U.S. Women’s Freestyle National Team launches How She Wrestles campaign designed to share their stories

Artwork by Victoria Francis.

On Sunday, a group of USA women’s freestyle wrestlers launched a campaign called How She Wrestles, which is a social media campaign used to highlight the stories of the USA’s female wrestlers.

Headed by multiple-time Senior National Team member and University World bronze medalist Julia Salata, the idea came about after conversations about women’s freestyle coverage took over Twitter last weekend.

“Through this campaign, we can have autonomy in how we are covered and create our own narrative, so that the wrestling fans can get to know us on a more personal level,” Salata said. “As female wrestlers, we often get asked the same questions over and over again, which is fine, but we have so many more personal stories that we want to share.  Through our stories, the wrestling community can get to know us on a whole new level, and hopefully become more invested in our women and join us in our push to grow the sport.”

Each week, National Team members will tackle a new topic, such as ‘how she wrestles with injuries’ or ‘how she wrestles with body positivity’ etc., with the hopes of inspiring younger female athletes and encouraging them to get involved and share their stories using the #HowSheWrestles hashtag, as well. 

This week is the kick-off, with multiple National Team athletes discussing a topic that speaks to them individually. Specific topics will follow in subsequent weeks.

People can follow the campaign each week through the #HowSheWrestles hashtag and on Twitter and Instagram @HowSheWrestles.