| Date | 4 – 7 August 1932 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California | |
| Participants | 8 from 8 countries | |
| Format | Scoring by negative points. Win by fall = 0 points; win by decision = 1 point; loss by 2-1 decision = 2 points; loss by 3-0 decision = 3 points; loss by fall = 3 points. Three judges gave decisions; thus all decisions were either 2-1 or 3-0. Five negative points eliminated a wrestler. | |
The clear favorite in this class was Sweden’s Ivar Johansson, who was European Champion in 1931. Only two days before this competition, he had won a gold medal in freestyle. Johansson lived up to the hype, winning his first three bouts by falls before easily defeating Finland’s Väinö Kajander for the gold medal. This made Johansson the first Olympic wrestler to win gold medals in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. The bronze medal went to Italian Ercole Gallegati, who had a fortunate bye in the third round.
To drop down from freestyle middleweight to Greco welterweight, Johansson spent the two days between tournaments fasting and sweating in sauna, losing 5 kg in the process. Johansson would return in 1936 and win gold as a middleweight in Greco-Roman. Through the end of his international career in 1939, he would win eight more European Championships. Gallegati would wrestle at the 1936, 1948, and 1952 Olympics, winning a bronze medal in middleweight Greco in 1948. Kajander was never heard from again on the international level.
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Round Eliminated | Bad Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivar Johansson |  SWE | – | – | Gold | ||
| 2 | Väinö Kajander |  FIN | – | – | Silver | ||
| 3 | Ercole Gallegati |  ITA | – | – | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Osvald Käpp |  EST | eliminated r3/5 | 5 | |||
| 5 | Børge Jensen |  DEN | eliminated r3/5 | 7 | |||
| =6 | Arild Dahl |  NOR | eliminated r2/5 | 6 | |||
| =6 | Shuichi Yoshida |  JPN | eliminated r2/5 | 6 | |||
| 8 | Gyula Zombori |  HUN | withdrew r2/5 | 3 | |||
| Jean Földeak |  GER | – | – | ||||
| Sumiyuki Kotani | JPN | – | – | ||||
| Gustaf Klarén | SWE | – | – | ||||
| Ludvig Lindblom | SWE | – | – |
| Date | 4 August 1932 |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Bad Points | Event Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Väinö Kajander | FIN | 0 | – | ||
| =1 | Ivar Johansson | SWE | 0 | – | ||
| =3 | Børge Jensen | DEN | 1 | – | ||
| =3 | Osvald Käpp | EST | 1 | – | ||
| =5 | Gyula Zombori | HUN | 3 | withdrew | ||
| =5 | Ercole Gallegati | ITA | 3 | – | ||
| =5 | Shuichi Yoshida | JPN | 3 | – | ||
| =5 | Arild Dahl | NOR | 3 | – |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 04 Aug | Børge Jensen | DEN | Decision | Arild Dahl | NOR | |
| Match #2 | 04 Aug | Ivar Johansson | SWE | Fall (4:18) | Gyula Zombori | HUN | |
| Match #3 | 04 Aug | Osvald Käpp | EST | Decision | Ercole Gallegati | ITA | |
| Match #4 | 04 Aug | Väinö Kajander | FIN | Fall (11:34) | Shuichi Yoshida | JPN |
| Date | 5 August 1932 |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Bad Points | Event Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Väinö Kajander | FIN | 0 | – | ||
| =1 | Ivar Johansson | SWE | 0 | – | ||
| 3 | Osvald Käpp | EST | 2 | – | ||
| 4 | Ercole Gallegati | ITA | 3 | – | ||
| 5 | Børge Jensen | DEN | 4 | – | ||
| =6 | Shuichi Yoshida | JPN | 6 | eliminated | ||
| =6 | Arild Dahl | NOR | 6 | eliminated |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 05 Aug | Ivar Johansson | SWE | Fall (11:04) | Arild Dahl | NOR | |
| Match #2 | 05 Aug | Osvald Käpp | EST | Decision | Børge Jensen | DEN | |
| Match #3 | 05 Aug | Ercole Gallegati | ITA | Fall (1:05) | Shuichi Yoshida | JPN | |
| Match #4 | 05 Aug | Väinö Kajander | FIN |
| Date | 6 August 1932 |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Bad Points | Event Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Väinö Kajander | FIN | 0 | – | ||
| =1 | Ivar Johansson | SWE | 0 | – | ||
| 3 | Ercole Gallegati | ITA | 3 | – | ||
| 4 | Osvald Käpp | EST | 5 | eliminated | ||
| 5 | Børge Jensen | DEN | 7 | eliminated |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 06 Aug | Ivar Johansson | SWE | Fall (8:39) | Osvald Käpp | EST | |
| Match #2 | 06 Aug | Väinö Kajander | FIN | Fall (3:06) | Børge Jensen | DEN | |
| Match #3 | 06 Aug | Ercole Gallegati | ITA |
| Date | 6 August 1932 |
|---|
| Pos | Competitor | NOC | Bad Points | Event Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Ivar Johansson | SWE | 0 | – | ||
| =1 | Väinö Kajander | FIN | 0 | – | ||
| 3 | Ercole Gallegati | ITA | 6 | eliminated |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 06 Aug | Väinö Kajander | FIN | Fall (11:39) | Ercole Gallegati | ITA | |
| Match #2 | 06 Aug | Ivar Johansson | SWE |
| Date | 7 August 1932 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 07 Aug | Ivar Johansson | SWE | Decision | Väinö Kajander | FIN |
