Rıza Kayaalp is a five time world champion and twelve time European champion Turkish wrestler competing in the 130 kg division of Greco-Roman wrestling. He won silver at the 2016 Summer Olympics and won bronze medals at the 2012 and 2020 Summer Olympics. He is a graduate of the Aksaray University Physical Education and Sports Academy and studies his master's degree at Bozok University.
Rıza Kayaalp
Greco-Roman, Graeco-Roman, classic wrestling is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been in every edition of the summer Olympics held since 1904. This style of wrestling forbids holds below the waist, which is the main feature that differentiates it from freestyle wrestling. This restriction results in an emphasis on throws, because a wrestler cannot use trips to bring an opponent to the ground or hook/grab the opponent's leg to avoid being thrown.
A Greco-Roman wrestling match at the 2004 U.S. National Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas
Even on the mat, a Greco-Roman wrestler must still find ways to turn his opponent's shoulders to the mat for a fall without using the legs.
Greco-Roman wrestling gold medal match taking place during the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Throws of grand amplitude, such as is seen here, can win entire periods, though bearing an extremely high risk of multiple injuries to both athletes, they require an all-out exertion of body strength and flexibility with inch-wise accuracy to execute safely, and a great deal of athleticism to get away unharmed.
