| Date | 6 – 9 August 1936 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Deutschlandhalle, Berlin | |
| Participants | 13 from 13 countries | |
| Format | Elimination by bad 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 bad points eliminated a wrestler. | |
The two favorites were Sweden’s Axel Cadier and Latvian Edvīns Bietags, who had won the European Championships in 1935 and 1934, respectively. After three rounds in Berlin they were well ahead on bad points, and maintained that in rounds four-five, winning by falls and byes, to move into a final match against each other. The final went to Cadier by unanimous decision, with Bietags taking the silver medal. Bronze went to Estonian August Neo, who also won a silver medal in Berlin in light-heavyweight freestyle.
Fourth went to Herman Werner Seelenbinder, who went out after round five, when he lost a decision to Cadier. Seelenbinder was a fervent anti-Nazi and considered not competing in Berlin, but was persuaded to do so. The Nazi authorities did not trust him, either, but allowed him to compete because they expected him to win a medal. He was a member of the German Communist party, and the underground Uhrig Group, and in February 1942 was arrested and placed in various prison camps for two years, before being executed by beheading in October 1944.
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Round Eliminated | Bad Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 117 | Axel Cadier | SWE | – | – | Gold | ||
| 2 | 76 | Edvīns Bietags | LAT | – | – | Silver | ||
| 3 | 29 | August Neo | EST | – | – | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 172 | Werner Seelenbinder | GER | – | – | |||
| 5 | 61 | Umberto Silvestri | ITA | – | – | |||
| 6 | 85 | Olaf Knudsen | NOR | – | – | |||
| 88 | Franz Foidl | AUT | eliminated r4/6 | 6 | ||||
| 147 | Mustafa Avcioğlu | TUR | eliminated r3/6 | 5 | ||||
| 42 | Edvard Westerlund | FIN | eliminated r3/6 | 6 | ||||
| 138 | František Mráček | TCH | eliminated r2/6 | 5 | ||||
| 48 | Jean Houdry | FRA | eliminated r2/6 | 6 | ||||
| 153 | Gyula Bóbis | HUN | eliminated r2/6 | 6 | ||||
| 129 | Georg Argast | SUI | eliminated r2/6 | 6 | ||||
| 41 | Matti Lahti | FIN | – | – | ||||
| 171 | Paul Böhmer | GER | – | – | ||||
| 154 | József Tarányi | HUN | – | – | ||||
| 104 | Augustin Schwirtzenbeck | ROU | – | – | ||||
| 116 | Nils Åkerlindh | SWE | – | – | ||||
| 72 | Antun Begac | YUG | – | – | ||||
| 73 | Ivan Pircher | YUG | – | – |
| Date | 6 August 1936 — 11:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Bad Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | 88 | Franz Foidl | AUT | 0 | ||
| =1 | 29 | August Neo | EST | 0 | ||
| =1 | 61 | Umberto Silvestri | ITA | 0 | ||
| =1 | 76 | Edvīns Bietags | LAT | 0 | ||
| =1 | 85 | Olaf Knudsen | NOR | 0 | ||
| =1 | 117 | Axel Cadier | SWE | 0 | ||
| 7 | 147 | Mustafa Avcioğlu | TUR | 1 | ||
| =8 | 42 | Edvard Westerlund | FIN | 3 | ||
| =8 | 48 | Jean Houdry | FRA | 3 | ||
| =8 | 172 | Werner Seelenbinder | GER | 3 | ||
| =8 | 153 | Gyula Bóbis | HUN | 3 | ||
| =8 | 129 | Georg Argast | SUI | 3 | ||
| =8 | 138 | František Mráček | TCH | 3 |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 06 Aug | Axel Cadier | SWE | Fall (5:30) | Edvard Westerlund | FIN | |
| Match #2 | 06 Aug | Umberto Silvestri | ITA | Fall (5:46) | Jean Houdry | FRA | |
| Match #3 | 06 Aug | Olaf Knudsen | NOR | Fall (3:44) | František Mráček | TCH | |
| Match #4 | 06 Aug | Mustafa Avcioğlu | TUR | Decision (3-0) | Gyula Bóbis | HUN | |
| Match #5 | 06 Aug | Edvīns Bietags | LAT | Fall (10:00) | Werner Seelenbinder | GER | |
| Match #6 | 06 Aug | Franz Foidl | AUT | Fall (4:46) | Georg Argast | SUI | |
| Match #7 | 06 Aug | August Neo | EST |
