ACOG - News - IBM

Soviet Breakup Hurts Russia the Most in Greco-Roman Wrestling

When the former Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, a "new world order" was created in international-style wrestling as well as in politics.

No longer would outstanding wrestlers in both Greco-Roman and freestyle be stacked up ten-deep or more in the Soviet sports system while Soviet officials hand-picked the top athletes to compete in the Olympic Games and World Championships. Today, the Russian Federation still is the kingpin of the former Soviet bloc. But with the newly independent nation-states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kirghyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan also competing, today a dozen former Soviet wrestlers take the mat in a single competition, instead of just one Soviet superstar in the pre-1991 era.

In the new world order, Russian wrestlers have to share the spotlight with one-time workout partners turned rivals in the international arena.

And the spreading out of talent has made it much harder for the Russians, who dominated the wrestling world as the former Soviet Union, to maintain their grip on world superiority on the mat.

The Greco-Roman wrestling competition, which concluded 23 July, was a perfect case in point. Only three of Russia's 10 competitors won medals, and the Russians were shut out of the gold-medal race entirely until Aleksandr KARELIN won the 130kg title, his third Olympic gold medal in succession. From 1952, the first time the Soviet Union competed in the Olympic Games, through 1992, as the Unified Team, Soviet wrestlers averaged three gold medals per Olympiad. Overall, 11 of the 30 medals awarded this week were won by former Soviet bloc wrestlers, eight now competing outside the confines of the Russian Federation. While the Russians struggled, the team from neighboring Poland stole the show, leading all nations with three gold medals and five overall.

The dilution of the once-formidable Soviet talent system has provided a window of opportunity for those who would be king. The United States, which never won the World Championships in freestyle wrestling during the 31 years the former Soviet Union competed in the tournament, has broken through to win the team title two of the past three years - and is a favorite to capture the unofficial team title when the Olympic freestyle competition begins 30 July at the Georgia World Congress Center.

This opportunity, however, is a double-edged sword. In the past, a competitor had to worry about facing only one tough wrestler from the Soviet Union. Today, he may have 10 or more former Soviet competitors at his weight. There are no longer any "easy" draws at the world level.

KARELIN, captain of the Russian team, was happy with his record third gold medal but brokenhearted by his team's subpar performance.

"I am saddened by the performance of the Russian team," KARELIN said. "There has been a drop in standards. I do not feel that the situation is hopeless. We can fix the problems that have caused the decline of our performance. It will take hard work by our coaches and our wrestlers."

This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Robert Sherrill.


Return to Olympic News Menu

Select another day:
Pre July 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 August 1 2 3 4 Post


Olympic Factoid
Pin trading was one of the most popular Olympic sports, with more than 1.2 million pins changing hands during the Games in the Coca Cola Pin Trading Center at Centennial Olympic Park.