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| Event type

Heavyweight, Freestyle (>87 kilograms), Men

Date30 July – 1 August 1928
StatusOlympic
LocationKrachtsportgebouw, Amsterdam
Participants7 from 7 countries
FormatSingle-elimination tournament with separate single-elimination tournaments for second- and third-place. Second-place tournament conducted among those losing to the winner. Third-place tournament conducted among those losing to the winner or runner-up.

No international freestyle events had been contested since the 1924 Olympics so it was difficult to choose a favorite. There were only seven entrants in this class. Switzerland’s Henri Wernli was the defending silver medalist, but he lost in the semi-finals to American Ed Don George, who then lost in the final match to Sweden’s Johan Richthoff, who went home with gold. Richthoff had defeated Finland’s Aukusti Sihvola in round one, but Sihvola won two matches in the second-place tournament to take the silver medal. The bronze went to France’s Edmond Dame, who defeated George in the third-place tournament’s only match. In 1932 Richthoff returned for a second gold medal, becoming the first heavyweight wrestler to defend their title, in either style, at the Olympics.

PosCompetitor(s)NOC
1Johan RichthoffSWEGold
2Aukusti SihvolaFINSilver
3Edmond DameFRABronze
4Ed Don GeorgeUSA
5Henri WernliSUI
=6Earl McCreadyCAN
=6Léon CharlierBEL

Round One (30 July 1928)

Match #1 Ed Don GeorgeUSA Earl McCreadyCAN
Match #2 Henri WernliSUI Léon CharlierBEL
Match #3 Johan RichthoffSWE Aukusti SihvolaFIN
Match #4 Edmond DameFRA bye

Semi-Finals (31 July 1928)

Match #1 Ed Don GeorgeUSA Henri WernliSUI
Match #2 Johan RichthoffSWE Edmond DameFRA

Final Round (1 August 1928)

Match #1 Johan RichthoffSWE Ed Don GeorgeUSA

2nd-Place Tournament (1 August 1928)

Match #1 Aukusti SihvolaFIN Ed Don GeorgeUSA
Match #2 Aukusti SihvolaFIN Edmond DameFRA

3rd-Place Tournament (1 August 1928)

Match #1 Edmond DameFRA Ed Don GeorgeUSA