Greco-Roman wrestling
The rings in the Greco-Roman style (also Greco as an abbreviation of the English Greco-Roman ) is a variant of struggle . Together with freestyle wrestling , it forms the wrestling disciplines at the Olympic Games.
regulate
When wrestling, two opponents face each other on a mostly square mat. A red circle with a diameter of about three meters, printed on the mat, serves as a guide for the fighters. A white ring with a diameter of about six meters serves as the border of the mat. The fight is divided into two three-minute sections with a 30-second break. The aim is to place the opponent standing on the floor and with both shoulders on the mat.
Generally, all actions that endanger the health of a wrestler are prohibited: e.g. B. Hitting, kicking, choking , overstretching the joints, grasping individual fingers or pulling on hair or genitals. The opponent must also not be held between the eyebrows and mouth. Speaking on the mat is also prohibited. The aim, place and time of the fight are therefore identical in Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling.
Handles and Techniques
In the Greco-Roman style, only grips above the belt are allowed, while in freestyle wrestling attacks with one's own legs and against the opponent's legs are also permitted. Typical grips in Greco-Roman wrestling:
- The arm pull is a grip in standing combat, in which the wrestler pulls one arm of the opponent and thereby tears him down towards the mat. The basic technique is to pull your arm over your shoulder and get on your knees yourself to force the opponent onto the mat from a standing position. There are also several variations of the arm stroke.
- The head pull or head hip swing is similar to the arm pull, but here the head is clasped with one arm and a turning movement is carried out in order to bring the opponent onto the mat, usually from a standing position.
history
In 708 BC Wrestling was included in the ancient Olympic Games .
The first wrestling tournaments of modern times, including the first world championships and the Olympic wrestling tournament in Athens in 1896 , were held in the Greco-Roman style. Freestyle wrestling, which has its origins in Anglo-Saxon countries, did not become an Olympic discipline in St. Louis until 1904 .
In Europe, Hungary and Germany held the Greco-Roman style supremacy in the 1920s. From 1930 until World War II , wrestlers from Sweden and Finland were the best in the world. After World War II, Soviet wrestlers began to dominate both Greco-Roman and free styles. In addition, strongholds in the Greco-Roman style developed in other countries in Eastern and Southeastern Europe. Romania , Hungary and Yugoslavia should be mentioned here in particular .
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia remained the leading nation in the Greco-Roman style, but increasingly stronger wrestlers developed in the former states of the Soviet Union. Kazakhstan , Cuba , Turkey and South Korea mostly formed Russia's group of persecutors in the medal table at the turn of the millennium. Other former Soviet republics such as Azerbaijan , Armenia , Georgia and Ukraine are also established among the world's best. In general, the number of countries that can win medals in international tournaments has grown significantly. With Asia, (North) America and Europe there are three continents from which successful Greco wrestlers come.
