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| Event type

Heavyweight, Freestyle (>82.5 kilograms), Men

Date25 – 27 August 1920
StatusOlympic
LocationFeestzaal, Koninklijke Zoölogische Maatschappij, Antwerpen
Participants8 from 5 countries
FormatSingle-elimination tournament. Losing semi-finalists wrestled off for 3rd-Place.

Robert Roth of Switzerland won the gold medal by defeating Nat Pendleton of the United States in the finals. Hans Roth, brother of Robert, competed in this class in 1924 at Paris but was eliminated after the second round. Roth was the only Olympic competitor, and the only wrestler not from Austria, Germany, or Hungary, who competed in the 1920 World Greco-Roman Championships. In the heavyweight class he finished 6th and last in that event.

There is some confusion over the third place in this event. The match between Meyer and Nilsson ended in a draw. Official regulations mention that a judge should pick a winner in such case, but apparently this did not occur. Contemporary sources contradict each other and themselves on whether these wrestlers were ranked third or fourth. Notably, both the Official Report and the US Olympic Committee Report list them as third in one place, yet as fourth in another. We have chosen to list them in third place, as this seems the most sensible.

PosCompetitor(s)NOC
1Robert RothSUIGold
2Nat PendletonUSASilver
=3Fred MeyerUSABronze
=3Ernst NilssonSWEBronze
=5Sven MattssonFIN
=5Jussi SalilaFIN
=5William MasonGBR
=5Archie MacDonaldGBR

Round One (25 August 1920)

Match #1 Robert RothSUI
decision
Jussi SalilaFIN
Match #2 Fred MeyerUSA
fall (6:41)
William MasonGBR
Match #3 Nat PendletonUSA
decision
Sven MattssonFIN
Match #4 Ernst NilssonSWE
fall (1:59)
Archie MacDonaldGBR

Semi-Finals (27 August 1920)

Match #1 Robert RothSUI Fred MeyerUSA
Match #2 Nat PendletonUSA Ernst NilssonSWE

Final Round (27 August 1920)

Match 1/2 Robert RothSUI Nat PendletonUSA
Match 3/4 Fred MeyerUSA
draw (10:00)
Ernst NilssonSWE