There are eight weight classes in both forms of wrestling. These are: 54,
58, 63, 69, 76, 85, 97 and 130kg. The 20 wrestlers in each class will be
divided randomly into six pools, two of four men and four of three. Those
who win in a pool of four progress to semi-finals, while the winners of
pools of three make a quarter-final until two finalists are left, one from
each path, direct semi or semi via a quarter-final. The losing
semi-finalists wrestle for the bronze medal.
Each bout has two three-minute rounds, with 30-second breaks in between. If
three minutes of extra time fails to decide a tie, the judges appoint a
winner on technical merit.
The padded square mat 12 metres square and 4cms thick is being doctored in
Sydney, each corner cut to form an octagon, presumably to make the venue
prettier. Inside the mat, a circle nine metres in diameter forms the competition
area split into three; the yellow centre is divided into a central circle
one metre in diameter defined by a red border marks the zone in which the bout
starts and resumes, and a circle seven metres in diameter where most of the action
takes place, while the outer circle one metre wide is red and marks the "passivity
zone". The area of the mat beyond the yellow and red is blue, 1.5 metres wide and
known the "protection area".
Where Greco-Roman wrestlers are prohibited from using or attacking the legs
and rely instead on upper-body strength to throw and lift with, freestyle
wrestlers are allowed to employ single-leg and double-leg tackles.
The aim in both forms of wrestling is to pin your rival's shoulder to the
mat and hold him there. If you can, you win outright. If not, points are
scored for various other manoeuvres until one wrestler either gets to ten
for a "technical superiority" victory or has more points than the other
when time is up, which is called a "technical points" victory.
Points are awarded by the referee and confirmed or altered by the judge of
"mat chairman". If the score is tied or has failed to exceed three when
time is up, three minutes of extra time is given, beyond which ties are
decided on majority vote of the judges.
Among holds, throws and manoeuvres that score points are:
1 point: a takedown, in which one opponent floors the other and lands
behind him to be in total control
2 points: flooring an opponent so that his back faces the mat at less than
a right angle
3 points: the same move as merits 2 points but holding that position for 5
seconds
3 points: flooring an opponent and getting him in a danger position (5sec
hold) in one move
5 points: various strenuous moves such as throwing an opponent in the air or
performing a "grand amplitude", in which an opponent's centre of gravity is
higher than that of the wrestler doing the throwing.
