A Gender Neutral Olympics

     This has been the greatest Olympics for women.  Women have been given much news coverage and fan support in sports other than swimming and gymnastics.  For the first time, every Olympic team had women athletes -- even Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and other unlikely countries.  Also, for the first time, women competed in every sport, boxing being the latest male bastion to fall.  Indeed, women were some of the biggest stars of the Games.  The U.S. might not be at top of the medals table without the continuing success of our women track and field athletes.  Even women spectators gained some equality as the number of ladies' toilets outnumbered men by about 6 to 1, thereby eliminating typical queues.
     Women's free style wrestling gained an increase to four weight classes (seven for men) for 2012 and continues to gain a strong following.  As with men, there are single and double leg take downs, half nelsons, leg trips, whizzers and cradles and all the other moves you would expect to see at an NCAA wrestling championships.  Somewhat surprisingly, Japan - land of the Geisha - is a power at this sport, winning three of the four golds available.  Azerbaijan won medals in three events.  The U.S. managed a Bronze by Clarissa Kyoko Mei Ling Chun.
     One of the featured elements of women's wrestling is Japan's victory celebration which includes the jubilant wrestler body slamming her coach to the mat.  Name a sport that has such excitement for the spectators.

Ukraine's Tetyana Lazareva goes for a single-leg take down against Colombia's Jackeline Castillo.  Castillo won the bronze medal match.

Japan's Saori Yoshida, 55-kg gold medal winner, carries her coach around the mat in celebration.  This came after body slamming him to the mat.