9781422284308

INSIDE THE WORLD OF SPORTS AUTO RACING BASEBALL BASKETBALL EXTREME SPORTS FOOTBALL GOLF

GYMNASTICS ICE HOCKEY LACROSSE SOCCER TENNIS TRACK & FIELD WRESTLING

2

by Andrew Luke

mason crest

3

Mason Crest 450 Parkway Drive, Suite D Broomall, Pennsylvania 19008 (866) MCP-BOOK (toll free)

Copyright © 2017 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher.

First printing 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN (hardback) 978-1-4222-3468-6 ISBN (series) 978-1-4222-3455-6 ISBN (ebook) 978-1-4222-8430-8

Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file with the Library of Congress

QR CODES AND LINKS TO THIRD-PARTY CONTENT

You may gain access to certain third-party content (“Third-Party Sites”) by scanning and using the QR Codes that appear in this publication (the “QR Codes”). We do not operate or control in any respect any information, products, or services on such Third-Party Sites linked to by us via the QR Codes included in this publication, and we assume no responsibility for any materials you may access using the QR Codes. Your use of the QR Codes maybe subject to terms, limitations, or restrictions set forth in the applicable terms of use or otherwise established by the owners of the Third-Party Sites. Our linking to such Third-Party Sites via the QR Codes does not imply an endorsement or sponsorship of such Third-Party Sites, or the information, products, or services offered on or through the Third- Party Sites, nor does it imply an endorsement or sponsorship of this publication by the owners of such Third-Party Sites.

4

CONTENTS CHAPTER 1

Wrestling’s Greatest Moments . ................. 6 The History of Wrestling .......................... 16 The Rules of Wrestling: Greco-Roman . .... 24 The Rules of Wrestling: Freestyle . ........... 30 American Wrestling ................................. 36 Modern-Day Stars.................................... 42 Wrestling’s Greatest Athletes................... 52 The Future of Wrestling ........................... 64 Glossary of Wrestling Terms. ................... 70 Chronology.............................................. 74 Further Reading, Video Credits, & Internet Resources. .............................. 76 Index....................................................... 78

CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8

5

In America, the ancient sport of wrestling evolved from the freestyle version commonly practiced by Native American tribes to the folkstyle version unique to modern American scholastic wrestling. On the international stage, American

wrestlers have experienced great success in freestyle, with more limited success in the sport's other main version, Greco-Roman wrestling.

6

CHAPTER WRESTLING’S GREATEST MOMENTS Wrestling has been a part of the sports culture in America dating back to Colonial times. Its history in the old world dates back for thousands of years to ancient Greece and beyond. For a sport that has endured so long, the 21st century has been a challenging one, especially in the United States.

At the high school level, wrestling is still reasonably popular as a competitive sport. While not at a level with the top sports of football, basketball, or track and field in terms of number of kids who play, according to a survey by the National Federation of State High School Associations, wrestling still managed to grow by 5 percent in terms of total number of participants from 2006 to 2013. Football, basketball, and baseball all declined in growth in this period. However modest, growth of any kind is a good sign for the sport. That is why there is concern at the college level. In 1981, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) had 146 Division I wrestling programs. By 2014, only 77 remained. Many people blame this on Title IX, which is the original name for a law enacted in 1972 that requires federally funded schools to offer an equal number of sports programs for men and women. The theory is that because schools have to add women’s programs, they can no longer afford to fund men’s programs at the same level. The numbers, however, do not support this theory. In 2011, the NCAA reported adding more than 38,000 male student athletes over the previous 10 years. In that same span, it added just over 32,000 female student athletes. So there are not fewer male athletes, just fewer male sports. A better explanation for the Title IX theory can be found by looking at revenue in comparison to non-revenue sports. The two biggest revenue sports, football and basketball, take up 78 percent of Division I athletic budgets. When non-revenue sports like wrestling get cut, the money is more often funneled into football or basketball than into women’s sports. Colleges are choosing to cut wrestling more often than they are forced to. Outside the United States, however, the sport is celebrated in countries from Russia to Turkey and from Iran to Japan. It is the ultimate one-on-one competition of strength and agility and has produced some truly great moments on the mat. 7

GREATEST MOMENTS

Perfection for Gable

Iowa’s Dan Gable went into the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich with an impeccable reputation, an undefeated season, and an injured knee. The gold medal hopeful in the men’s lightweight (68 kg [150 lb]) division of the freestyle wrestling competition had torn the cartilage in his left knee earlier in the season, but he refused to have surgery because it would derail his training.

Gable’s decision to forgo the operation turned out to be the right one. Not only did Gable win all six of his matches to win the gold medal, but he also did not concede a single point to any of his six opponents. He beat the world’s best wrestlers on one leg despite the fact that the Soviet Union had vowed they would produce someone who could beat him at the Munich Games. He beat the Soviet Ruslan Ashraliev in the final match.

8

Watch the video instantly on your mobile device by scanning the QR code next to each video player!

