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104-705: The World Wrestling Championships are the Greco-Roman Wrestling (men's, since 1904) and Freestyle Wrestling (men's since 1951 and women's since 1987) World Championships organized by United World Wrestling (UWW). Updated after the 2024 World Wrestling Championships . The tables shows those who have won at least 5 gold medals at the World Championships. Boldface denotes active wrestlers and highest medal count among all wrestlers (including these who not included in these tables) per type. Greco-Roman Wrestling Greco-Roman wrestling

208-441: A Napoleonic soldier named Jean Exbrayat first developed the style. Exbrayat performed in fairs and called his style of wrestling "flat hand wrestling" to distinguish it from other forms of hand-to-hand combat that allowed striking. In 1848, Exbrayat established the rule that no holds below the waist were to be allowed; neither were painful holds or torsions that would hurt the opponent. "Flat hand wrestling" or "French wrestling" (as

312-461: A blacksmith 's apprentice. He joined the city's Athletic and Cycling Club, becoming an ardent cyclist and winning prizes, but also developed a keen interest in wrestling and weight lifting. The turning point in his life came in 1896 when another Estonian, Georg Lurich , a Greco-Roman wrestler and strongman, toured in Tallinn with a small troupe, challenging any and all comers. Hackenschmidt took up

416-505: A half nelson . Ten minutes later, the second bout began, which Hackenschmidt successfully finished in 11 minutes, 11 seconds. For the next 6 months, Hackenschmidt performed in music halls, after which he agreed to a rematch with "Terrible Turk" Madrali by catch wrestling rules to show the English public that the first victory was no accident. He took extra catch lessons from Jack Gromley at Shepherd's Bush . Hackenschmidt defeated Madrali at

520-459: A champion; The only title I have desired to be known by is simply my name – George Hackenschmidt". However, it was his matches with Gotch that ensured the growing popularity of catch-as-catch-can wrestling over the more laborious Greco-Roman that had previously dominated, and this is the style that enjoys popularity at all scholastic levels, private clubs and the Olympics to this day. Hackenschmidt

624-415: A fall, two of the three officials must agree (usually, the referee and either the judge or the mat chairman). In modern Greco-Roman wrestling, matches are contested over two three-minute halves with the winner being decided by fall, technical superiority or cumulative points across both periods (decision). The modern format emphasizes wrestling on the feet instead of mat wrestling (par terre); in contrast to

728-494: A first-class opponent, of whom he faced extremely few, he could be slow to adapt. Gotch reported after their first match that "every move the Russian made he telegraphed me in advance, which shows that he thinks too slowly". Hackenschmidt was also given to depression and irascibility. When he came to Chicago to train for his first match with Gotch, promoter Jack Curley had arranged for Hackenschmidt to work out every day before

832-411: A foe fully capable of defeating him. Finally, and worst of all, in both matches with Gotch, Hackenschmidt was accused of lack of heart. Referee Ed Smith, following the 1908 match, said that "deep down in my own mind, I decided that George Hackenschmidt had quit – quit quite cold, as a matter of fact – because there was nothing about Gotch's treatment of him in that first encounter that could by a stretch of

936-546: A form of schoolboy wrestling called "orthopale" (used by Plato to describe the standing part of wrestling) that did not mention any lower-body holds. Real ancient wrestling was quite different; see Greek wrestling . The British never really enjoyed Greco-Roman wrestling in comparison to its less restrictive counterpart, freestyle wrestling , and neither did the Americans, despite the efforts of William Muldoon (a successful New York barroom freestyle wrestler who served in

1040-565: A gold medal in freestyle in 1932. The United States Olympic delegation (exclusively wrestling freestyle before) first entered Greco-Roman wrestling in 1952 and has taken three gold medals, won by Steve Fraser and Jeffrey Blatnick in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, and by Rulon Gardner at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney , Australia. Currently, international Greco-Roman wrestling is divided into five main age categories: U15, U17 (Cadets), U20 (Juniors), Seniors U23, or Seniors. For men, there

1144-477: A grand amplitude throw that brings his opponent into the danger position, he is awarded the greatest number of points that can be scored in one instance. Also, a wrestler who takes the risk to briefly roll on the mat (with his shoulders in contact with the mat) could give a certain number of points to his opponent. Scoring can be accomplished in the following ways: Classification points are also awarded in an international wrestling tournament, which give most points to

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1248-410: A legendary bodybuilder as well as health addict, and a world champion wrestler central to a movement that was now increasingly popular. He spoke and published widely on a wide range of subjects, but most notably on health and fitness. His most popular book was the classic The Way To Live , the last words of which read, "Throughout my whole career I have never bothered as to whether I was a champion or not

1352-538: A match, which he usually never did. When Hackenschmidt took the stage, Lurich ran backstage. The next morning Lurich left Chemnitz. In March 1901, Hackenschmidt suffered the death of his mentor Krajewski, whom he considered his second father. On November 30, 1901, the World Championship of Wrestling opened at the Casino de Paris with 130 wrestlers. Hackenschmidt won first place, received two gold medals (for

