First African-American World Champion: In 1962, Larry H. Shoemake became the first African-American to win a world championship in wrestling.

The 20-Second Pin: The fastest pin in Olympic wrestling history was by Charles Wilson of the United States, who pinned his opponent in just 20 seconds during the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow.

Wrestling has a long-standing history in the Olympic Games. However, there was a brief period when it was removed from the list of core Olympic sports in 2013. Fortunately, due to popular outcry and efforts from the wrestling community, it was reinstated for the 2020 Olympic Games and beyond.



Women's freestyle wrestling was added to the Olympic program in 2004, marking a significant step in gender equality in the sport. Prior to that, women were allowed to compete in the Olympics only in artistic and rhythmic gymnastics.