In 1980, upstate New York native Jeff Blatnick made the U.S. Olympic wrestling team as a Greco-Roman wrestling super heavyweight (more than 100 kg [220 lbs]). The U.S. boycotted the Moscow Games for political reasons, however. Two years later, Blatnick found a bump on his neck, and he was soon diagnosed with cancer, specifically Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Undeterred, Blatnick went through treatment, including surgery to remove his spleen and appendix. After chemo and radiation therapy, the disease went into remission, and he went back to training in time to make the 1984 U.S. Olympic team. At the Los Angeles Games, Blatnick beat future world champion Tomas Johansson 3-0 in the final. Before 1984, the United States had never won an Olympic medal of any kind in Greco-Roman wrestling. His victory was so unexpected and triumphant that Blatnick was selected to carry the U.S. flag during the 1984 Olympic closing ceremonies. Blatnick Beats Cancer toWin Gold

9

GREATEST MOMENTS

Promise Realized

On the freestyle side of the 1984 Olympic wrestling program, Californian Dave Schultz was favored to win an Olympic gold medal. Unlike in Greco- Roman wrestling, Americans were very good at the freestyle discipline and ultimately won gold in seven of the 10 weight classes. The most triumphant of those wins came in the welterweight (74 kg [163 lb]) weight class, where Schultz fulfilled all the promise he had shown as a prep school wrestling phenom and three-time NCAA All-American. He came into the Los Angeles Games as the reigning world champion. He faced West Germany’s Martin Knosp, the 1982 world champion who had pinned all five of his opponents in the competition. This weight class was considered the toughest of the tournament, and after a tight opening period where he led 1-0, Schultz dominated the final period to win the gold 4-1.

10

Watch the video instantly on your mobile device by scanning the QR code next to each video player!

The Bear’s Streak

Four years later at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, another wrestler grabbed the spotlight and held it with an iron grip through three straight Olympic competitions. The super heavyweight Russian Aleksandr Karelin was one of the most dominant Greco-Roman wrestlers the sport has ever known. At the Soviet Championships in 1987, the Russian Bear, as Karelin was known, suffered the first senior-level loss of his career. Following this defeat, the remarkable streak began. Karelin went undefeated going into Seoul and swept through those games, not surrendering a point until his win in the gold medal match. He remained undefeated going into the 1992 Barcelona Games, where he again won gold, giving up just one point in the whole tournament. He won his unprecedented third straight gold medal in 1996 at Atlanta, where this time his opponents did not score a single point.

11

GREATEST MOMENTS

Double Gold

Cuba’s Filiberto Azcuy won the Olympic gold medal at the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, a remarkable feat for an athlete coming from a country where Greco-Roman wrestling was only just developing at the time. Azcuy surprised the welterweight (74 kg [163 lb]) class by outscoring opponents 38-10 on his way to claiming the gold. By 2000, Azcuy was a known quantity on the world wrestling stage. Yet at the Olympic Games in Sydney, he was able to win with ease, this time at 69 kg (152 lbs). It was a series of dominating performances by Azcuy, who surrendered just five points to opponents while scoring 40 in the tournament. He capped his remarkable run by having the gold medal match stopped due to a superior technical performance when he built an 11-0 lead in the first period over his outmatched opponent.

12

Watch the video instantly on your mobile device by scanning the QR code next to each video player!

GoliathVanquished

Azcuy’s performance in 2000 is not well remembered as it pales in comparison to what most experts feel is the biggest upset in the history of Greco-Roman wrestling—and one of the biggest in all of sports. Russian Aleksandr Karelin had won three straight gold medals from 1988 through 1996 in the super heavyweight (130 kg [287 lb]) class, but that was the tip of the iceberg that was the Russian Bear.

Karelin had dominated the sport, coming into Sydney unbeaten for 13 years and not having conceded a single point in six years. In the final he faced Rulon Gardner, a Wyoming farm boy who wrestled at the University of Nebraska. Karelin had beaten him 5-0 three years earlier in their only previous meeting. This time, Gardner fought off all his attacks and attempts to lift and throw him. His lone second-period point stood for the win and the historic upset.

13

GREATEST MOMENTS

Undefeated

For four years at Iowa State University (ISU), Salt Lake City’s Cael Sanderson was the 184 lb (84 kg) Karelin, in that he was unbeatable. Sanderson started his career at ISU by winning his first 99 matches to break Dan Gable’s consecutive wins record. That included a 39-0 freshman season, 40-0 sophomore season, and a 20-0 start to his junior year, with two NCAA titles as well. Sanderson did not stop there, rattling off another 20 wins to win a third straight NCAA title. During his senior season of 2001-2002, he garnered national attention as he extended the record with every victory. No one could match him, no matter the weight class, and Sanderson won another 40 matches to cap an unprecedented career with 159 straight wins. He finished his career wrestling at 197 lbs (89 kg) with a 12-4 win at the 2002 NCAA Championships in Albany, New York.

14