| Date | 7 August 1936 — 19:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Bad Points | Event Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | 88 | Franz Foidl | AUT | 0 | – | ||
| =1 | 61 | Umberto Silvestri | ITA | 0 | – | ||
| =1 | 76 | Edvīns Bietags | LAT | 0 | – | ||
| 4 | 117 | Axel Cadier | SWE | 1 | – | ||
| 5 | 147 | Mustafa Avcioğlu | TUR | 2 | – | ||
| =6 | 29 | August Neo | EST | 3 | – | ||
| =6 | 42 | Edvard Westerlund | FIN | 3 | – | ||
| =6 | 172 | Werner Seelenbinder | GER | 3 | – | ||
| =6 | 85 | Olaf Knudsen | NOR | 3 | – | ||
| 10 | 138 | František Mráček | TCH | 5 | eliminated | ||
| =11 | 48 | Jean Houdry | FRA | 6 | eliminated | ||
| =11 | 153 | Gyula Bóbis | HUN | 6 | eliminated | ||
| =11 | 129 | Georg Argast | SUI | 6 | eliminated |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 07 Aug | Axel Cadier | SWE | Decision (3-0) | August Neo | EST | |
| Match #2 | 07 Aug | Edvard Westerlund | FIN | Fall (19:50) | Jean Houdry | FRA | |
| Match #3 | 07 Aug | Umberto Silvestri | ITA | Fall (13:45) | Olaf Knudsen | NOR | |
| Match #4 | 07 Aug | Mustafa Avcioğlu | TUR | Decision (2-1) | František Mráček | TCH | |
| Match #5 | 07 Aug | Edvīns Bietags | LAT | Fall (3:46) | Gyula Bóbis | HUN | |
| Match #6 | 07 Aug | Werner Seelenbinder | GER | Fall (3:00) | Georg Argast | SUI | |
| Match #7 | 07 Aug | Franz Foidl | AUT |
| Date | 8 August 1936 — 10:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Bad Points | Event Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 76 | Edvīns Bietags | LAT | 0 | – | ||
| 2 | 117 | Axel Cadier | SWE | 1 | – | ||
| =3 | 88 | Franz Foidl | AUT | 3 | – | ||
| =3 | 29 | August Neo | EST | 3 | – | ||
| =3 | 172 | Werner Seelenbinder | GER | 3 | – | ||
| =3 | 61 | Umberto Silvestri | ITA | 3 | – | ||
| =3 | 85 | Olaf Knudsen | NOR | 3 | – | ||
| 8 | 147 | Mustafa Avcioğlu | TUR | 5 | eliminated | ||
| 9 | 42 | Edvard Westerlund | FIN | 6 | eliminated |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 08 Aug | August Neo | EST | Fall (4:59) | Franz Foidl | AUT | |
| Match #2 | 08 Aug | Axel Cadier | SWE | Fall (4:59) | Umberto Silvestri | ITA | |
| Match #3 | 08 Aug | Olaf Knudsen | NOR | Fall (9:33) | Edvard Westerlund | FIN | |
| Match #4 | 08 Aug | Edvīns Bietags | LAT | Fall (11:36) | Mustafa Avcioğlu | TUR | |
| Match #5 | 08 Aug | Werner Seelenbinder | GER |
| Date | 8 August 1936 — 19:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Bad Points | Event Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 76 | Edvīns Bietags | LAT | 0 | – | ||
| 2 | 117 | Axel Cadier | SWE | 1 | – | ||
| =3 | 29 | August Neo | EST | 3 | – | ||
| =3 | 172 | Werner Seelenbinder | GER | 3 | – | ||
| =5 | 88 | Franz Foidl | AUT | 6 | eliminated | ||
| =5 | 61 | Umberto Silvestri | ITA | 6 | eliminated | ||
| =5 | 85 | Olaf Knudsen | NOR | 6 | eliminated |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 08 Aug | Werner Seelenbinder | GER | Fall (0:35) | Franz Foidl | AUT | |
| Match #2 | 08 Aug | August Neo | EST | Fall (12:19) | Umberto Silvestri | ITA | |
| Match #3 | 08 Aug | Axel Cadier | SWE | Fall (11:34) | Olaf Knudsen | NOR | |
| Match #4 | 08 Aug | Edvīns Bietags | LAT |
| Date | 9 August 1936 — 11:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Bad Points | Event Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 76 | Edvīns Bietags | LAT | 1 | – | ||
| 2 | 117 | Axel Cadier | SWE | 2 | – | ||
| 3 | 29 | August Neo | EST | 5 | eliminated | ||
| 4 | 172 | Werner Seelenbinder | GER | 6 | eliminated |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 09 Aug | Edvīns Bietags | LAT | Decision (2-1) | August Neo | EST | |
| Match #2 | 09 Aug | Axel Cadier | SWE | Decision (3-0) | Werner Seelenbinder | GER |
| Date | 9 August 1936 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 09 Aug | Axel Cadier | SWE | Decision (3-0) | Edvīns Bietags | LAT |