1456-562: A naturalized French citizen in 1939, and then became a British subject in 1946. He lived with his French wife Rachel in South Norwood, London. He was a friend of the magician Harry Houdini and playwright George Bernard Shaw . As he aged, Hackenschmidt also expressed a high regard for his old opponent, Tom Jenkins, by then the wrestling coach at the US Military Academy at West Point . Hack visited Jenkins in 1939 and

1560-477: A noted author, speaker and philosopher. United States President Theodore Roosevelt , himself a proponent of physical culture and exercise, proclaimed, "If I wasn't president of the United States, I would like to be George Hackenschmidt". Hackenschmidt continued touring England and defeated the local favorites Tom Cannon , Tom Connors, Tom MacInerney, Jack Baldwin and Tom Clayton. However, when he defeated

1664-404: A paying public, which Hackenschmidt refused to do. Barred from the athletic club, he spent his time before the match either exercising in his room or taking morning and evening walks along Lake Michigan, but no serious workouts. The more depressed he got, the more difficult he was to work with, and this all worked against him because, for the first time in his professional career, Hackenschmidt faced

1768-447: A porterhouse-steak, and a whole Camembert cheese". Journalist Maurice Richardson commented that Hackenschmidt was a considerable meat eater during the height of his wrestling career and would eat steak and half a dozen eggs as a snack but did not eat tinned foods. Hackenschmidt is alleged to have written that he consumed eleven pints of milk a day for training. However, this was later disputed. Hackenschmidt told Atholl Oakeley that

1872-708: A prize to the tournament winner. Greco-Roman wrestling soon became prestigious in continental Europe. It was the first style registered at the modern Olympic Games , beginning in Athens in 1896 with one heavyweight bout, and grew in popularity during the 20th century. It has always been featured in the Olympic Games, except during the Paris Olympic Games in 1900 and the St. Louis Olympic Games of 1904, when freestyle first emerged as an Olympic sport. Perhaps

1976-544: A professional wrestler in Russia. He competed for two prizes, and won both, becoming champion of Moscow and Saint Petersburg. During the tournament he competed almost daily against 3-5 opponents. At the Chemnitz tournament, Hackenschmidt met Lurich for the first time in his professional career. According to Hackenschmidt's memories, Lurich bragged widely about his former victories over him. This led Georg to challenge Lurich to

2080-458: A red-colored side and a blue-colored side. The wrestler who won the colored disk toss will receive the advantage in the Olympic lift. The wrestler who lost the colored disk toss then places his hands and knees in the center circle, with the hands and knees at least 20 centimeters apart and the distance between the hands a maximum of 30 centimeters. The arms of that wrestler would be stretched out,

2184-427: A show, which in turn ensured more bookings and sold-out shows. This did not mean the matches were fake, as excluding exhibitions, his matches were all on the level, but he might allow a local wrestler to last ten minutes and collect his £25 prize, and set up a highly publicized match for later in the week, where he would defeat his foe handily. Unlike many other professional wrestlers, including Frank Gotch, Hackenschmidt

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2288-427: A small horse off the ground and lift 276 pounds overhead one handed. In a wrestler's bridge, he could pull a 335-pound barbell from the floor to his chest and press it overhead, bridging on his neck. He set several records in weight lifting and was considered both the strongest and the best-developed man in the world. Graduating from school in 1895, he started working at a large engineering factory in Tallinn (Reval) as

2392-406: A thick rubber circular mat that is shock-absorbing to ensure safety. For the Olympic Games, all World Championships, and World Cups, the mat has to be new. The main wrestling area has a nine-meter diameter and is surrounded by a 1.5 meter border of the same thickness known as the "protection area". Inside the nine meter in diameter circle is a red band of one meter in width that is on the outer edge of

2496-504: A way of purporting it to be similar to the wrestling formerly found in the ancient civilizations surrounding the Mediterranean Sea especially at the ancient Greek Olympics . At that time, the athletes initially wore skintight shorts but later wrestled each other naked. It is speculated that many styles of European folk wrestling may have spurred the origins of Greco-Roman wrestling. According to United World Wrestling ,

2600-478: A winner out of him and put him into the ring in the best possible condition, but ... gameness is something you can not put into a man". The years spanning Hackenschmidt's professional career are called the Golden Age of professional wrestling. Not only were professional wrestling matches more widely believed to be honestly contested , but wrestling was the most popular sport on every continent. However, it

2704-575: A world record at the London tournament in July 1961, George Hackenschmidt gave him the medal and presented Vlasov his picture with a dedicatory inscription. Throughout his life, Hackenschmidt paid considerable attention to his diet. In 1925, Charles B. Cochran recounted that he once invited Hackenschmidt to dine at his flat in Piccadilly . Cochran noted that Hackenschmidt ate "eight or nine eggs,

2808-457: A wrestler wins the match when he has won the majority of periods. For example, if one competitor were to win the first period 1–0 and the second period 1–0, the match would be over. However, if the other competitor were to win the second period, then a third and deciding period would result. Only a fall, injury default, or disqualification terminates the match; all other modes of victory result only in period termination. One side effect of this format

