Olympic wrestling 2016 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch men’s freestyle matches online

Olympic freestyle wrestling continues Saturday at the Rio Games, with elimination rounds and repechage and medal matches in the men’s 86 kg and 125 kg weight classes.

Wrestling has been a part of the Olympics since the earliest days of the Games, though Greco-Roman wrestling was not officially incorporated in the modern era for the Athens Games until 1896. Freestyle wrestling was established as an Olympic event beginning in 1904, and there was a time following the 2012 Games in London that it appeared wrestling would cease to be an Olympic event. A grassroots campaign to save wrestling emerged, and it remains for the 2016 Games in Rio.

The key difference between Greco-Roman wrestling and freestyle is that freestyle wrestlers are permitted to use their legs at all times during a match, which is not allowed in Greco-Roman. Freestyle wrestlers do not have to maintain contact with their opponent all the way to the mat during a takedown, while a Greco-Roman competitor does.

The elimination rounds begin at 9 a.m. ET, with matches going concurrently on three mats. The repechage and medal matches begin at 3 p.m.

All times Eastern.

9 a.m. - Elimination matches for men’s 86kg and 125kg
TV: NBCSN, tape-delay programming begins at 1:45 p.m.
Mat A
Mat B
Mat C

3 p.m. - Repechage and medal matches for men’s 86kg and 125kg
TV: USA, tape-delay programming begins at 7:45 p.m.