The International Olympic Committee has released the official qualification system for each sport and discipline of the XXVII Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 2004.    USA Wrestling has received this qualification data for wrestling from the U.S. Olympic Committee, which is the National Olympic Committee for the United States.    There will be a total of 344 wrestlers competing in the Athens Olympics. This will include 280 men wrestlers (140 each in freestyle and Greco-Roman), 48 women wrestlers and 16 wrestlers whose gender is not yet specified. There will be a total of 18 medal events in wrestling: seven in men's freestyle, seven in men's Greco-Roman and four in women's freestyle.    The field will include 20 athletes in each of the men's weight divisions and 12 athletes in each of the women's weight divisions.  Included in this total will be one athlete in each weight class from the host nation Greece. This provision guarantees that the host team  will field a full squad of participants.    Also included are 16 additional wrestling spots in the Games, 12 of which will be determined by FILA, the international wrestling federation, for nations without an athlete qualified, and four invitations allocated by the Tripartite Commission. The 12 FILA selections will be for nations that participated in the qualifying process but did not qualify an athlete for the Olympic Games. The four Tripartite Commission selections will be used for smaller National Olympic Committees.    A specific system of qualification has been established for all three styles of Olympic wrestling - men's freestyle, men's Greco-Roman and women's freestyle wrestling.    The qualification process will include three major events: the 2003 World Wrestling Championships, along with two Olympic qualification tournaments in each style. Athletes will qualify their nation at each weight class, based entirely on the final results from these events.    Phase one will include the 2003 World Championships of wrestling, set for September - October of 2003. The top 10 athletes in each weight class in men's freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling will qualify their nation for the Olympic Games, while the top five women athletes in each weight class will qualify their nation for the Games. Should an athlete from Greece place in the top 10 in the men's event or the top five in the women's event, the next place winner (11th for men or 6th for women) will qualify as well.    The 2003 World Championships for men's and women's freestyle wrestling are planned for New York City in the United States, while the 2003 World Championships for men's Greco-Roman wrestling is planned for Cretiel, France.    Phase two will be the first of the 2004 Olympic Qualification tournaments, set for February or March of 2004. Athletes and their nations who qualified during the 2003 World Championships are not eligible for the qualification tournaments at those specific weight divisions. All countries from all continents may participate in these events, with only one athlete at each weight class. At the first Olympic qualification tournament, the top five wrestlers in each weight class for men's wrestling (both freestyle and Greco-Roman) and the top three wrestlers in each weight class in women's wrestling will qualify.    The first qualification tournament in men's freestyle wrestling will be held in Europe, Februrary 1-2, at a site to be determined. The first qualification tournament in men's Greco-Roman wrestling will be held in Europe, February 28-29, at a site to be determined. The first qualification tournament in women's freestyle wrestling will be held in Africa,  March 6-7, at a site to be determined.    Phase three will be the second of the 2004 Olympic Qualification tournaments. Again, all nations that have qualified through the World Championships or the first qualification event may not participate at those specific weights. The amount of men who will qualify at the second event at each weight class will be reduced to four, while the number of women qualified at the second event per weight class is three.    The second qualification event in men's freestyle wrestling will be held in a Pan American nation on February 14-15, at a site to be determined. The second qualification event in men's Greco-Roman wrestling will be held in Asia, March 13-14, at a site to be determined. The second qualification event in women's freestyle wrestling will be held in Europe, March 20-21, at a site to be determined.    By April 30, 2004, the Tripartite Commission will announce the final allocation of four additional qualifiers, and FILA will confirm the final 12 qualifiers from nations that did not qualify an individual during the process. All National Olympic Committees must confirm that their nation will use the places that they received in the Olympics by June 15, 2002.    The Olympic Games have restricted the size of the fields in all sports since the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. This will be the fourth Summer Olympic Games that a qualification system has been in place for the wrestling competition. The United States has qualified an athlete in all weight classes for wrestling in the last three Olympic Games.    QUALIFICATION SUMMARY BY STYLE    MEN'S FREESTYLE (140 athletes)    2003 World Championships    10 athletes in each weight class X seven weights = 70 athletes    Automatic qualifiers for host Greece   1 athlete in each weight class X seven weights = 7 athletes    Olympic Qualification Tournament #1, set for Europe   5 athletes in each weight class X seven weights = 35 athletes    Olympic Qualification Tournament #2, set for a Pan American nation   4 athletes in each weight class X seven weights = 28 athletes    MEN'S GRECO-ROMAN (140 athletes)    2003 World Championships    10 athletes in each weight class X seven weights = 70 athletes    Automatic qualifiers for host Greece   1 athlete in each weight class X seven weights = 7 athletes    Olympic Qualification Tournament #1, set for Europe   5 athletes in each weight class X seven weights = 35 athletes    Olympic Qualification Tournament #2, set for Asia   4 athletes in each weight class X seven weights = 28 athletes    WOMEN'S FREESTYLE (48 athletes)    2003 World Championships    5 athletes in each weight class X four weights = 20 athletes    Automatic qualifiers for host Greece   1 athlete in each weight class X four weights = 4 athletes    Olympic Qualification Tournament #1, set for Africa   3 athletes in each weight class X four weights = 12 athletes    Olympic Qualification Tournament #2, set for Europe   3 athletes in each weight class X four  weights = 12 athletes    NON-GENDER SPECIFIC (16 athletes)    FILA wildcard selections, for continental representation = 12 athletes    Invitations by the Tripartite Commission, for smaller National Olympic Committees = 4 athletes