2912-585: Is a tie among wrestlers for classification points, the ranking is determined in this order from the highest to the lowest: Wrestlers who remained tied after that will be awarded placements ex aequo . Wrestlers classified from the fifth to the 10th place will receive a special diploma. The wrestling tournaments in the Olympic Games and the Senior and Junior World Championships are designed to take place over three days on three mats. The match takes place on

3016-404: Is also a special category for some Greco-Roman competitions, "Veterans", for men ages 35 and older, presumably featuring the same weight classes as seniors. Also, all of the men's age categories and weight classes can be applied to freestyle wrestling . Wrestlers after weigh-in may only wrestle in their own weight class. Wrestlers in the senior age category may wrestle up a weight class except for

3120-401: Is believed to be the creator of the professional wrestling version of the bear hug as well as the person who popularised the hack squat ; additionally, Hackenschmidt is also attributed as the creator of the bench press . He was known for his impressive strength, fitness, and flexibility. Later in life, he wrote many books on physical culture , training and philosophy . Georg Hackenschmidt

3224-497: Is divided in half by a red line eight centimeters in width. The diagonally opposite corners of the mat are marked with the wrestlers' colors, red and blue. For competition in the Olympic Games , the World Championships, and the Continental Championships, the mat is installed on a platform no greater than 1.1 meters in height. If the mat lies on a podium and the protection margin (covering and free space around

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3328-410: Is not mentioned in any account of Hackenschmidt's training by either Hackenschmidt or Roller, both of whom offered their insights and accounts. Whatever the case may be, Dr. Roller did not consider the injury to be serious, and referee Ed Smith dismissed it as inconsequential. Hackenschmidt himself ignored it completely in declaring, the day before the match, that he was "fit to wrestle for my life" and

3432-403: Is one of several forms of amateur competitive wrestling practiced internationally. The other wrestling disciplines sanctioned by United World Wrestling are: men's freestyle wrestling, women's freestyle wrestling, grappling ( submission wrestling ), pankration , Alysh ( belt wrestling ), Pahlavani wrestling, and beach wrestling . The name "Greco-Roman" applied to this style of wrestling as

3536-409: Is that it is possible for the losing wrestler to outscore the winner. For example, periods may be scored 3–2, 0–4, 1–0, leading to a total score of 4–6 but a win for the wrestler scoring fewer points. This format was changed Each Greco-Roman period is broken up into a phase for wrestling from the neutral position and a maximum of two par terre (ground wrestling) phases. During the wrestling phase from

3640-716: The Franco-Prussian War and learned the style in France) to promote it in the United States after the Civil War . However, on the continent of Europe , the style was highly promoted. Almost all the continental European capital cities hosted international Greco-Roman tournaments in the 19th century, with much prize money given to the place winners. For example, the Czar of Russia paid 500 francs for wrestlers to train and compete in his tournament, with 5,000 francs awarded as

3744-622: The Royal Albert Hall , Hackenschmidt faced the American heavyweight champion Tom Jenkins , a wrestler who would prove to be Hackenschmidt's toughest opponent to date, under Greco-Roman rules. Nevertheless, he pinned Jenkins in two straight falls. Hackenschmidt left Cochran's management to tour Australia where he defeated the Australian Cornish wrestling champion Deli Nelson in 1905, amongst others. He then sailed to

3848-594: The 1937 book Fall Guys – The Barnums of Bounce by famed writer Marcus Griffen. To this day, the Chicago Public Library receives requests to view the newspaper accounts and files on the bouts." As Mark Palmer pointed out, "For starters, George Hackenschmidt and Frank Gotch were major sports superstars of the early 20th century. Fans of all ages collected cabinet cards and postcards with their images, read their books, and devoured articles about them in newspapers. Their epic matches were front-page news around

3952-657: The 20th and 21st centuries trace their roots back to this match. He then wrestled in Canada and returned to England for a long list of music hall engagements. On October 28, 1905, Hackenschmidt faced Scottish champion Alexander Munro at the Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow with an audience of 16,000. Munro was 7 cm taller and 5.5 kg heavier. Heavy rain throughout the performance hindered both wrestlers. The first fall ended after 40 minutes and 22 seconds when Munro surrendered from

4056-558: The FILA World Championships, the first place wrestler will receive the World Championship Belt.) The two repechage round winners will each be awarded third place with a bronze medal. The two wrestlers who lost in the finals for the third place are awarded fifth place. From seventh place down, the wrestlers are ranked according to the classification points earned for their victories or losses. If there

4160-617: The Greco-Roman style, with Hackenschmidt winning the championship. In January 1899, he had to serve in the army: he was assigned to the Preobrazhensky Regiment. Demobilized five months later, on May 16 of that year Hackenschmidt defeated Alexander von Schmelling in a fight for the title of Russian champion of 1899. On 19 May he defeated von Schmelling again and was crowned Russian champion of 1899. In September, despite an arm injury, Hackenschmidt travelled to Paris for

4264-568: The House of Lords and served as a judge at the 1948 Mr. Universe show in London won by John Grimek. His book Man and Cosmic Antagonism to Mind and Spirit was the personal philosophy he developed while interned as a prisoner-of-war in Germany. Hackenschmidt was already hospitalized at St. Francis Hospital in Dulwich, a suburb of London, when he died on 19 February 1968. He was 89 years old. He

