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Australia Wrestling

2000 Five Dollar

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This Olympic Wrestling commemorative coin was part of a set released following the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. They depict 28 forms of Olympic sports. The obverse features an Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II, right-facing with tiara. It also has the legend ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 2000. The reverse shows an Olympic Wrestling competitor performing a throw as well as the official Sydney 2000 Olympic logo and the five rings. This was designed by Philip Holliday and shows the denomination 5 DOLLARS.

The Olympic Wrestling event consists of two disciplines, Greco-Roman and Freestyle. Competitors from fifty-five countries took part in eight different weight categories which were the same for each discipline. The Russians were dominant, taking nine medals in total (six of them were Gold!) (Sports Reference, 2013) . The Russian winner of the 97Kg category has recently vowed to return the gold medal he won in Sydney in protest to the IOC's recent decision to take the sport off the Olympic calendar. Many countries have expressed anger at the IOC's recommendation on February 12th 2013 (Radio Free Europe, 2013) .

The original Olympic Games took place about 3,500 years ago but they didn't last. It was originally held during a religious festival honouring the Greek god Zeus. The Games were abolished in 393 A.D. by the Roman Emperor, Theodosius I, as he tried to suppress paganism. They restarted 1896 and were held in Athens, Greece. It was a great success. The International Olympic Committee had been formed two years earlier. The resurrection was an inspiration from Baron Pierre de Coubertin back in 1887. To be held every four years, as per Ancient Games, the Olympic Games became a great success. The first one to be held in Australia took place in Melbourne, 1956 (Sydney Olympic Games, 2010) . In 1993, Sydney was awarded the opportunity to host the 2000 Olympic Games. This was a chance for Australia to shine. And shine it did. The Sydney games broke so many records including ticket sales, attendances, transport,catering and most importantly, they finished fourth in the medal tables.