News Page
1/23/2004
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
The January 2004 TheMat.com North American Women’s College Wrestling Rankings for teams and individuals has been released.
Simon Fraser Univ. of British Columbia, Canada retained the top ranking in North America. The team is coached by Mike Jones, and received four of the five first place votes.
In fact, the top four teams remained the same from the December ranking.
Ranked No. 2 is the Univ. of Calgary, from Alberta, Canada. Calgary is coached by Mitch Ostberg. Calgary received one first place vote.
Cumberland College, a NAIA school in Kentucky, coached by Kip Flanik, held its No. 3 ranking once again.
Missouri Valley College, an NAIA school coached by Carl Murphree, earned the No. 4 ranking in North America.
Six of the top 10 teams were from Canada, and four were from the United States. Rounding out the Top 10 were No. 5 McMaster Univ., No. 6. Brock Univ., No. 7 Univ. of Saskatchewan, No. 8 Menlo College, No. 9 Pacific Univ. and No. 10 Lakehead Univ.,
A total of 20 teams were ranked, and other teams receiving votes were also recognized. The entire poll can be found at:
http://themat.com/rankings/default.asp?CategoryID=108&RankingID=637
The team ranking poll is elected by a panel of women’s college coaches, three from Canada and two from the United States. Eligible for ranking are college varsity and club women’s wrestling programs.
The individual rankings changed considerably, as some college wrestlers returned to school after the holidays, and many athletes changed weight classes because of the Olympic year.
Canadian athletes were ranked No. 1 in five weight divisions, with three U.S. wrestlers holding No. 1 rankings. This is the most U.S. top-ranked athletes this season in the North American college rankings.
The three U.S. No. 1 athletes are Mary Kelly of MacMurray at 48 kg (105.5 lbs.), Alaina Berube of Cumberland College at 59 kg (130 lbs.) and Toccara Montgomery of Cumberland College at 72 kg (158.5 lbs.)
The Canadian college athletes with No. 1 rankings are Sara White of Simon Fraser at 51 kg (112.25 lbs.), Heather Sweezey of Brock at 55 kg (121 lbs.), Tara Hedican of Guelph at 63 kg (138.75 lbs.), Martine Dugunier of Concordia at 67 kg/147.5 lbs and Pamela Wilson of McMaster at 80 kg (176 lbs.)
The January 2004 North American Women’s College Individual rankings can be found at:
http://themat.com/rankings/default.asp?CategoryID=108&RankingID=641
The individual rankings are selected by TheMat.com, with assistance from coaches. Athletes who are considered for ranking are eligible full-time college students, and are members of their college women’s varsity or club program, or a member of their college men’s wrestling team.
Women’s wrestling is a growing sport in Canada and the United States on the college level. The International Olympic Committee has named women’s freestyle wrestling as the newest sport added to the Summer Olympic Games program. The United States and Canada are among the most successful women’s wrestling nations in the world.
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George, McMann and Montgomery remain in medal contention at Olympic Testing Event in Athens, Greece
1/23/2004
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
Three of the four U.S. women wrestlers entered in the Olympic Testing Event in Athens, Greece have won their matches and advanced into medal contention in the competition, which began on Friday, January 23.
The event is being held to test the wrestling venue which will house the Olympic wrestling competition this summer at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympic Games. The event features many of the greatest women wrestlers in the world, the athletes who are medal hopefuls for the first women’s wrestling event in Olympic history this summer.
Moving out of their pool competitions for the United States are Tina George (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) at 55 kg/121 lbs., Sara McMann (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) at 63 kg/138.75 lbs., and Toccara Montgomery (Cleveland, Ohio/New York AC) at 72 kg/158.5 lbs. All three were World silver medalists in 2003 at their respective weight classes.
George won two matches in her pool, defeating Olga Krygina of Ukraine, 4-2 and Briget Stern of Austria, 4-0. George advances to the quarterfinal round, where she will wrestle Dilleta Giampiccolo of Italy.
Giampiccola defeated George in the semifinals of the 2003 New York Athletic Club Christmas International in December. George has won a silver medal at the World Championships for two straight years.
McMann advanced from a pool of four athletes. She pinned 2003 World silver medallist Ewelina Pruszko of Poland in the opening match, then scored a 10-0 technical fall over Nadia Valkova of Bulgaria. The score of her match with Eri Sakamoto of Japan was not available at press time.