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4368-765: The Italian Antonio Pieri twice, Pieri sought revenge by trying to find a wrestler who could beat him. He thought he had found such a man in Ahmed Madrali, called the "Terrible Turk", who faced Hackenschmidt at the Olympia London on 30 January 1904. Because of all the ballyhoo, the Olympia was packed and traffic was jammed from the Olympia back to Piccadilly. Hackenschmidt picked up Madrali and threw him down onto his arm, dislocating his shoulder. The contest had lasted about two minutes. On 2 July at

4472-527: The Olympia London in just four minutes, but noted that the Turk was one of the toughest men he had ever faced. He then sailed to the United States to fulfill his obligation to meet a new challenger from Iowa by the name of Frank Gotch . Wrestling historian Mike Chapman wrote "In all of athletic history, there are a mere handful of rivalries between individual stars that have become almost as large as

4576-455: The Olympic lift (called an upside-down belt hold) at the beginning of the first 30 seconds. The bottom wrestler could then attempt to defend himself. At the end of first thirty seconds, the clinch position is reversed with the other wrestler receiving the Olympic lift, and the period continuing for the remaining 30 seconds. The period is decided by who accumulated the most points during both standing and ground phases. During each ground phase, if

4680-668: The Terrace Garden Theater in New York lasted eight hours before ending in a draw. Even in the 1912 Olympics, a match between Martin Klein of Russia ( Estonia ) and Alfred Asikainen of Finland lasted for eleven hours and forty minutes before Martin Klein won. He received the silver medal because he was too tired to compete in final match next day. That record was later published at Guinness World Records . The International Amateur Wrestling Federation (IAWF) took over

4784-515: The UWW International Wrestling Rules A match can be won in the following ways: In an international wrestling tournament, teams enter one wrestler at each weight class and score points based on the individual performances. For example, if a wrestler at the 60 kg weight class finishes in first place, then his team will receive 10 points. If he were to finish in tenth place, then the team would only receive one. At

4888-531: The United States for an extended tour and a rematch with Jenkins at the Madison Square Garden under catch-as-catch-can rules, which Hackenschmidt by now preferred. Jenkins put up a hard battle, but Hackenschmidt again won in two straight falls, the first in 31 minutes, 14 seconds, and the second in 22 minutes, 4 seconds. He was declared the inaugural World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion and subsequently most major league US versions of this title in

4992-668: The United States) in both freestyle and Greco-Roman matches in England, Georg Hackenschmidt wrestled exclusively freestyle in order to compete better against English, Australian, and American opponents. Winning more than 2,000 victories in Greco-Roman and freestyle, Hackenschmidt served as the physical education adviser to the House of Lords after his retirement. Professional matches in Greco-Roman wrestling were known for their great brutality. Body slams, choke-holds, and head-butting

5096-541: The World Wrestling Championships. There he received his moniker, "The Russian Lion". After a few matches, he aggravated the injury and went home. Doctors treated him electrically for six months, but it did more harm than good. In May 1900 Hackenschmidt returned to weight training. In July 1900, Hackenschmidt took part in a forty-day wrestling tournament in Moscow , making his first appearance as

5200-441: The athlete's physique and invited him to Saint Petersburg and offered to stay with him, as he saw in him the potential to become a professional wrestler . Krajewski trained Georg Lurich for some time and told Hackenschmidt that he had the potential to become the strongest man in the world. Despite his parents' objections, Hackenschmidt left for Saint Petersburg in the spring of 1898. In 1898, Hackenschmidt trained at Krajewski's and

5304-418: The center, blowing the whistle to start and stop the action, and supervises the scoring of holds and infractions. The judge sits at the side of the mat, keeps score, and occasionally gives his approval when needed by the referee for various decisions. The mat chairman sits at the scoring table, keeps time, is responsible for declaring technical superiority, and supervises the work of the referee and judge. To call

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5408-602: The challenge and was beaten. German wrestler Fritz Konietzko came to Tallinn in 1897, and Hackenschmidt fared better. In late 1897-early 1898, Hackenschmidt suffered a minor hand injury at the factory and consulted a doctor who was acquainted with Dr. Vladislav Krajewski, who was in the service of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia. Krajewski was the founder of the Saint Petersburg Athletic and Cycling Club, with Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich as president. While observing Hackenschmidt's arm, Krajewski noticed

5512-420: The circle and is known as the "red zone". The red zone is used to help indicate passivity on the part of a wrestler; thus, it is also known as the "passivity zone". Inside the red zone is the "central wrestling area" which is seven meters in diameter. In the middle of the central wrestling area is the "central circle", which is one meter in diameter. The central circle is surrounded by a band 10 centimeters wide and

5616-404: The country's best wrestlers in the catch-as-catch-can style which was regaining popularity. They created a music hall boom in professional wrestling, and Hackenschmidt became a major superstar and drawing card . He wrestled in opera halls, music halls and theaters. As the wrestling boom took hold in England and wrestlers came in from all around the world for the grand tournaments that had become

