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| Event type

Light-Heavyweight, Greco-Roman (≤82.5 kilograms), Men

Date2 – 5 August 1928
StatusOlympic
LocationKrachtsportgebouw, Amsterdam
Participants17 from 17 countries
FormatDouble-elimination tournament.

Sweden’s Carl Westergren was the favorite. He was the defending champion, had also won a gold medal in 1920 as a middleweight, and was the 1925 European Champion. But in round one he was drawn against Finn Onni Pellinen, the bronze medalist from Paris, and Pellinen defeated him by decision. Westergren, irate over the decision, then withdrew from the event in anger, leaving the medal race wide-open. Pellinen continued to win until the fifth round when he faced Egyptian Ibrahim Moustafa, who won on points. That advanced Moustafa to a match against German Adolf Rieger for the gold and silver medal, with Moustafa again winning by decision for the title. Pellinen was left with another bronze medal, and in 1932 at Los Angeles, he would win a third consecutive medal in this class, moving up to silver. Neither Moustafa nor Rieger were ever heard from him again in international wrestling. Westergren was not finished, as in 1932 he became the first Olympic wrestler to win three gold medals, that time winning as a heavyweight.

PosCompetitor(s)NOC
1Ibrahim MoustafaEGYGold
2Adolf RiegerGERSilver
3Onni PellinenFINBronze
4Nicolas AppelsBEL
=5Ejnar HansenDEN
=5Imre SzalayHUN
7Otto PohlaEST
=8Robert GaupsetNOR
=8Johan HeijmNED
=8Kārlis PētersonsLAT
=8Josef VávraTCH
=8Émile ClodyFRA
=8Jan GałuszkaPOL
=14Max StuderSUI
=14A. ŞefikTUR
=14Bela JuhaszYUG
17Carl WestergrenSWE

Round One (2 August 1928)

Match #1 Adolf RiegerGER
decision
Ejnar HansenDEN
Match #2 Robert GaupsetNOR
fall
Johan HeijmNED
Match #3 Otto PohlaEST
fall
Max StuderSUI
Match #4 Onni PellinenFIN
decision
Carl WestergrenSWE
Match #5 Imre SzalayHUN
fall
Kārlis PētersonsLAT
Match #6 Josef VávraTCH
decision
Bela JuhaszYUG
Match #7 Émile ClodyFRA
decision
A. ŞefikTUR
Match #8 Ibrahim MoustafaEGY
fall
Nicolas AppelsBEL
Match #9 Jan GałuszkaPOL bye

Round Two (3 August 1928)

Match #1 Ejnar HansenDEN
fall
Jan GałuszkaPOL
Match #2 Adolf RiegerGER
decision
Robert GaupsetNOR
Match #3 Johan HeijmNED
fall
Max StuderSUI
Match #4 Onni PellinenFIN
decision
Otto PohlaEST
Match #5 Imre SzalayHUN
decision
Josef VávraTCH
Match #6 Kārlis PētersonsLAT
fall
Bela JuhaszYUG
Match #7 Nicolas AppelsBEL
fall
Émile ClodyFRA
Match #8 Ibrahim MoustafaEGY
decision
A. ŞefikTUR

Round Three (4 August 1928)

Match #1 Adolf RiegerGER
fall
Jan GałuszkaPOL
Match #2 Ejnar HansenDEN
fall
Robert GaupsetNOR
Match #3 Otto PohlaEST
fall
Johan HeijmNED
Match #4 Onni PellinenFIN
fall
Kārlis PētersonsLAT
Match #5 Émile ClodyFRA
decision
Imre SzalayHUN
Match #6 Nicolas AppelsBEL
fall
Josef VávraTCH
Match #7 Ibrahim MoustafaEGY bye

Round Four (5 August 1928)

Match #1 Ibrahim MoustafaEGY
fall
Ejnar HansenDEN
Match #2 Adolf RiegerGER
decision
Otto PohlaEST
Match #3 Onni PellinenFIN
fall
Imre SzalayHUN
Match #4 Nicolas AppelsBEL bye

Round Five (5 August 1928)

Match #1 Adolf RiegerGER
fall
Nicolas AppelsBEL
Match #2 Ibrahim MoustafaEGY
decision
Onni PellinenFIN

Final Round (5 August 1928)

Match #1 Ibrahim MoustafaEGY
decision
Adolf RiegerGER