McMann will face Aurora Fajardo of Spain in the semifinals on Saturday.
Montgomery was also dominant in her pool competition, winning three matches handily. She pinned Stanka Zlateva of Bulgaria and Kataryna Juzczak of Italy, and scored a technical fall over Dan Li of China.
Montgomery will face five-time World Champion Kyoko Hamaguchi of Japan in the semifinals. Hamaguchi defeated Montgomery in the finals of the 2003 World Championships in New York City. Montgomery avenged that loss with a victory over Hamaguchi in the World Cup in Tokyo, Japan in October. Montgomery is a two-time World silver medalist (2001, 2003).
The only U.S. wrestler defeated in the pool competition and out of medal contention is two-time World silver medalist Patricia Miranda (Colorado Springs, Colo./Dave Schultz WC) at 48 kg/105.5 lbs.
Miranda was in a pool of four athletes, and won her first two bouts. She edged Yuliya Voitova of Ukraine, 5-3 and pinned Sara Sanchez of Spain. She was defeated by 2003 World Champion Chiharu Icho of Japan, 3-1, and Icho advanced to the medal rounds. Icho won her World title at 51 kg/112.25 lbs., and has dropped down to this division to compete at a weight class in the Olympic Games. Miranda is a two-time World silver medalist, winning her medals in 2000 and 2003.
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McMann wins gold and U.S. women take three medals at Olympic Testing Event in Athens, Greece
1/24/2004
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
Sara McMann (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) claimed the individual gold medal at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. at the Olympic Testing Event in Athens, Greece, Saturday, January 24.
U.S. wrestlers won three medals in the tournament out of the four weight classes contested. Winning the silver medal at 55 kg/121 lbs was Tina George (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army). Capturing the bronze medal at 72 kg/158.5 lbs was Toccara Montgomery (Cleveland, Ohio/New York AC).
The event is being held to test the venue which will house the Olympic wrestling competition this summer at the 2004 Athens Summer Olympic Games. The event features many of the greatest women wrestlers in the world, the athletes who are medal hopefuls for the first women’s wrestling event in Olympic history this summer. The four weight classes contested in Athens this weekend are the four that will be contested at the Olympic Games.
“Pretty much everybody was here,” said USA Wrestling Women’s National Coach Terry Steiner. “We wrestled pretty well.”
McMann was dominant in her performance, winning both of her matches on Saturday by technical fall. In the semifinals, she defeated Aurora Fajardo of Spain by a 12-2 margin. In the gold-medal finals, McMann dominated Alena Kartashova of Russia, 12-1.
“Sara wrestled almost a perfect match in the finals,” said Steiner. “That woman is dangerous. Sara controlled the tie-ups. The girls at that weight don’t know how to deal with Sara’s strength. She stayed focused, too, when the Russian hit her during the finals match.”
George won two matches against very tough opponents to qualify for the finals, both athletes who had recently defeated her in matches. In the quarterfinals, George stopped Diletta Giampiccola of Italy, 6-4. In the semifinals, George defeated Tonya Verbeek of Canada, 5-0.
In the gold-medal finals, George was beaten by Yanshi Gao of China, 4-0. Gao scored all of her points from one throw, but George could not score at all.
“Tina had some great matches,” said Steiner. “She had a great match with the Italian athlete who beat her in New York City. She got her offense going, and did a great job of controlling the match by controlling the ties. She also got her offense going against Verbeek. Against the Chinese woman, it was an even match. We let her control the two-on-one too much, and she got a big move from it. Tina never got going in that match. Tina fought hard every match, and wrestled smart tactically.”
Montgomery lost to five-time World Champion Kyoko Hamaguchi of Japan in the semifinals, 4-3. It was a very close match in which Montgomery led at one point, but Hamaguchi scored the final point. The two athletes are developing a strong rivalry, having split a pair of matches this past fall at the World Championships and World Cup.
In the bronze medal match, Montgomery controlled Svetlana Martynenko of Russia, 6-1.
“Toccara is right there. She is the most feared person at that weight by the other wrestlers,” said Steiner. “We have to wrestle better technically in some positions. If she does that, she will be unstoppable.”
