Freestyle wrestling was taken off the Olympic schedule for the 1912 Games but made a return in the 1920 edition. It has been a permanent fixture in the Olympics calendar since then but it was only at the Athens 2004 Games that women’s freestyle wrestling was introduced. Greco Roman, meanwhile, is still exclusively a men’s event.

Freestyle is one of two wrestling styles contested in the Olympic Games. It origins from catch-as-catch-can wrestling, and also mixes Judo and Sambo techniques. This fighting style appeared in Great Britain and the United States in the first place.

Freestyle wrestling made its debut a few years later at the St. Louis 1904 Games and has featured on the Olympic programme ever since the Antwerp 1920 Games. Women’s freestyle wrestling has been on the Olympic programme since the Athens 2004 Games. Athletes representing the Soviet Union have won 116 medals at the Games, including 62 golds.