Wrestling at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Wrestling at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Wrestling events at the 2012 Summer Olympics took place from 5 to 12 August at ExCeL London. The competition featured two styles: Freestyle and Greco-Roman, each with several weight classes. Men could enter both styles, while women competed only in Freestyle, for a total of 18 gold medals. Wrestling has appeared at every modern Summer Olympics except for the 1900 Paris Games.
In each division, 19 men or 18 women entered, along with up to six additional wrestlers allocated to the host nation or by the tripartite commission before the Games. Wrestlers were paired by lot in qualification rounds to reduce the field to 16, then advanced through a single-elimination bracket to determine the gold and silver medalists. The wrestlers defeated by each finalist in the three or four bouts leading to the final entered two separate repechages, with the winner of each repechage receiving a bronze medal.
Notable medal changes occurred after retesting of samples. In men’s freestyle 60 kg, Russia’s Besik Kudukhov originally won silver; his 2012 sample tested positive for banned substances in 2016, but the IOC closed the case after learning he died in a car accident in December 2013. In men’s freestyle 74 kg, Uzbekistan’s Soslan Tigiev was stripped of his bronze medal in 2016 following a positive retest. In men’s freestyle 120 kg, Georgia’s Davit Modzmanashvili lost his silver medal in January 2019, and Uzbekistan’s Artur Taymazov lost his gold medal in July 2019, both after positive retests of their 2012 samples.
A total of 343 wrestlers from 71 nations participated.
Quick Facts
- Event
- Wrestling
- Games
- 2012 Summer
- Venue
- ExCeL London
- Dates
- 5–12 August 2012
- Competitors
- 343
- Nations
- 71
- Num Events
- 18
- Prev
- 2008
- Next
- 2016
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The competition format involved 19 men or 18 women competing in each division, plus 6 others allocated to the host country or by the tripartite commission. Wrestlers determined by lot competed in qualification rounds to reduce the number to 16, then proceeded by simple knockout to determine finalists for gold and silver. Two groups of wrestlers defeated by the finalists competed in serial elimination repechages, with the victor in each repechage awarded bronze. All times were British Summer Time (UTC+1).
Reader's Guide
The 2012 Olympics marked a significant chapter in wrestling's long Olympic history, being contested at every modern Games except 1900. The event saw several medal reallocations due to doping retests: Besik Kudukhov of Russia lost his silver medal in the men's freestyle 60 kg after a positive retest, but proceedings were closed following his death in a car accident in December 2013. Soslan Tigiev of Uzbekistan was disqualified from his bronze in the men's freestyle 74 kg in 2016. In the men's freestyle 120 kg, Davit Modzmanashvili of Georgia was stripped of his silver in January 2019, and Artur Taymazov of Uzbekistan lost his gold in July 2019, all due to positive retests of their 2012 samples. These disqualifications underscore the ongoing efforts to maintain integrity in Olympic wrestling.
Did You Know?
- Wrestling has been contested at every modern Summer Olympic Games except Paris 1900.
- Men competed in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman disciplines; women only took part in freestyle events.
- Besik Kudukhov of Russia won the silver medal in men's freestyle 60 kg, but the IOC closed proceedings after learning he died in a car accident in December 2013.
- Artur Taymazov of Uzbekistan was disqualified from his gold medal in men's freestyle 120 kg in July 2019 after a retest of his 2012 sample tested positive for banned substances.
More in Wrestling at the Summer Olympics 1-24
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