The only U.S. wrestler not to medal was two-time World silver medalist Patricia Miranda (Colorado Springs, Colo./Dave Schultz WC) at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. Miranda was beaten in her pool competition on Friday by 2003 World Champion Chiharu Icho of Japan. Miranda placed fifth in the competition.
“Patricia gave 100%. She fought hard by she was not executing against Icho,” said Steiner. “We put on heat and pressure, but didn’t score points. It was a great effort, as usual, for Patricia.”
All four of the U.S. women wrestlers at this event were 2003 World silver medalists in New York City. Miranda, George and Montgomery have all won two career World silver medals.
Steiner was very impressed with the venue that will house the wrestling at the Olympic Games, calling it first-rate in many ways.
“It is a magnificent place, and it is not even done yet,” said Steiner. “With all the bells and whistles, it will be even better. It is a comfortable setting for the athletes.”
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Marano vs. Pruszko is the new “Bout of the Week” on USA Wrestling Members-Only website
1/24/2004
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
USA Wrestling has updated its new “Bout of the Week” on USA Wrestling's Members-Only website.
The featured match this week will be the gold-medal finals of the 2003 World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling featuring Kristie Marano of the United States and Ewelina Pruszko of Poland at 67 kg/147.5 lbs. in women’s freestyle. The event was held in Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Witness Marano in her gold-medal performance, her second career World gold medal and a record seventh Women’s World medal for her career.
Marano has won World medals than any U.S. female athlete, an amazing seven medals in seven World Championships appearances. She won her first World medal, a silver, as a high school student in New York. Now, at the age of 24, she has more World medals than any other U.S. women’s wrestling star (two golds, four silvers, one bronze). Marano has a unique style, which includes many throws learned in judo and Greco-Roman wrestling, along with a strong foundation of wrestling basics. Coaches marvel at the mental toughness of this athlete, who seems to be at her best at the most important events.
Pruszko has faced Marano two straight years in a medal match at the World Championships. In the 2002 World meet in Greece, Marano defeated Pruszko in the World bronze-medal bout. Pruszko burst onto the international women’s scene in 1998, winning the Junior World title and the Senior European title. She has placed in the top 10 of her weight class in all five Senior World Championships that she has entered.
This popular feature will be changed on a regular basis, allowing members to enjoy many of the greatest matches in wrestling history.
Moving into the archived section of Bouts of the Week was last week’s 1999 Stephen Neal vs. Andrei Shumilin men’s freestyle match. Also in the archives is the first posting since the redesign of the Members-Only page was the 2003 Cael Sanderson vs. Sajid Sajidov men’s freestyle match. Each Bout of the Week will be placed in this archive, allowing members access to numerous other outstanding bouts.
USA Wrestling has done a complete redesign and expansion of its Members-Only website, providing all USA Wrestling members with an impressive new resource stocked with interactive learning tools and entertaining features.
This on-line resource is available free of charge only to current members of USA Wrestling, one of the most exciting benefits of joining the organization.
USA Wrestling members will only need to enter the number from their 2003-04 membership card into an entry form, and the exciting new Members-Only page will become available to them.
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Japan’s HAMAGUCHI is the winner of first day’s "derby"
Athens, 23 January 2004
The Women’s Wrestling International Tournament, organised by ATHENS 2004 as part of the Sport Events in preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games, started today at the Ano Liossia Olympic Indoor Hall, with the participation of 87 athletes from 17 countries.
Despite adverse weather conditions due to snowfall, ice and sub-zero temperatures in the broader Ano Liossia area, ATHENS 2004 staff and volunteers arrived early to take up their positions and the competition schedule started at 09.30 as planned. Everything went smoothly except for a small hitch at around 19.05, when there was a three-minute power failure, which resulted from problems in power supply caused by the adverse weather conditions. However, power was up again almost immediately, and the matches were continued and finished as scheduled.
The athletes put in their best performance, and the “daring” Wrestling fans who made their way to the Olympic Hall in Ano Liossia enjoyed some thrilling matches by the women athletes, who might be lacking in muscle strength in relation to the men, but are certainly not lacking in determination, passion, and remarkable technique.
