Wrestling at the Rio 2016 Olympics: All you need to know

How does it work?

The sport of wrestling is almost as old as mankind itself and was a staple of the ancient Games. Use of the legs to try to hold or trip opponents distinguishes the two disciplines - it is allowed in freestyle but not in Greco-Roman. All competitions follow a knockout format.

After a review of the 2012 Games, it looked as though wrestling might miss out on a place at the 2020 Olympics. The sport modernised and introduced rule changes - and successfully won a spot in Tokyo.

There are now 12 golds up for grabs for the men (six in both freestyle and Greco-Roman) and six for the women, who just compete in freestyle, plus a cumulative scoring system.

Who are the favourites?

Japanese freestyle pair Saori Yoshida (53kg) and Kaori Icho (58kg) are both bidding for an Olympic record fourth consecutive gold.

In Greco-Roman, Cuba's Mijain Lopez (130kg) is after an Olympic hat-trick. Russia and USA won four gold medals apiece at the 2015 World Championships.

Who are the British prospects?

The British prospects? There aren't any.

That's because Team GB did not earn a quota place in any of the freestyle or Greco-Roman wrestling tournaments for men or women in Rio.

I didn't know that...

Male wrestlers must be either closely shaven or have a beard of several months' growth.

Previous British medallists

Seventeen (three gold, four silver, 10 bronze)

Most recent British golds

1908 - Stanley Bacon (middleweight), George de Relwyskow (lightweight), George O'Kelly (heavyweight)*

Most recent British medal

1984 - Noel Loban (bronze, light heavyweight)*

*all freestyle

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