Wrestling

Oldest Sport

Wrestling holds the title of the oldest sport in known history. The legends of Greek mythology tell the tale of Greek God Zeus defeating Cronus in a wrestling match for the possession of the universe at the beginning of time. Wrestling appeared all over the ancient world, from France to Mongolia, in artwork, writing, and even cave carvings, wrestling appears everywhere.

Wrestling being the first sport in the Greek games, as well as cave paintings in ancient France from about 17,000 years ago hold water to these claims. Other instances of this age old sport throughout history include a literal Battle of Kings took place when King Francis I of France defeated King Henry VIII of England in an impromptu wrestling match at the Field of the Cloth of Gold pageant.

Many of the things done by times old wrestlers would be seen as extreme in modern times. In 1932 , Swedish-born Ivar Johanssen won the freestyle gold in the 180 lbs. weight class and then dropped a whopping 22 pounds in 24 hours to enter the 158.5 lbs. weight class, where he won gold again. In 1960, Soviet wrestler Avtandil Koridze etched his name in Cold War infamy after a suspicious and likely-fixed bout. Koridze whispered mysteriously into his opponent’s ear, and watched as his opponent suddenly fell to his back and let Koridze pin him, leading eventually to his gold medal win.

Greek Wrestling

Greek wrestling, also known as “Pale” had a solid foundation in ancient Greece long before 776 B.C., the first recorded Olympic Games. Wrestling may have been the most popular sport in Greece, but it’s rules and regulations, and even the sport itself are drastically different now. Greek wrestling allowed the two wrestlers to grapple until one of two things happened,...

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...he United States.

Currently

Wrestling has grown to extensive amounts since it’s infancy. It has become one of the most organized and planned out sports in our Olympics, with some of the worlds most committed and die-hard fans to enter a stadium. Wrestling is still practiced almost everywhere in the world, whether it be in one of it’s more traditional forms, or the more modern one.

As for modern wrestling, it is constantly evolving. New techniques, rules, and, of course, athletes are constantly coming to the table. Because of this, athletes must stay ever-alert of rule changes, and new techniques, otherwise they will not last very long in the sport. Luckily, today’s media helps to keep not only athletes, but fans, in the know about any changes or improvements. Wrestling will continue to bring new things to the table, keeping it’s spectators forever interested.