Today’s morning and evening schedule consisted of the preliminaries in all four Olympic categories (48, 55, 63 and 72 kg), the high point of the day being of course the showdown between Japan’s Kyoko HAMAGUCHI and Canada’s Christine NORDHAGEN-VIERLING in the 72 kg category. Both are among the world’s top athletes, as HAMAGUCHI has won twice the World Championship title in the 72 kg category and three times in the 75 kg category, while NORDHAGEN-VIERLING is three times World Champion in the 68 kg, twice in the 70 kg and once in the 75 kg categories. The battle fought between the two was fascinating, with Kyoko HAMAGUCHI winning the match just before the end of the six minutes, as she managed, making use of exceptional technique, to throw her opponent onto her back, finally winning the match with a fall immediately announced by the referee.
There was a last minute change in the Greek team, as in the 63 kg category Stavroula ZYGOURI, who was unable to compete due to injury, was replaced by Agapi CHRISTODOULAKI. The Greek wrestlers were not gain distinction in the competitions, as none of them made it to the semi-finals. In the 48 kg category Katerina POUMPOURIDOU lost by a fall (in 1’54’’) to Poland’s Iwona SADOWSKA. In the afternoon, although she presented herself on the mat, she did not compete against Russia’s Lorisa OORZHAK. Fani PSATHA, fourth in the 2003 World Championships, won her match against Bulgaria’s Kamelia TZEKOVA (as the latter did not appear on the mat). This, however, did not result in any benefit, as she lost twice in the morning: to France’s Angelique BERTHENET, by a fall in 5’53’’, and later to Canada’s Lindsay BELISLE, who won on technical superiority (10-0) in 3’53’’.
In the 55 kg category Konstantina-Katerina TSIMPANAKOU put in an impressive performance against Hungary’s Kitti GODO, winning her with 4-3. In the morning, the Volos-born champion had managed to defeat Germany’s Christina OERTLI (4-2), but was later defeated by the 2002 World Championship holder (in the 51 kg) Sofia POUMPOURIDOU, with 4-0. However, prior to this match POUMPOUIDOU had lost to Hungary’s Kitti GODO by a fall (in 2’03’’) and, after losing the afternoon’s match to Germany’s Christina OERTLI (7-5), she failed to qualify for the semi-finals.
In the 63 kg category, Agapi CHRISTODOULAKI lost by 7-0 to Australia’s Nikola HARTMAN DUENSER and lost on technical superiority (11-0) to Russia’s Alena KARTASHOVA (in 4’19’’). Alexandra PANAGOPOULOU lost on technical superiority (12-2 in 3’35’’) to Spain’s Aurora FAJARDO, while in the afternoon session she did not compete against Italy’s Sabrina ESPOSITO and Hungary’s Manika SZERENCSE and was thus eliminated from the rest of the competitions. In the same category, Agapi CHRISTODOULAKI was also disqualified, after losing on technical superiority (11-0) to Russia’s Alena KARTASHOVA in 4’19’’.
The match between Alexia KOURTELESI and Japan’s Kyoko HAMAGUCHI for the preliminaries in the 72 kg category was reminiscent of David being pitted against Goliath. In this particular case, however, the winner was the stronger of the two, that is to say the unbeatable world champion, HAMAGUCHI, who defeated her opponent by a fall in just 52 seconds! In her second match, KOURTELESI lost on technical superiority (12-0) in 1’04’’ to Canada’s world champion Christine NORDHAGEN and was disqualified. Katerina SIAVOU suffered a similar fate, losing in 4’58’’ to Germany’s Anita SCHAETZLE (technical superiority, 11-1) and Poland’s Anna WAWRZYCKA (3-1).
FLASH QUOTES
SCHAETZLE Anita (GERMANY):
On her performance: “I am very pleased with my performance.”
On the Olympic Venue: “It is fine.”
KOURTELESI Alexia (GREECE):
On her performance: “I knew it was going to be a very difficult match, because of my opponents, but t was a very good experience. I believe that HAMAGUCHI will win the gold medal in this Event”.
On the Olympic Venue: “Everything is magnificent! This is a very functional Venue. I also was here last weekend, competing in the Judo Sport Event, and I am really impressed with the progress of the works in the Venue”.
On the Sport Event: “Both the Judo and Wrestling Events are very good”.
MONTGOMERY Toccara (USA):
On her performance: “I could do better. In the first match I felt somewhat numb because of the cold. But this match was a better one”.
