"READY STEADY TOKYO" Women's Wrestling Event
The wrestling competition for the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee's test event "READY STEADY TOKYO" took place from October 3rd to 5th at the actual venue, Makuhari Messe in Chiba City, with approximately 100 athletes from 12 countries participating.
The events featured six weight classes in women's freestyle wrestling. Japan fielded three athletes per weight class, primarily young competitors.
(Image ⓒ Fort Kishimoto)
Wrestling, practiced since the ancient Olympics, is considered one of humanity's oldest combat sports. In the modern era, it has been contested since the inaugural 1896 Athens Games, continuing except for the 1896 Paris Games. There are two styles: Greco-Roman, which prohibits attacks and defenses targeting the lower body, and freestyle, where the entire body can be used.
Long an exclusively male sport, women were added starting with the 2004 Athens Games (freestyle only). Competition by weight class eliminates unfairness based on physical stature.
Traditionally, Russia, the United States, Japan, and Turkey have been strong in wrestling. Japan, in particular, has dominated women's wrestling, winning four of the six weight classes at the 2016 Rio Games.
For the Tokyo 2020 Games, high hopes for medals rest on gold medalists Eri Tosaka, Risako Kawai, Sara Dose, and others.
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