Taking down gender inequality: Women’s Olympic Wrestling
What does it take to become a major Olympic wrestler? The stats, records and successful women.
Wrestling is recognized as one of the world’s oldest sports — a sheer battle of both will and skill between two competitors to pin or throw their rival to the mat. Wrestling was featured as a competitive sport for the first time in the ancient Olympic Games in 708BC in Greece. Though wrestling tournaments and matches for women, at the Olympics, in particular, took a long time to become a reality. Freestyle and Greco-Roman, the styles of wrestling at the Olympics, have long been thought to have too much aggression for a woman to display. Executing single and double-leg takedowns or the sprawling defence are standard moves in wrestling that were all once believed to be moves that women cannot and should not be subjected to in a competition. The campaigns for gender equality for female wrestlers were longer and tougher than most other attempts at gender equality in modern society. How the world viewed women participating in amateur wrestling is an example of sports mirroring life. Before the first female wrestler and prior to the first women’s wrestling competition in 1987, women were considered inappropriate to wrestle.
Wrestling in the Olympics is fought on an orbicular mat nine metres in diameter. Bouts last for two periods of three minutes with thirty-second breaks. To win, a wrestler has to tie down both shoulders of their challenger to the mat for one second. This is called a “fall.” If no fall is acquired throughout the bout, then the judgement is based on points granted to the wrestlers for settling their rival at a disadvantage. In Greco-Roman wrestling, the contest may also cease when there is an eight-point difference. In freestyle, a ten-point difference is required to stop a fight.
In Greco-Roman wrestling, the wrestlers use only their arms and upper bodies to undertake their rival and can only hold those same parts of their challenger. While freestyle wrestling, as the name implies, is a much more open form of wrestling in which wrestlers also use their legs and may hold opponents above or below the waist. Greco-Roman wrestling includes lots of prolific and dynamic wrestling techniques, such as throwing the opponent by handling the upper body, not using the lower body. While freestyle wrestling is based on overpowering a foe through leg strikes, throws, and counter shielding methods.
Freestyle wrestling for men was first introduced to the Olympics in 1904. There have been 100 years between the first international competition in wrestling for men until the sport “allowed” women to compete at the Olympics in Athens in 2004. The competition for women was classified in the following weight categories by United World Wrestling (UWW): flyweight (48–50 kg), bantamweight (53 kg), lightweight (55–57 kg), middleweight (62 kg), light heavyweight (69 kg), and heavyweight (73–76 kg). In 1987, only eight countries participated in the first Women’s World Championships of Wrestling. Fast forward, and now women wrestlers from over 100 countries are participating in Summer Olympics competitions.
Back in February 2013, there was a dark period in the sport of wrestling for both men and women. When the IOC voted to eliminate wrestling from the program entirely starting with the 2020 Olympics. But a change in the leadership of FILA, which has since become UWW, has reverted the move and voted in favour of wrestling in the Olympics. This resulted in more competitions for women in wrestling and equality of the rules. Thus, wrestling was reinstated to the Olympic program and will be again included in the Tokyo games.
Since the addition of wrestling to the Olympics as a sport, the progress and advancement of women have been a challenge. Today, women comprise some of the most talented athletes in the sport of wrestling. Several nations have risen as powerhouses — Japan, USA, China, and Canada are just some countries poised for a medal at the Tokyo Summer Olympics. Here is a sneak peek at these countries’ heroines and medal hopefuls for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
When it comes to women’s wrestling at the Olympics, Japan has owned the pedestal. Japan’s dominance in female wrestling internationally is well documented, almost as if the Japanese invented the sport. Saori Yoshida and Kaori Icho are two names that are known to have dominated women’s wrestling. Yoshida started wrestling at around the age of five under the guidance and coaching of her father, a former Japanese national champion. Competing and being successful in wrestling was certainly aided by the fact that her father built a dojo on the family’s property. Icho did not have quite as much of a chosen path but has been grappling as a wrestler her entire life. Icho went thirteen years without taking a loss on the mat. Besides these two eminent starlets, Chiharu Icho, Hitomi Obara, Eri Tosaka, Risako Kawai, Kyoko Hamaguchi, and Sara Dosho also won many medals for Japan. Since the 2004 Athens Olympics, eleven gold medals, three silver medals, and two bronze medals in the Olympics are amazing achievements that put Japan at the odds in favour to win gold across the board at the Tokyo Summer Olympics.
From the land of the free and the home of the brave, there is one name that is synonymous with the US and women’s wrestling. Helen Maroulis has a decorated, albeit, brief history of competing in wrestling. She competed in three weight classes (53 kg, 55 kg, and 57 kg) and has won gold medals at the 2011 Pan American Games, the 2015 World Wrestling Championships, and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. Maroulis is also the first woman born in the United States to win gold in wrestling at the Olympics. Another big name in US wrestling is Adeline Gray, who has qualified for the Tokyo Games in the 78 kg weight class. Gray failed to reach the medal round in 2016 in Rio due to a shoulder injury that required surgery, which she did not reveal until after her early first-round exit. Gray’s recovery from shoulder surgery was as if she received a new shoulder during the procedure. Gray would move on to win world titles in 2018 and 2019. Besides Maroulis and Gray, Patricia Miranda, Clarissa Chun, Sara McMann, and Randi Miller have also emerged as hot contenders at several Olympics wrestling ties and managed to take some medals home. Since the 2004 Athens Olympics, the wrestlers from the USA have succeeded in winning one gold medal, one silver medal, and three bronze medals for their country.
