News Text: Patricia da MattaIf sport reflects society then wrestling is showing that we are moving in the right direction when it comes to gender equality Having faced expulsion from the Olympic Games in 2013, this traditionally male-dominated sport put itself through a bold modernisation process, with one of the central changes being to increase the number of women competitors And the Rio 2016 freestyle wrestling test event, staged at Carioca Arena 1 in Barra Olympic Park this weekend (30-31 January), was an apt celebration of this progress, with 50 female wrestlers from eight nations in action One of the stars of the show was the USA’s Adeline Gray, a three-time world champion, who took gold in the -75kg category on Sunday “We have six weight classes for men and six for women,” she said “Having that kind of equality in wrestling, which is not traditionally a female sport, is amazing It really shows how far women have come in this sport and in the world Young girls can look up to people like Aline Silva and myself and see powerful women who can also be pretty and step on that mat and be strong ”“We are getting closer to equal pay and this is one more example of how our society is really pushing women to be successful”Adeline GrayGray (in blue) grappples with Canada's Erica Wiebe in the gold medal match (Photo: Rio 2016/Alex Ferro)Women started competing in wrestling world championships in 1987, when only eight nations sent female competitors, compared with more than a hundred today Women wrestlers made their Olympic debut at the Athens 2004 Games as a result of the huge growth in participation According to Canada’s Danielle Lappage, who won the -63kg event on Sunday, this trend continues today in her homeland “In Canada and the US, women’s wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports,” she said “I started when I was a kid and it’s the best sport It has everything: emotion, mental challenges, the physical aspect I hope being a girl doesn’t stop anyone from trying it ”“In wrestling, it’s not just about how fast or how strong you are It’s also about will, strategy, technique”Stanley DziedzicUnited World Wrestling, the sport’s governing body, is reaping the benefits of adding new categories to ensure women have the same number of events as men Vice-president Stanley Dziedzic said: “There is no reason why women can’t do it and actually they present a specific set of skills that differentiates the style of wrestling, adding an interesting dynamic to the sport ”Become a freestyle wrestling expert with our interactive infographicBrazilians Lais de Oliveira and Dailana dos Reis fight for bronze in the -63kg category (Photo: Rio 2016/Alex Ferro)China, Canada and the USA are among the traditional powers in women’s wrestling and so it proved at Carioca Arena 1 The Chinese reached all three finals on Saturday, taking gold in the -48kg when Sun Yannan overcame Russia’s Valentina Islamova in the final, and also in the -69kg, in which Feng Zhou Canada’s beat Dorothy Yeats to gold Japan’s Yui Sakano prevented a Chinese clean sweep by defeating Li Qian in the -58kg final Gray set the tone early on Sunday in the -75kg event, beating home favourite Aline Silva (who went on to take bronze) in the first round before seeing off Qian Zhou in the semi-finals In the gold medal match she earned victory over Canada’s Erica Wiebe in the final seconds of the bout “The competition was wonderful, I think people are doing the best they can to make this Olympics the best”Adeline GrayGray is now focused on making history in Rio six months from now “I am very happy with the high calibre that showed up today and that I came out on top,” she said “I am excited for the Olympics and am hoping to be the first (female wrestling) gold medallist from the United States ”Danielle Lappage on her way to gold in the -63kg event (Photo: Rio 2016/Alex Ferro)Lappage, who defeated China’s Wang Xiaoqian in the -63kg final, said she was impressed by the event “I have no complaints, it was well organised and the venue is beautiful,” she said “I’m excited to see what August holds, it will be my first time in the Olympics and it has always been my biggest dream ”China ensured they topped the medals table by setting up an all-Chinese final in the -53kg category, in which Zhong Xuechun defeated Li Hui Carioca Arena 1 has been the centre of attention so far in 2016 (Photo: Rio 2016/Alex Ferro) As well as venue management, the event allowed Games organisers to test the results systems, volunteer operations and the competition area, all of which were approved by United World Wrestling This was the third test event of the year and the third to be held at Carioca Arena 1, following the basketball and powerlifting competitions The next test event will be diving (the FINA Diving World Cup) on 19-24 February at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre, where many of the world’s top divers will compete to qualify for the Olympic Games