5720-611: The effort took his last remaining strength. Hackenschmidt quit the fall. "I surrender the championship of the world to Mr. Gotch", he said, and stood up and shook Gotch's hand. The wrestlers then retired to their dressing rooms before coming out for the second fall, but Hackenschmidt refused to return to the ring, telling the referee to declare Gotch the winner, thereby relinquishing his title to him. Although he at first called Gotch "the greatest man by far I ever met", and explained how his muscles had become stale and his feet had given out, and that he knew he could not win and therefore conceded

5824-425: The emergence of four strong wrestlers: Constant Le Marin, Stanislaus Zbyszko , Ivan Poddubny and Joe Rogers. All four challenged Hackenschmidt, and he agreed to compete against the strongest of them, which should determine the tournament. In England, Hackenschmidt attended a match between Zbyszko and Poddubny, which Zbyszko won. Rogers was unable to compete due to sepsis and demanded a rematch from Hackenschmidt for

5928-439: The end of the matches wins the team competition. If there are two sets of competitions with one team winning the home competition and one winning the away competition, a third competition may take place to determine the winner for ranking purposes, or the ranking may take place by assessing in order: 1) the most victories by adding the points of the two matches; 2) the most points by fall, default, forfeit, or disqualification; 3)

6032-405: The end of the tournament, each team's score is tallied, and the teams are then placed first, second, third, etc. A team competition or dual meet is a meeting between (typically two) teams in which individual wrestlers at a given weight class compete against each other. A team receives one point for each victory in a weight class regardless of the outcome. The team that scores the most points at

6136-992: The exercise known as the hack squat , whose name is a reference to his own. Hackenschmidt also helped to popularize many other types of lifts common within the modern training regimen, such as the bench press . During his career, he established numerous weightlifting records, which were improved upon by others in ensuing decades. Hackenschmidt was an educated man who spoke seven languages. He went on to write books, including Complete Science of Wrestling (1909), Man and Cosmic Antagonism to Mind and Spirit (1935), Fitness and Your Self (1937), Consciousness and Character: True Definitions of Entity, Individuality, Personality, Nonentity (1937), The Way to Live in Health and Physical Fitness (1941), and The Three Memories and Forgetfulness: What They Are and What Their True Significance Is in Human Life . He also taught physical education to members of

6240-437: The feet would not be crossed, and the thighs would be stretched out forming a 90-degree angle with the mat. The wrestler who won the colored disk toss would then be allowed to step beside the wrestler on the bottom, not touching him with his legs. If the wrestler who won the colored disk toss wished, he could place one knee on the mat. The top wrestler would then wrap his hands and arms around the bottom wrestler's waist and execute

6344-454: The finals for first and second place. All of the wrestlers who lost to the two finals then have the chance to wrestle in a " repechage round". The repechage round begins with the wrestlers who lost to the two finalists at the lowest level of competition in the elimination round. The matches are paired off by the wrestlers who lost to one finalist and the wrestlers who lost to the other. The two wrestlers who win after every level of competition are

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6448-409: The former Soviet Union , Bulgaria , Turkey , South Korea , Romania , Japan , Sweden , and Finland have had great success. Carl Westergren of Sweden won three Greco-Roman gold medals in 1920, 1924, and 1932, and was the first Greco-Roman wrestler to do so. Alexander Karelin did the same in 1988, 1992, and 1996. Ivar Johansson of Sweden won gold medals in Greco-Roman in 1932 and 1936 and also

6552-547: The governing style of wrestling was the slower, more ponderous Greco-Roman style that emphasized muscle power over speed, agility and ring generalship, and involved holds only above the waist. Being bulkier of build than his leaner opponents, Hackenschmidt's style and temperament were not geared as much to the catch-as-catch-can style. Hackenschmidt was a natural showman, he was honest, straightforward and serious, and he would finish off his opponents quickly. His manager C. B. Cochran had to convince him to extend his matches and put on

6656-492: The heavyweight division (which starts at a weight more than 96 kg for the men). Different nations may have different weight classes and different age categories for their levels of Greco-Roman competition. A typical international wrestling tournament takes place by direct elimination with an ideal number of wrestlers (4, 8, 16, 32, 64, etc.) in each weight class and age category competing for placement. The competition in each weight class takes place in one day. The day before

6760-435: The ideal number of 16 wrestlers. The six wrestlers who drew the highest numbers after 16 and the six wrestlers who drew the six numbers immediately before 17 would then wrestle in six matches in the qualification round. The winners of those matches would then go on to the elimination round. In the "elimination round", the ideal number of wrestlers then pair off and compete in matches until two victors emerge who will compete in

6864-470: The imagination call for a disqualification. There was some face-mauling, just as there always is ... but at no time did the vaunted Hackenschmidt ever make a serious move toward slapping down his opponent, never showed much in the wrestling line during the entire two hours... Again, I say, that as the referee of that match, I thought that the 'Russian Lion' quit". Following the 1911 rematch, one newspaper described Gotch's easy victory and then added that "in

6968-429: The lightweight tournament and the heavyweight tournament) and 3000 francs . After that Georg went to the town of Alsleben to the trainer Siebert, who helped him to gain weight, which dropped due to the heavy schedule. During this time, he jumped 100 times over a table with his feet tied together. He won tournaments everywhere he wrestled, and toured England in 1903 managed by the flamboyant C. B. Cochran to confront