Being the best at every sport, especially doing well at the Olympics, usually takes precedence over other matters for the Chinese athletes. In women’s wrestling, a sense of patriotism and pride in competing is fulfilled mostly by a win in competition over their long, storied rivals, Japan. From an early age, young girls were approached and guided in wrestling training habits, defeating the Japanese as the ultimate prize. Sun Yanan is who you should watch for at the Tokyo Summer Olympics. Sun left home at the age of fifteen to pursue a career in wrestling for the bright lights of the big city. After only three years of training, Sun was invited to join the national team in Beijing. Sun was crowned champion after three attempts and after finishing with a silver in the previous year before she won it all. Sun then dropped weight to focus on battling her Japanese competitors. Sun and China had grown tired of losing to Japan in women’s wrestling. Sun was eliminated in the semifinals of the 2016 Beijing Olympics, and now that she has qualified for the Tokyo Games, her efforts are besting the perceived Japanese favourites. Although she is far from long in the tooth, Sun is a wrestling veteran. Years of training and competing and missing out on life’s adventures, all for the love of winning in her sport. The R-word, retirement, was brought up to Sun and hinted that the Olympics in Tokyo might be her last one. Though the 2024 Olympics for Sun is not completely out of the question, she does not appear to foresee that in her wrestling future. Meanwhile, some prolific Chinese wrestlers also etched their names in the Olympics history books. Wang Xu, Wang Jiao, Xu Li, Jing Ruixue, and Zhang Fengliu are a few of the most decorated ladies who made a name for themselves by picking many medals on different occasions in the Olympics. So far, China has won two gold medals, two silver medals, and two bronze medals in the Olympics since 2004.
For Canadian women’s wrestling history, Carol Huynh is the answer to the trivia question of who won Canada’s first women’s gold medal in wrestling. Huynh placed first at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Huynh won a bronze at the London Olympic Games in 2012. The eleven-time national champion, two-time Pan Am Games champion, and 2010 Commonwealth Games Champion, has since retired after competing at the 2012 London Games. Huynh appears to have accomplished a lot for capturing the world’s attention in Canadian women’s wrestling, while Tonya Verbeek is Canada’s most decorated female wrestler. Verbeek received a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, a bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games, and a silver at the 2012 London Games. Verbeek medalled at all three of her Pan Am Games appearances. Verbeek won silver in 2003, bronze in 2007, and silver in 2011. Verbeek vigorously wrestled in the world championships, finishing with a bronze in 2005, another bronze finish in 2009, and silver in 2011. However, there is one name that fans of women’s wrestling should watch out for at the Tokyo Games, and that is Erica Wiebe. Wiebe burst onto the wrestling scene in 2007, competing in the Pan Am Games. Wiebe won silver in 2012 at the Commonwealth Games, then she took home the bronze medal at the 2013 Commonwealth Games. Wiebe won gold in her debut at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. She and the rest of Canada are keeping the faith for not only a medal but gold at the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2020. So far, these three gorgeous Canadian starlets from the world of wrestling have registered two gold medals, two silver medals, and two bronze medals for Canada.
In Tokyo 2020, ninety-six women will compete in the wrestling competition. Though there are many names to be registered, few of the top and hot contenders for the upcoming Tokyo fiesta worth mentioning are: (a) Sara Dosho, Eri Tosaka, and Risako Kawai of Japan — in the absence of Kaori Icho and Saori Yoshida, these three young ladies can mark a top-class performance in their home country. This new Japanese women’s wrestling team led by defending Olympic champions Risako Kawai, Eri Tosaka, and Sara Dosho, giving local fans plenty to cheer in the Makuhari Messe; (b) Helen Louise Maroulis of USA — this twenty-nine-year-old lady from Maryland is one of the biggest threats for her opponents in the Tokyo Olympics. She has already made her impact by taking the gold medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics and another gold in the 2017 world championship. Helen is a sure warning to many others; © Erica Elizabeth Wiebe of Canada — this thirty-one-year-old looks like a real test for opponents in the heavyweight category in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. She is best known for her amazing wrestling techniques in heavyweight bouts. Erica can create an overwhelming difference in the 2020 Tokyo Games; (d) Natalia Vorobieva of Russia — a new name on this list and one of the most decorated young wrestlers in the world right now. Natalia has succeeded on many occasions, and she has numerous medals against her name: a gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics, a silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics, two gold medals in world championships, and three gold medals in the European championships. This Russian wrestler is one of the hot favourites in Tokyo of many.
Even after being “allowed” to wrestle, women’s wrestling internationally sadly dragged its heels in the march of progress and equal treatment for women in wrestling. Many years before the world had finally had enough of the blatant gender inequality that emanated from the top right on down to the bottom. Long after competing for nearly two decades, there were still misconceptions that kept women from truly becoming liberated in the sport of wrestling. Currently, women’s wrestling is in a state of growth and flourishing internationally. To better develop homegrown talent, training facilities are opening at a rapid rate to keep pace with the surging interest in women’s wrestling in Europe, Asia, and America. The number of women pursuing male-dominated sports has exploded in recent years. No longer was it acceptable to prevent women from wrestling because of limitations placed on them, mostly by men.
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