On the Olympic Venue: “I like the Venue. All areas are very well configured and functional”.
On the Sport Event: “The organisation is very good”.
On her qualification for the Olympic Games: “Competing for the Olympic Games is a tremendous feeling. I have a lot of stress, because I don’t know yet if I will be on the Olympic Team, but I believe everything is going to be fine”.
MCNAMM Sara (USA):
On her performance: “I am pleased with my performance. It was a very good match”.
On the Olympic Venue: “It is very nice, and its design is good enough – I only wish it could be more warm!”
On the Event: “Everything is going well in the Sport Event. Everybody is very polite, and we have had no problems so far”.
GOMIS Anna (FRANCE):
On her performance: “I am very pleased with my performance in the match”.
On the Venue: “It is a very beautiful Venue”.
ICHO Chiharu (JAPAN):
On her performance: “At 51 kg, I am too heavy for this category (48kg). When my opponent (MIRANDA Patricia) won one point, I felt a lot of pressure, but fortunately I won”.
On the next match: “I am afraid of tomorrow’s match, because I have to face No 1!”
MIRANDA Patricia (USA):
On her performance: “I am very disappointed. I made a lot of mistakes, but I am learning from them…”
POUMPOURIDOU Sofia (GREECE):
On her performance: “I don’t know what to say! I am very disappointed with my disqualification. I need to work more on my leg technique, and this is why I changed my training programme recently”.
On the Olympic Games: “More than anything else, I want to be in a good state of mind. Everything else can be achieved through patience and a strong will. I have to find what is going wrong with my state of mind and correct it”.
On her category: “I recently changed category, and this is why I don’t feel very well in these kilos. After the Olympic Games, I think I will move back to my original category”.
TSIMPANAKOU Konstantina (GREECE):
On the match: “It was a very difficult match. Unfortunately, due to many injuries, I did not succeed in following my programme strictly. This is why I feel very pleased to have won”.
NORDHAGEN Christine (CANADA):
On her performance: “I am disappointed, as I was eliminated from the rest of the Event”.
On the Olympic Venue: “When it will be finished, it will be a unique ‘Wrestling Palace’”.
On the Olympic Games: “You are ready to host very good Games.”
On the Sport Event: “Everything is excellent!”
The official website of the ATHENS 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games
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Women’s premiere at tomorrow’s Wrestling Sport Event
Athens, 22 January 2004
“Let no married woman enter”. Thus spoke the staff bearers guarding the Olympic altar in classical times. And so women were debarred from the Stadium at Ancient Olympia. A lot of water has passed under the bridges since then, of course. Today, not only women do “enter” the stadiums; they also compete in most of the sports on the Olympic programme. Wrestling used to be one of the last Olympic bastions of male dominance. The fort has now fallen; and in 2004 women will appear for the first time on the Olympic mat, at the Athens Games.
The first pictures from women’s wrestling came out in France in 1983. The first women’s world championships were in 1987, in the city of Lørenskog, Norway. A year later the first European Championships were hosted in Dijon, France.
The countdown to the Women’s Olympic debut in wrestling begins tomorrow (Friday), with the start of the International Tournament in the new Olympic Hall at Ano Liossia as part of the OCOG ATHENS 2004 Sport Events.
From tomorrow to Sunday evening, top women wrestlers will be competing on the mat at the Ano Liossia Olympic Hall. This promises some exciting moments. Most of the athletes, coaches and escorts have described the venue as perfect. The venue is just one more item in the legacy of the Olympic Games to Greek sport and society in general. Ano Liossia now has one of the best gyms in the world. Besides providing a home for Wrestling and Judo, it will house a host of other events, and all this will upgrade the surrounding area.