7072-449: The loss in USA. The contest was held on February 6, 1908, at Oxford Music Hall , where Hackenschmidt defeated Rogers in a short bout. Hackenschmidt was then scheduled to face Zbyszko, but the match was canceled due to knee problems. The wrestler went to Aachen , where he underwent knee surgery, followed by a long recovery. During his rehabilitation, Hackenschmidt wrote that the only opponent he

7176-419: The major surge in the popularity of professional wrestling in England, and he was considered unbeatable. However, Hackenschmidt probably would not be so well remembered today were it not for two things: 1) his enormous standing in the world of physical culture, and 2) his two defeats at the hands of Frank Gotch. Hackenschmidt remained in the public eye because he had become an icon in the world of physical culture,

7280-404: The mat) does not reach two meters, then the sides of the podium are covered with 45° (degree) inclined panels. In all cases, the color of the protection area is different from the color of the mat. A match is a competition between two individual wrestlers of the same weight class. In Greco-Roman wrestling, a jury (or team) of three officials ( referees ) is used. The referee controls the action in

7384-546: The match, Hackenschmidt later reversed his opinion of Gotch and Americans in general, claiming to have been fouled by Gotch and victimized in America, and calling for a rematch in Europe. In August 1907, Hackenschmidt suffered pain in his knee and returned to Russia for rehabilitation. Hackenschmidt failed to heal his knee and was sent back to England. By 1907 the situation in the wrestling world had changed, Hackenschmidt noticed

7488-525: The most matches won by technical superiority; 4) the most periods won by technical superiority; 5) the most technical points won in all the competition; 6) the least technical points won in all the competition. This works similarly when more than two teams are involved in this predicament. Georg Hackenschmidt Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Georg Karl Julius Hackenschmidt (1 August [ O.S. ] 1877 – 19 February 1968)

7592-638: The most well-known of Greco-Roman wrestlers in the 19th century was Georg Hackenschmidt born in Dorpat , Russian Empire , and nicknamed "The Russian Lion". Hackenschmidt in 1898 at the age of 21 and with 15 months of training defeated the experienced Paul Pons in a match in Saint Petersburg , Russia. In 1900, he won professional tournaments in Moscow and St. Petersburg and a series of international tournaments after that. After defeating Tom Jenkins (from

7696-415: The neutral position, both wrestlers compete for takedowns and points for 60 seconds as usual. At the end of the first minute, in general, the wrestler who has scored the most points will receive the advantage in an Olympic lift from an open par terre position on the other wrestler. This position is known as "par terre". If neither wrestler at this point has any points, the referee will toss a colored disk, with

7800-559: The nose. Hackenschmidt complained to the referee of Gotch's foul tactics and asked that Gotch be forced to take a hot shower to rid his body of an abundance of oil, but the referee ignored the complaints and told Hackenschmidt he should have noticed the oil before the match began. The match continued until the two-hour mark, when Hackenschmidt was forced against the ropes. Gotch tore him off the ropes, threw him down and rode him hard for three minutes, working for his dreaded toe hold. Hackenschmidt had trained to avoid this hold, which he did, but

7904-526: The older format, par terre now only occurs as a result of a takedown/throw or when a wrestler commits an infraction (eg: passivity). Before each match, each wrestler's name is called, and the wrestler takes his place at the corner of the mat assigned to his color. The referee then calls them to his side at the center of the mat, shakes hands with them, inspects their apparel, and checks for any perspiration, oily or greasy substances, and any other infractions. The two wrestlers then greet each other, shake hands, and

8008-524: The parlance of the sporting world, Hackenschmidt is yellow ... He quit when his position became dangerous". Perhaps the most frustrated was Hackenschmidt's second, Dr. Benjamin Roller , who himself had lost several times to Gotch, but had displayed the utmost gameness and courage. "Hack did not get started", Roller explained. "That's largely a matter of gameness". Hackenschmidt's injuries had not been serious enough, Roller felt. "I have tried my best to make

8112-777: The quantity of milk prescribed had been a misprint. After retiring from the ring, Hackenschmidt reportedly became a vegetarian . He remained physically fit well into old age, and at 56 he could jump over a 4-foot, 6-inch high board ten times. Even through his mid-80s, he would jump fifty times over a chair once a week, bench press 150 pounds and run seven miles in 45 minutes. In his entire professional wrestling career, Hackenschmidt engaged in about 3,000 matches, losing only two. Powerfully built, Hackenschmidt's measurements for his 1905 match with Alexander Munro were: age – 28; weight – 204 pounds; height – 5′, 9½″; reach – 75″; biceps – 19″; forearm – 15½″; neck – 22″; chest – 52″; waist – 34″; thigh – 26¾″; calf – 18″. He also rose to prominence when

8216-422: The rage, he remained the dominant grappler, defeating every man he met. Cochran polished his act until Hackenschmidt was a major attraction. He might take on five wrestlers in the same evening, defeating them all. Handsome as well as powerfully built, Hackenschmidt was adored by women and admired by men. Personally a soft-spoken, cultured and intellectual young man, he could speak seven languages fluently and became

