Dr. Hab., Professor A.A. Karelin¹
Dr. Hab., Professor B.I. Tarakanov¹
Dr. Hab., Professor R.N. Apoiko¹
PhD, Professor S.I. Petrov¹
V.S. Koblova^1
1Lesgaft National State University of Physical Education, Sport and Health, St. Petersburg

Corresponding author: b.tarakanov@lesgaft.spb.ru

Abstract

Objective of the study was to analyze modern women’s freestyle wrestling progress trends in the context of the global sports movement history based on the statistics of the Women's World Wrestling Championships.  

Results and conclusion. The Women's World Wrestling Championships statistics analysis for the whole Women's World Wrestling Championships period (31 events on the whole) shows only six nations leading in the team standings, with 24 events won by Japan women’s freestyle wrestling team (77.4% of the total); followed by Russia and China (2 won events); and the USA, Norway and Azerbaijan (1 event each). The analysis demonstrates, on the one hand, the colossal superiority of the Japan women’s freestyle wrestling team and, on the other hand, a very tough competition of the other leading nations.

Having summarized and analyzed the women’s freestyle wrestling progress data in the context of the global sports movement, we would emphasize that the constantly growing competitiveness of the Women's World Wrestling Championship with the fast growths in numbers of individual elite competitors and competing national teams are the key factors indicative of the rapidly increasing popularity of the modern women’s freestyle wrestling sport that is clearly on a fast progress path nowadays.

Keywords: dynamics, female freestyle wrestler, characteristics, trend, indicator, competing nation, stage, sports movement, development.

Background. It was back in the late 1980s that the relatively limited group of freestyle wrestling specialists and enthusiasts initiated international women’s freestyle wrestling competitions [5]. The initiative has made a fast success due to multiple circumstances and factors of influence dominated by [2, 3]: (1) enthusiasm of the growing feminist organizations striving to empower women in every social domain including traditional men’s sports; (2) great progress made by that time in the women's judo at the top-ranking international events including the World Cups and European Championships; and (3) fairly high popularity of the wrestling sport disciplines in many countries including France, Norway, Japan, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, etc.

These developments and movements facilitated intensive growth of the women’s freestyle wrestling thereafter, with the World Women’s Wrestling Championships run since 1987, although most of the global sports community had been skeptical about this innovation since the competitive freestyle wrestling was widely considered a men-only sport [1]. The first Women's freestyle wrestling Championship in Norway still made success despite skepticism, indifference and even resistance, with 48 individual women’s freestyle wrestling competitors from eight countries [4].

Objective of the study was to analyze modern women’s freestyle wrestling progress trends in the context of the global sports movement history based on the statistics of the Women's World Wrestling Championships.  

Results and discussion. The Women's World Wrestling Championships statistics analysis (see Table 1 hereunder) for the whole Women's World Wrestling Championships period (31 events on the whole) shows only six nations leading in the team standings, with 24 events won by Japan women’s freestyle wrestling team (77.4% of the total); followed by Russia and China (2 won events); and the USA, Norway and Azerbaijan (1 event each). The analysis demonstrates, on the one hand, the colossal superiority of the Japan women’s freestyle wrestling team and, on the other hand, a very tough competition of the other leading nations.

Tab1e 1. Team standings in the Women's World Wrestling Championships

As far as the total gold, silver and bronze medal stocks are concerned, the Japan leadership is undeniable as the nation has never been lower than second on the team scoreboard in every championship with its 31 medals in total. Going second is Russia with its 13 wins (two gold, seven silver and four bronze medals) followed by the USA with also 13 medals albeit only one gold, one silver and 11 bronze ones. They are followed by China with its seven wins (two gold, two silver and three bronze medals) and Canada and France with five medals each. Ranked in the top-ten is Norway that four times was among the top-three world strongest teams (one gold and three silver medals), followed by Taiwan that was three times among the top-three teams; Kazakhstan and Mongolia, with two medals each (one silver and one bronze medal). The other nations listed in the Table were only once among the top-three teams, namely: Azerbaijan (one gold), Belarus, Hungary, Venezuela, Sweden (one silver each), and Bulgaria (one bronze medal). Given on Figure 1 hereunder is the historical statistics of the nations competing in the Women's World Wrestling Championship.

Figure 1. Historical statistics of nations competing in the Women's World Wrestling Championship

The women’s freestyle wrestling progress may be classified into a few stages by the numbers of competing nations. Thus in 1987 through 1991 the numbers varied within the range of 8 to 13 competing nations (11.5±1.2 on average), and we would therefore call this period a Startup stage. It was followed (in 1992 through 1999) by a relatively long and stable Pre-Olympic stability stage with 19 to 24 national teams (23.5±0.6 on average) competing in the Women's World Wrestling Championship. Then the women’s freestyle wrestling sport was listed in the 2004 Olympic Games program to open up the short albeit rather specific Pre-Olympic stage (2000 through 2003) with the numbers of national teams growing to 24 to 34 (28.8±2.4 on average).

Since the XXVIII (2004) Olympics mandated the women’s freestyle wrestling discipline and it was since then ever listed in the Olympic Games programs, the Women's World Wrestling Championship statistics reported fast growth in the numbers of competing nations (in the period of 2005 to 2011) to as many as 41 to 62 (50.2±2.9 on average), and we would call this period a Fast growth stage. This peak was naturally followed by a notable drop in 2012 through 2016 when 21 to 41 (31.4±3.8 on average) national teams competed in the championships – and we would call it a Short stagnation stage. Lately, in 2017 till now, the Women's World Wrestling Championship statistics have reported a modest growth to 44 to 55 (50.3±3.7 on average) competing nations, and we would call this period a Modern progress stage.

The above variations and stages closely correlate with the flow statistics of individual qualifiers for the Women's World Wrestling Championship for the periods. Figure 2 hereunder demonstrates a high correlation of the numbers of individual competitors with the numbers of team competitors (r = 0.92).

Figure 2. Historical statistics of the individual competitors to the Women's World Wrestling Championship

Startup stage Pre-Olympic stability stage Pre-Olympic stage Fast growth stage Short stagnation stage Modern progress stage

The above data show only 48 to 64 Women's World Wrestling Championship competitors (52.5±3.9 on average) at the Startup stage; followed by growth to 54 to 137 competitors (87.0±10.3 on average) at the Pre-Olympic stability stage; and 90 to 154 competitors (123±15.5 on average) at the Pre-Olympic stage. Then goes a peak with 139 to 215 athletes (171.7±10.6 on average) competing at the Fast growth stage; followed by a fall to 36 to 219 competitors (131.6±35.1 on average) at the Short stagnation stage; and the latest increase to 191 to 252 athletes (222.7±20.9 on average) at the Modern progress stage.

Conclusion. Having summarized and analyzed the women’s freestyle wrestling progress data in the context of the global sports movement, we would emphasize that the constantly growing competitiveness of the Women's World Wrestling Championship with the fast growth in numbers of individual elite competitors and competing national teams are the key factors indicative of the rapidly increasing popularity of the modern women’s freestyle wrestling sport that is clearly on a fast progress path nowadays.

References

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