Competing in the Wrestling Sport Event are 96 athletes from 16 countries (Austria, Bulgaria, China, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Moldavia, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Hungary and the USA). The 2002 world champion Sofia POUBOURIDOU will lead the Greek contingent in the 55 kilo category. Also taking part (in the 48 kilo) will be Fani PSATHA, fourth in the 2003 World Championship. The details of the Greek team are:
Category Athletes
48 kilo Fani PSATHA, Katerina POUBOURIDOU
51 kilo Zoe ATHANASIADOU, Myrsini KOLONI
55 kilo Sofia POUBOURIDOU, Konstantina-Katerina TSIBANAKOU
59 kilo ?onstantina BOUGLA, Evgenia STAMATAKOU
63 kilo Stavroula ZYGOURI, Alexandra PANAGOPOULOU
67 kilo Sofia KAMPANARI, Irene DADOUTI
72 kilo Katerina SIAVOU, Alexia KOURTELESI
Of the foreign athletes, outstanding for one reason or another are Germany’s 21-year-old Brigitte WAGNER (48 kilo), who was world champion in 2002 and European champion in 2003, and four Japanese world champions in 2003, Chiharu ICHO (51 kilo), Saori YOSHIDA (55 kilo), Kaori ICHO (63 kilo) and Kyoko HAMAGUCHI (72 kilo).
The Sport Event Competition Schedule
Friday 23 January 2004 – Start time 09:30
Preliminaries in the 48 kilo, 55 kilo, 63 kilo, 72 kilo.
Friday 23 January 2004 – Start time 17:30
Preliminaries in the 48 kilo, 55 kilo, 63 kilo, 72 kilo
Saturday 24 January 2004 – Start time 09:30
Preliminaries / Semi-finals in the 48 kilo, 55 kilo, 63 kilo, 72 kilo
Preliminaries in the 51 kilo, 59 kilo, 67 kilo.
Saturday 24 January 2004 – Start time 17:30
Preliminaries in the 51 kilo, 59 kilo, 67 kilo.
Finals in the 51 kilo, 59 kilo, 67 kilo
Sunday 25 January 2004 – Start time 09:30
Preliminaries/Semi-finals in the 51 kilo, 59 kilo, 67 kilo
Sunday 25 January 2004 – Start time 18:00
Finals in the 51 kilo, 59 kilo, 67 kilo
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Women Wrestlers Excited About Olympic Test
LISA ORKIN 1/23/04
Associated Press
ANO LIOSSIA, Greece - Even though the heating system in the main competition area was not working, women wrestlers were thrilled to make Olympic history Friday.
The wrestlers are taking part in a three-day test event for the Athens Games, competing in the venue where their sport will be introduced at the Olympics for the first time.
"Naturally, I think it's awesome seeing as I am a woman and a wrestler," said Canadian Lyndsay Belisle, who competes in the 105.6-pound division. "It's sort of like making history."
There is no guarantee the sport will stay in Olympic competition at the 2008 Games in Beijing because the International Olympic Committee is under pressure to reduce the number of sports.
The test is being closely watched.
"To know that I'm going to be going and representing my entire country and the whole effort of all of the athletes, that does make me a little awe-struck," American Sara McMann said.
Many athletes complained about the freezing temperatures outside the venue, which is located about 12 miles north of central Athens, in the middle a run-down area known to most Athenians for its giant landfill and dump scavengers.
The silver disc-shaped venue seats 9,300 people. It was built near the fault line of a 1999 earthquake that killed 143 people.
"The venue itself is very nice aesthetically," American Patricia Miranda said. "It's a little cold right now, but I am sure it won't be in the summer."
U.S. coach Terry Steiner called the venue "spectacular."
"I think they looked at the athletes and teams and what they really wanted and needed for a peak performance," Steiner said of the locker rooms, which include beds.
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Wrestling: Countdown to Women's Olympic Debut
23 January 2004
The countdown to women's Olympic debut in wrestling begins today, Friday 23 January 2004, with the start of the International Tournament in the new Olympic Hall in Ano Liossia as part of the Athens 2004 Sport Events.
Ninety-six athletes from 16 countries
This weekend, top women wrestlers will be competing on the mat at the Ano Liossia Olympic Hall. This promises some exciting moments. Competing in the Wrestling Sport Event are 96 athletes from 16 countries (Austria, Bulgaria, China, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Moldavia, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine and the USA).
Perfect venue
Most of the athletes, coaches and escorts have described the venue as perfect. The venue is just one more item in the legacy of the Olympic Games to Greek sport and society in general. Besides providing a home for wrestling and judo, it will house a host of other events, and all this will upgrade the surrounding area.
First pictures in 1983
The first pictures of women's wrestling came out in France in 1983. The first women’s World Championships were in 1987, in the city of Lørenskog, Norway. A year later the first European Championships were hosted in Dijon, France.