8320-428: The referee blows his whistle to start the period. Upon conclusion of the match, the referee stands at the center of the mat facing the officials' table. Both wrestlers then shake hands, and stand on either side of the referee to await the decision. The referee then proclaims the winner by raising the winner's hand. Each wrestler then shakes hands with the referee and their opponent's coach. Prior to recent rule changes,

8424-403: The regulation of Greco-Roman wrestling in 1921. Since then matches have been dramatically cut short, and today all movements that put the life or limb of the wrestler in jeopardy are forbidden. Professional wrestler Lou Thesz , who initially trained extensively in Greco-Roman, popularised the Greco-Roman backdrop during early televised professional matches. In Olympic competition, countries of

8528-621: The sport itself. In boxing, such matchups as Sullivan – Corbett , Dempsey – Tunney , Louis – Conn and Ali – Frazier are a part of boxing folklore. In wrestling, there is only one: Gotch –Hackenschmidt". After defeating Jenkins in 1905, Hackenschmidt held the world title and remained undefeated until he and Frank Gotch finally squared off on 3 April 1908, at the Dexter Park Pavilion in Chicago. Showing his contempt for Gotch and for American wrestling in general, Hackenschmidt

8632-469: The style became known) developed all throughout Europe and became a popular sport. The Italian wrestler Basilio Bartoletti first coined the term "Greco-Roman" for the sport to underline the interest in "ancient values." Many others in the 18th and 20th centuries sought to add value to their contemporary athletic practices by finding some connections with ancient counterparts. The 18th century work Gymnastics for Youth by Johann Friedrich Guts Muths described

8736-832: The summer of 1898, Hackenschmidt travelled to Vienna to compete at the World Weightlifting Championships and European Wrestling Championships , which were held together. The weightlifting championships were a decathlon (ten events consisting of: one-hand snatch , simultaneous press of two dumbbells , simultaneous jerk of two dumbbells, one-hand press in military style , one-hand press in straddling style, one-hand press continuously in military style with 50.2 kg, one hand press continuously in straddling style with 50.2 kg, two-hand press, two-hand jerk, and two-hand press continuously in military style with 100 kg), with Hackenschmidt taking third place overall. The wrestling championships were an openweight competition in

8840-423: The top wrestler cannot score, the other wrestler is awarded one point. In the case of no scoring moves being executed during either ground phase the score will be 1–1, and in this case generally the wrestler to score last will be awarded the period. In Greco-Roman wrestling, as well as in freestyle wrestling, points are awarded mostly on the basis of explosive action and risk. For example, when one wrestler performs

8944-473: The two got along splendidly, with Jenkins accommodating Hackenschmidt in his home and giving him a tour of the West Point training facilities. In their mutual admiration society, they never publicly expressed any credit to Frank Gotch, and Hackenschmidt spent the rest of his life complaining about Gotch's foul tactics and his knee injury in explaining his "inexplicable" losses. After Yury Vlasov won and set

9048-433: The victors of the repechage round. In the "finals", the two victors of the elimination round compete for first and second place. In all rounds of the tournament, the wrestlers compete in matches paired off in the order of the numbers they drew after the weigh-in. After the finals match, the awards ceremony will take place. The first place and second place wrestlers will receive a gold and silver medal, respectively. (At

9152-427: The winner and in some cases, one point to the loser depending on the outcome of the match and how the victory was attained. For example, a victory by fall would give the winner five classification points and the loser no points, while a match won by technical superiority with the loser scoring technical points would award three points to the winner and one point to loser. The full determinations for scoring are found in

9256-476: The world – akin to today's World Cup in terms of garnering global attention – and helped to launch organized amateur wrestling in the United States in the early part of the 20th century. In fact, a large number of high school and college wrestling programs can trace their roots back to the 1910s and 1920s – the era when Hackenschmidt and Gotch were still household names, and highly respected athletes". Having already made his mark in bodybuilding, Hackenschmidt caused

9360-443: The wrestling in a scheduled weight class and age category takes place, all the applicable wrestlers are examined by a physician and weighed-in. Each wrestler after being weighed on the scale then draws a token randomly that gives a certain number. If an ideal number is not reached to begin elimination rounds, a qualification round will take place to eliminate the excess number of wrestlers. For example, 22 wrestlers may weigh-in over

9464-457: Was "satisfied with my condition and confident of the outcome". However, Gotch, tearing into Hackenschmidt with a vengeance, discovered the weakness quickly and took advantage of it. Hackenschmidt was easy prey for Gotch, losing in straight falls in only 20 minutes. Gotch clinched the match with his signature toe hold , which forced Hackenschmidt to concede. Following his second defeat at the hands of Gotch, upon returning to England, Hackenschmidt

9568-504: Was Hackenschmidt's showmanship that made professional wrestling arguably the most popular sport in the United Kingdom at the time, and it was he and Gotch together who brought it to entirely new heights around the world. "The Hackenschmidt-Gotch matches were the pinnacle of professional wrestling during the time period and received much attention from media, fans, and celebrities", Andrew Malnoske observed. "They were even described in

