Greco Roman vs. Freestyle Wrestling

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Greco-Roman Wrestling vs. Freestyle Wrestling Diane E George COMM/155 January 15, 2012 Greco-Roman Wrestling vs. Freestyle Wrestling Olympic wrestlers must choose their style to become a champion. If a wrestler wants to wrestle in the Olympics, he would have to pick one of the two styles; Greco-Roman or Freestyle. Even though Greco-Roman has been around longer, Freestyle is the choice of many Americans. Greco-Roman was the only style offered to wrestlers as far back as 776 B.C., the first recorded Olympics in Olympia, Greece. Greco-Roman wrestling is the most popular style in Europe today. European countries have produced many Olympic and World champions in this style. The first name for the Greek style of wrestling was called Pale, later renamed Greco-Roman. There are two styles in the Olympics; most of the rules for both styles are practically impossible to tell apart. The only variation between the two styles is the moves. A Greco-Roman wrestler cannot strike beneath the waist. The wrestlers cannot use their own legs to trip, pick up, or implement other holds. In Freestyle, a wrestler can use his arms and legs to execute holds. These types of moves in Greco-Roman are prohibited until Freestyle was introduced. Freestyle made its Olympic debut at the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri. This style offered athletes a choice as to which of the two styles they would train and compete in. Unlike Greco-Roman wrestling, a wrestler can touch and attack all of the body. Both styles use the same point system for moves and certain throws. For example, if a wrestler pins an opponent, he would be awarded five points, and the match would be over. All wrestling matches have three periods, each period is two minutes long with a 30-second rest in between. Wrestlers are required to be the victor in two of the three periods to win a match. Both

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