more on the Greatest Olympic Wrestler.

• A wrestling bout in 1912 between Estonia's Martin Klein and Finland's Alfred Asikainen lasted 11 hours and 40 minutes before Klein finally won. Klein was so exhasuted he could not compete in the final so the gold medal went to Swede Claes Johanson by default.

Related Pages

• more about the sport of Wrestling
• List of Olympic Sports