9672-421: Was allowed, and even caustic substances were used to weaken the opponent. By the end of the 19th century, gouging with the nails, punching, and violently slamming the arms together around the opponent's stomach were forbidden. Greco-Roman matches were also famous for their length. Professionally, it was not uncommon for there to be matches lasting two or three hours. William Muldoon's bout with Clarence Whistler at

9776-640: Was an Estonian strongman , professional wrestler , writer , and sports philosopher who is recognized as professional wrestling's first world heavyweight champion . Hackenschmidt began his professional career in Tallinn (Reval), Estonia (then part of the Russian Empire ), and after a 1899 tournament in Paris was often referred in the media by the moniker "The Russian Lion". He lived most of his middle age and later life in London, England. He

9880-488: Was born in Tartu (Dorpat), Estonia, on 1 August 1877, where he lived with his parents, Baltic German Georg Friedrich Heinrich Hackenschmidt (born 1847 ) and Ida Louise Johansson, who was of Estonian and Swedish descent. He had a younger brother, Bruno, and sister Alice. He later said that neither of his parents were particularly robust in stature or had any unusual physical characteristics, though his maternal grandfather

9984-540: Was cremated at West Norwood Cemetery , where his memorial plaque records him as George Hackenschmidt. During World War I , Hackenschmidt was interned by the German Empire authorities in Berlin with his wife. His brother Bruno, who was also a wrestler, was also captured in Germany and died in captivity. During World War II , he lived with his wife in the family home in the south of France. Hackenschmidt became

10088-498: Was in peak condition, it would be decisive. Gotch used his speed, defense and rough tactics to wear the champion down and then assume the attack. The wrestlers stood on their feet for two full hours before Gotch was able to get behind Hackenschmidt and take him down. While on their feet, Gotch made sure to lean on Hackenschmidt to wear him down. He bullied him around the ring, and his thumbing and butting left Hackenschmidt covered in blood. At one time, Gotch also punched Hackenschmidt on

10192-488: Was interested in was Frank Gotch. Hackenschmidt and Gotch met again on 4 September 1911, at the newly opened Comiskey Park in Chicago, which drew a crowd of nearly 30,000 spectators and a record gate of $ 87,000. The rematch is one of the most controversial and talked about matches in professional wrestling history, as Hackenschmidt claimed to have injured his knee against Roller, his chief training partner. Years later, professional wrestler Ad Santel told Lou Thesz that he

10296-521: Was never mean, vindictive or unnecessarily rough in the ring, "contrasting his physical prowess and fighting skills with a quietness of spirit", David Gentle explained. "George Hackenschmidt was the epitome of calm, self-assurance and inner peace, with full awareness of his own capabilities and thus like all masters of combat found no need for machoism or outward aggression. His tactic to win was skill and speed, born of confidence in his own ability and fighting prowess". However, he had three weaknesses. Against

10400-511: Was not in the best condition. Refusing to train publicly at the Chicago Athletic Club in spite of arrangements having been made for him to do so, he was barred from the club and spent his time either in his hotel room or taking long morning and evening walks along Lake Michigan. By neglecting his training, he lost his endurance, which had never been a factor in his previous matches because he ended them so quickly. Against Gotch, who

10504-625: Was paid $ 5,000 by Gotch's backers to cripple Hackenschmidt in training, and make it look like an accident. However, according to Hackenschmidt himself, the injury was accidentally inflicted by his sparring partner, Roller, when trying to hold Hackenschmidt down onto his knees in the down position. Roller's right foot struck Hackenschmidt's right knee, which in 1904 had developed " Housemaid's Knee ", requiring treatment, and had acted up again in 1907. Furthermore, according to Hackenschmidt, his sparring partners for this match were Americus (Gus Schoenlein), Jacobus Koch, Wladek Zbyszko and Dr. Roller. Ad Santel

10608-412: Was preparing for a match with Stanislaus Zbyszko to take place the following June, but when he began working out he felt such pain in his right knee that it was painful even to walk. It necessitated surgery, but Hackenschmidt decided at that point to retire and pursue his other interests in philosophy, physical culture and gardening. Hackenschmidt was a pioneer in the field of weightlifting. He invented

10712-548: Was said to have been a huge and powerful man. His paternal grandfather, Christian Philipp Hackenschmidt, a Prussian dyer, accepted Russian citizenship with his wife in 1845; he died about 1881–1882. From his earliest years, Hackenschmidt devoted himself to physical development, particularly at the local Real school ( Dorpater Realschule ), where he took advantage of the gym. He excelled in gorodki , cycling, gymnastics, swimming, running, jumping and weightlifting . His feats of strength astounded his teachers, as he could lift

10816-665: Was supported by Count Georges de Ribeaupierre. In April, the club organized a competition in weightllifting for the title of Russian champion, which Hackenschmidt won. In late April, in Saint Petersburg he defeated the French wrestler Paul Pons in 45 minutes. In preparation to performing in front of an audience, Krajewski sent Hackenschmidt to Riga , where he performed under an assumed name as a weightlifter and wrestler. During this period Hackenschmidt still noted his lack of wrestling technique, which he made up for with strength. In

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