Power ranking every single sport at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics
By Nick Villano
5. Wrestling
We have come to the elite of the elite sports. The top five Olympic sports stand far above the rest. They are the sports that get the best ratings, and they are the ones that end up producing the most storylines before and after the Games. These are where stars are often born, and that includes wrestling.
Over its history, we’ve seen names like Kurt Angle, Alexander Karelin, Dan Gable, Henry Cejudo, and Gable Steveson turn their Olympic gold medals into fame outside the sport. We still remember Rulon Gardner's upset in 2000. Most of them are household names in one form or another. Some went into WWE and other professional wrestling, others tried football, and some took their skills to the Octagon.
Wrestling is one of the events many think of when they consider the Ancient Greek Olympics. It’s pretty clear why. Wrestling is literally the act of overpowering an opponent through brute force. There are fancy moves, thrilling victories, and devastating defeats. It is the pinnacle of sports.
Wrestling has a long history in the United States, and it’s one of the most popular high school sports. Many spectators are excited about wrestling, first and foremost, at the Olympics. It will be a fun year with a lot of underdogs making it to Paris.