MEN’S WRESTLING AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES, 1896–2024: A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF MEDAL DISTRIBUTION, COMPETITIVE CONCENTRATION, AND HISTORICAL TRANSFORMATION

Mehmet Yıldız

Abstract


The aim of this study was to examine the historical development of men’s Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling competitions from the 1896 Athens Olympic Games to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, the medal performances of Olympic delegations, and changes in the concentration of medal success over time. The study was designed as descriptive research based on the historical research method and secondary data analysis. Data on Olympic wrestling competitions were compiled from historical results published by United World Wrestling (UWW). Results from men’s Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling competitions were evaluated by Olympic year, wrestling style, and Olympic delegation. Historical performance rankings were determined primarily according to the number of gold medals, followed by silver and bronze medals. The Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (HHI), normalized HHI, Four-Delegation Concentration Ratio (CR4), and Gini coefficient were used to assess concentration and inequality in medal distribution. The main quantitative analyses were restricted to official editions of the Olympic Games; the 1906 Athens Intercalated Games were excluded from the primary analyses. The findings indicate that medal success in men’s Olympic wrestling was concentrated among a limited number of delegations during the early periods, whereas competition gradually expanded to a broader international base as the number of medal-winning countries increased over time. In the historical ranking based on gold medals, the Soviet Union ranked first, while the United States recorded the highest total number of medals. Türkiye also ranked among the leading delegations in terms of historical gold-medal success. Long-term changes in the HHI, normalized HHI, and CR4 indicate that medal concentration, particularly in the modern period, declined compared with the early Olympic Games. Nevertheless, periodic fluctuations demonstrate that the transformation of the competitive structure was not linear. In conclusion, medal success in men’s Olympic wrestling became distributed across a broader group of countries over approximately 130 years, while certain countries maintained their historical prominence. By evaluating the history of Olympic wrestling through the combined use of long-term medal data and competitive concentration indicators, this study is expected to contribute to the literature on sport history and sport management.

Keywords


Olympic wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling, freestyle wrestling, Olympic Games, medal distribution, competitive concentration

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejpe.v13i7.7069

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