Olympic wrestling matches take place in either dual meet or tournament formats. There are two styles of wrestling within the Olympic styles - Freestyle and Greco-Roman. Matches in both styles are six minutes long consisting of two, three-minute periods separated by a 30-second break.

Matches can be ended early either by a fall, technical superiority (lead by 10 or more points), injury default, or by disqualification. At the end of regulation, the wrestler with the most points is declared the winner. IF the score is tied, matches are decided by criteria. The below article is a quick explanation of everything you need to know about the differences in styles, how to score points, and criteria.

The Difference Between Freestyle And Greco-Roman Wrestling

There are two different styles of wrestling in the Olympics - Freestyle and Greco-Roman. The major difference between these two styles is the use of the lower body. In Greco-Roman, it is illegal to attack an opposing wrestler below the waist. In freestyle, moves both above and below the waist are permitted. See the two videos below for an example of both styles.

Freestyle Wrestling Match

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Greco-Roman Wrestling Match

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Wrestling Scoring For Individual Matches

Depending on the type of attack and result of the moves, wrestlers earn either 1, 2, 4, or 5 points in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. See the below examples for the variety of ways to score in freestyle and Greco-Roman. The below explanations are simplified versions of the definitions given in United World Wrestling's rulebook.

1 Point

• Step Out - awarded to the attacking wrestler if his opponent steps out of bounds.
• Lost Challenges - awarded to the opponent when a wrestler challenges a call that is upheld after review
• Awarded to the opponent of a wrestler who fails to score points during the 30-second passivity time
• Illegal moves
• Awarded to the opponent when a wrestler flees the mat
• Reversal 
• Passivity (in Greco-Roman)

2 Points

• Takedown: Awarded to the wrestler who “controls his opponent by passing behind (three points of contact: two arms and one knee or two knees and one arm or head).”
• Correct Throw: “A correct and complete throw that brings his opponent into a prone position or lateral position or a position with three points of contact. The defensive wrestler must lose control during the throw.”
• Exposure: “To the wrestler who executes a hold that places his opponent's back at an angle of less than 90 degrees, including when his opponent is on one or two outstretched arms.”
• To the wrestler who blocks his opponent in the execution of a hold from the standing position, in a position of danger.
• Awarded to the opponent of a wrestlers who flees the mat while on his back
• Illegal moves (in Greco-Roman)
• Fleeing the mat or a hold (in Greco-Roman)

4 Points

• Awarded to the wrestler who takes his opponent directly to a “danger position” from the neutral position (standing) - frequently called “Feet to Back”
• Awarded to the wrestler who lifts his opponent from the ground and brings his opponent into a danger position

5 Points

• All “Grand Amplitude” throws. The United World Wrestling rulebook defines a “grand amplitude throw” as: “Any action or hold by a wrestler…that causes his opponent to lose all contact with the ground, controls him, makes him describe a broadly sweeping curve in the air, and brings him to the ground in a direct and immediate danger position.”

Criteria Explained

If the match is tied at the end of 6 minutes, the winner is decided by following the following criteria:

1. The highest value of holds (i.e. if the score is tied at 4 but one wrestler scored a 4-point move and the other wrestler scored 2, two-point moves, the wrestler with the 4-point move wins).
2. The least amount of cautions
3. The last points scored in the match

Wrestling Scoring In Team Competitions

There are two different types of team competitions in International wrestling - tournaments and dual meets. Like in American folkstyle dual meets, Freestyle or Greco-Roman dual meets take place between two teams with wrestlers in the same weight class competing against one another. Depending on who wins, and the margin of victory, determines the number of points earned for his/her respective team. For tournaments, teams earn points based on where each member of the team finishes. 

Team Points In A Tournament

• 1st Place - 25 points
• 2nd Place - 20 points
• 3rd Place - 15 points
• 5th Place - 10 points
• 7th Place - 8 points
• 8th Place - 6 points
• 9th Place - 4 points
• 10th Place - 2 points

Types Of Victories

• VPO - Victory by 9 or less where the losing wrestler scores zero points.
• VPO1 - Victory by 9 or less where the losing wrestler scores at least 1 point.
• VSU - Victory by 10 or more points where the losing wrestler scores zero points.
• VSU1 -  Victory by 10 or more points where the losing wrestler scores at least 1 point.
• VFA - Victory by fall
• VCA - 3 Cautions during the bout result in an immediate end to the match and victory for the opponent of the wrestler who commits the cautions regardless of the match score.
• VFO - Forfeit if the athlete doesn't show up to the mat or fails to weigh in
• VIN - Injury
• DSQ - Disqualification before or during the match

Team Scoring In A Dual Meet

• VPO - 3 Points for the winning team, 0 points for the losing team
• VPO1 - 3 points for the winning team, 1 point for the losing team
• VSU - 4 points for the winning team, 0 points for the losing team
• VSU1 -  4 points for the winning team, 1 point for the losing team
• VFA, VCA, VIN, VFO, DSQ - 5 points for the winning team, 0 points for the losing team