Beijing Olympic Games

Updated: 2008-06-17

(BEIJING, June 17) — On June 12 the Fédération Internationale des Luttes Associées (FILA) – the world governing body of wrestling – issued the official nomination lists for wrestlers from each country which has qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

FILA has seen a record number of competitors entered for all three styles, and also set a deadline of June 30 as the date each county must submit their final rosters.

In Greco-Roman wrestling, 135 wrestlers from 41 countries have put their names forward. Russia is the only country to have competitors in all classes.

Azerbaijan, Cuba, Iran, Russia and Turkey have won places for their teams in Freestyle, in which 136 wrestlers from 43 countries have gained qualification.

Sixty-six women wrestlers have also been nominated from 30 countries – with Canada, China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and USA achieving the maximum of four places each in this discipline.

Besides the names on the list, China can also send seven additional wrestlers from their nine unqualified wrestlers, according to FILA after their coordination with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

In total, 57 countries out of the 162 affiliated to FILA have wrestlers who have obtained the qualification criteria.

FILA have asked the IOC to allow extra places for those countries with competitors that did not quality but have warned them that the chances of this permission being granted may be quite small.