Age characteristics of Olympic champions in sports wrestling
Authors:   Kharkiv State Academy of Physical Culture, Ukraine, Tropin Yura 
Published: November 2024

Purpose: determine the age characteristics of Olympic champions in three styles of sports wrestling (Greco-Roman, freestyle and women's). Material and methods. The age of Olympic champions from 1896 to 2024 in three styles of sports wrestling: Greco-Roman (29 Olympiads), freestyle (27 Olympiads) and women's (6 Olympiads) was studied. A total of 455 athletes were analyzed: Greco-Roman (n=214), freestyle (n=211) and women's (n=30). The raw data of the wrestlers' performances is taken from the UWW website. The research used the following methods: analysis of scientific and methodological information and Internet sources; analysis of competitive activity protocols; methods of mathematical statistics. Results: the analysis of the age characteristics of Olympic champions during the research period showed that in Greco-Roman wrestling, the average age of athletes varies from 24,1 years to 32,8 years; in freestyle wrestling - from 23,0 years to 29,6 years; in women's wrestling - from 20,3 years to 27,5 years. The youngest champion in Greco-Roman wrestling was 18 years and 8 months, and the oldest was 41 years and 11 months. The youngest freestyle champion was 19 years and 8 months, and the oldest was 40 years and 4 months. In women's wrestling, the youngest and oldest champion was the same wrestler who took part in four Olympics and won four gold medals. She was 18 years and 2 months old at the first Olympics, and 32 years old at the fourth. The most decorated wrestler is Cuban heavyweight Mijain Lopez, who participated in six Olympic Games and won five gold medals. Seven stages of the evolutionary development of wrestling were identified. The youngest average age is observed among athletes at the first stage both in Greco-Roman wrestling (25,39 years) and in freestyle wrestling (23,92 years). The greatest average age of the athletes was at the second stage in the Greco-Roman style (29,36 years) and freestyle (27,52 years) wrestlers. Women's wrestling has been included in the program of the Olympic Games since 2004, so it is only in the last two stages. The average age of the wrinkles does not have a significant difference at these stages. It should be noted that at the last stage, Greco-Roman wrestlers have an average age of almost four years more than representatives of freestyle and women's wrestling. Conclusions. The conducted research made it possible to determine the age characteristics of Olympic champions in three styles of sports wrestling. The results of the study showed that the athletes competed in a wide age range (18-42 years), the average age was 27,82±9,77 years. The majority of athletes were between 22 and 32 years old, which accounted for 80 % of the total number. It was established that in Greco-Roman wrestling, the average age of athletes of all Olympiads is significantly higher (p<0,05) than in freestyle and women's wrestling. It was found that women were younger than men. There was also a weight category effect, with lighter wrestlers being younger than heavier wrestlers.