Wrestling at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Wrestling
at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad
VenueCarioca Arena 2
Dates14–21 August 2016
No. of events18
Competitors347 from 66 nations
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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[1] and Greco-Roman,[2] 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.

Around 344 wrestlers competed in 18 events at the 2016 Summer Olympics. In September 2013, a new change to the rules and guidelines of the sport had been instituted and overhauled by the International Olympic Committee and FILA (now known as the United World Wrestling). A single Olympic weight class was removed each from the men's freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling to add two more weights for the women.[3][4] Other changes in wrestling at these Games also featured a single-round tournament within a six-minute limit, instead of two-round or tiebreaker.

  1. ^ "The Olympic Games: Freestyle Wrestling". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  2. ^ "The Olympic Games: Greco-Roman Wrestling". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 30 December 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  3. ^ "FILA announces new weight classes". ESPN. Associated Press. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  4. ^ Longman, Jere (8 September 2013). "Wrestling, With Revamped Rules, Returns to Summer Games". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 March 2015.