Olympics - Women's wrestling

This is one of the oddest sporting experiences of my life, to be sure. Three bouts going on at any one time, and I have absolutely NO idea (a) who is from where, (b) who is winning, and (c) what they're trying to do to each other.


It's noisy, some people are clapping and cheering, but there are many neophytes in the audience like me sitting in stony silence. I want to enjoy it ... but it's unfathomable. After ten minutes, my eyes have glazed over.

One small, random point of interest is that my noisiest neighbors happen to be from the Swedish town of Gellivare. (They seem to be intoxicated. Only for Scandinavians could the $8 beer here seem like a good deal.) Gellivare was an overnight stop during TransEurope 2009, after a particularly brutal 60-mile stage. Ah, memories!


Gellivare is an iron mining town in the far north. Much of the town collapsed a few decades back due to the network of tunnels beneath the town. It is noted for a high incidence of a genetic disorder which causes insensitivity to pain. Handy for wrestlers, maybe? Who knows?

Location:ExCel Centre, London