This week the wrestling tournament started at Rio 2016 bringing together 353 athletes from 68 countries who will compete in 21 olympic wresting events in two different disciplines: freestyle, for both men and women, and Greco-Roman, only for men.
According to the Rio 2016 official website, the athletes' goal is to force their opponent's shoulders on to the mat, in a fascinating mix of primal hand-to-hand combat and complex tactics, where technique, stamina and brute strength are all on display.
Oh, my.
Social media in Brazil didn't quite know how to handle such “primal hand-to-hand combat,” and the hashtag #lutaolimpica (olympic wrestling) was born. Here are some of our early favorites:
https://twitter.com/Liberti332/status/765580203775123456
“I just can't with #LutaOlimpica.”
https://twitter.com/vaiIagay/status/765338992946610176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
“I already know what kind of sport I want to compete in the next Olympics.”
"@BabadoForty: ADORO #LutaOlimpica rssss #Rio2016 https://t.co/68U5KvUC2j"@veraoliveira152
— Ge Feitiço 2017🎉 (@geovana75101175) August 16, 2016
“LOVE #LutaOlimpica lol”
https://twitter.com/rumenegon/status/765557138320220160
“#lutaolimpica is kind of a strange sport, isn't it?”
https://twitter.com/FelipeeJLopes/status/765321705736835073
“BUT GUYS”
https://twitter.com/JarbasRibeiro/status/765272114194677760
“I want to apologize to everybody, but I don't have the maturity to watch greco-roman wrestling.”
Eu pago a minha TV por assinatura pra isso #LutaOlimpica pic.twitter.com/6jNy6Vl1sR
— thiago (@ItsThigs) August 14, 2016
“This is why I pay for cable.”
https://twitter.com/Espantalhofz8/status/761978852243636224
“Dude, I don't understand that sport lol”
https://twitter.com/Liberti332/status/765584890914013184
#LutaOlimpica I just can't
https://twitter.com/porcelainthing/status/765521684891889664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
“Dude, they are showing olympic wresting on TV……… Can we pretend it's porn?”
You can check them out for yourself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3BX_t4876U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6er-0IRaU_0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60a7a-uMDz8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yaCmFmrHAI
Big thanks to Julio Reis for the videos.
