This Saturday and Sunday, July 20 & 21, wrestlers from around the World will gather at the birthplace of the Olympic Movement – Olympia, Greece – to participate in a Senior International Tournament. 

This gathering of wrestlers is significant, as it represents the themes of FILA’s Save Olympic Wrestling campaign: wrestling is universal, wrestling is for everyone and wrestling is one of the original sports.

Both male and female wrestlers from Albania, Brazil, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Iran, Russia and the United States, will compete in this tournament, which will be run under the new rules passed by the FILA Bureau at the Extraordinary Congress in May. 

In a new development, both days of the tournament, including the finals, which will be staged at the International Olympic Academy, will be shared live on the official FILA Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/fila.official. Saturday’s broadcast schedule is 10:00 – 14:30 (3:00 – 7:30 eastern) and from 18:00 – 20:30 (11:00 – 13:30 eastern). Sunday’s broadcast is due to begin with a ceremony in Ancient Olympia at 17:30 (10:30 eastern), followed by the final matches.

In addition to the matches, wrestlers will have the opportunity to walk the grounds of Ancient Olympia, including the Palaestra and the Stadium at Olympia. Both of these locations hold significant meaning to the sport of wrestling, as heroes of the sport, such as Milo of Croton, have stepped foot on the very same ground.Youth wrestlers will also be invited to join the tour of Ancient Olympia and participate in an exhibition at the Palaestra.

Nenad Lalovic, the president of FILA, will be on hand for the events and matches in Olympia.

The United States will have a team of men and women athletes, led by Olympians Ellis Coleman and Elena Pirozhkova, and World medalists Alyssa Lampe and Helen Maroulis.

Wrestling is currently on the shortlist of sports to be considered for inclusion in the 2020 Olympic Program. This vote, by the full IOC membership, will take place on September 8th in Buenos Aires.

About FILA
FILA, the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles, is the global governing body of the sport of wrestling. It works to promote the sport and facilitate the activities of its 177 national federations from around the world. It is based in Corsier-Sur-Vevey, Switzerland.