| | Event type

Welterweight, Freestyle (≤74 kilograms), Men

Date	27 – 31 August 1972
Status	Olympic
Location	Ringer-Judo-Halle, Messegelände (Halle 14), München
Participants	25 from 25 countries
Format	Scoring by negative points, with negative points given for any result short of a fall. Accumulation of 6 negative points eliminated the wrestler. When three or fewer wrestlers remained, they advanced to a final round, with preliminary results carried forward.

There was no clear favorite in this class but Soviet Yury Gusov was the 1971 World Champion and 1969 European Champion, and American Wayne Wells had won the 1970 Worlds. Gusov would struggle and was eliminated after the fourth round, after losing in rounds three and four. Wells made it to the final round, along with Sweden’s Jan Karlsson and Germany’s Adolf Seger, the 1972 European Champion. In the final round Wells defeated both Karlsson and Seger by decisions to win the gold medal. Karlsson won the silver, as he had defeated Seger in round six.

Wells retired after the 1972 Olympics, returning to a law practice in Oklahoma. Between 1966-74 Karlsson would have six podium finishes at the Worlds and Europeans but never won a title. Seger would defend his European title in 1973.

Pos	Competitor(s)	NOC	RE	Bad Points
1	Wayne Wells	USA	–	–	Gold
2	Jan Karlsson	SWE	–	–	Silver
3	Adolf Seger	FRG	–	–	Bronze
4	Yancho Pavlov	BUL	–	–
=5	Mansour Barzegar	IRI	–	–
=5	Daniel Robin	FRA	–	–
=5	Wolfgang Nitschke	GDR	–	–
AC	Ludovic Ambruș	ROU	Eliminated r4/7	6,5
AC	Yury Gusov	URS	Eliminated r4/7	8,0
AC	Robert Blaser	SUI	Eliminated r4/7	8,5
AC	Miroslav Musil	TCH	Eliminated r4/7	9,0
AC	Miklós Urbanovics	HUN	Eliminated r4/7	10,0
AC	Danzandarjaagiin Sereeter	MGL	Eliminated r3/7	7,5
AC	Mukhtiar Singh	IND	Eliminated r3/7	9,0
AC	Mehmet Ali Demirtaş	TUR	Eliminated r3/7	9,0
AC	Muhammad Yaghoub	PAK	Eliminated r3/7	9,0
AC	Toshitada Yoshida	JPN	Withdrew r3/7	3,5
AC	Shakar Khan Shakar	AFG	Eliminated r2/7	6,0
AC	Tony Shacklady	GBR	Eliminated r2/7	6,0
AC	Bruce Akers	AUS	Eliminated r2/7	6,5
AC	Bruno Hartmann	AUT	Eliminated r2/7	6,5
AC	Néstor González	ARG	Eliminated r2/7	8,0
AC	Alfred Wurr	CAN	Eliminated r2/7	8,0
AC	Francisco Lebeque	CUB	Eliminated r2/7	8,0
AC	Bachir Hani Abou Assi	LBN	Eliminated r2/7	8,0

Round One (27 August 1972 — 19:00)

Pos	Competitor(s)	NOC	Bad Points
=1	Wolfgang Nitschke	GDR	0,0
=1	Adolf Seger	FRG	0,0
=1	Mansour Barzegar	IRI	0,0
=1	Toshitada Yoshida	JPN	0,0
=1	Robert Blaser	SUI	0,0
=1	Jan Karlsson	SWE	0,0
=1	Wayne Wells	USA	0,0
8	Danzandarjaagiin Sereeter	MGL	0,5
=9	Yancho Pavlov	BUL	1,0
=9	Miklós Urbanovics	HUN	1,0
=9	Mukhtiar Singh	IND	1,0
=9	Miroslav Musil	TCH	1,0
=9	Yury Gusov	URS	1,0
=14	Bruce Akers	AUS	3,0
=14	Daniel Robin	FRA	3,0
=14	Tony Shacklady	GBR	3,0
=14	Muhammad Yaghoub	PAK	3,0
=14	Ludovic Ambruș	ROU	3,0
19	Bruno Hartmann	AUT	3,5
=20	Shakar Khan Shakar	AFG	4,0
=20	Néstor González	ARG	4,0
=20	Alfred Wurr	CAN	4,0
=20	Francisco Lebeque	CUB	4,0
=20	Bachir Hani Abou Assi	LBN	4,0
=20	Mehmet Ali Demirtaş	TUR	4,0

Match #1	Toshitada Yoshida	JPN	DQ (passivity) (7:31)	Francisco Lebeque	CUB
Match #2	Adolf Seger	FRG	fall (8:23)	Alfred Wurr	CAN
Match #3	Yury Gusov	URS	decision	Ludovic Ambruș	ROU
Match #4	Mukhtiar Singh	IND	decision	Bruce Akers	AUS
Match #5	Yancho Pavlov	BUL	decision	Daniel Robin	FRA
Match #6	Robert Blaser	SUI	fall (5:06)	Bachir Hani Abou Assi	LBN
Match #7	Danzandarjaagiin Sereeter	MGL	decision	Bruno Hartmann	AUT
Match #8	Wayne Wells	USA	fall (5:59)	Mehmet Ali Demirtaş	TUR
Match #9	Miroslav Musil	TCH	decision	Tony Shacklady	GBR
Match #10	Wolfgang Nitschke	GDR	fall (5:07)	Néstor González	ARG
Match #11	Jan Karlsson	SWE	fall (2:28)	Shakar Khan Shakar	AFG
Match #12	Miklós Urbanovics	HUN	decision	Muhammad Yaghoub	PAK
Match #13	Mansour Barzegar	IRI	bye

Round Two (28 August 1972 — 10:00)

Pos	Competitor(s)	NOC	Bad Points
=1	Adolf Seger	FRG	0,0
=1	Wayne Wells	USA	0,0
3	Mansour Barzegar	IRI	0,5
=4	Yancho Pavlov	BUL	1,0
=4	Wolfgang Nitschke	GDR	1,0
=4	Miklós Urbanovics	HUN	1,0
=4	Robert Blaser	SUI	1,0
=4	Miroslav Musil	TCH	1,0
=4	Yury Gusov	URS	1,0
=10	Daniel Robin	FRA	3,0
=10	Jan Karlsson	SWE	3,0
=12	Toshitada Yoshida	JPN	3,5
=12	Ludovic Ambruș	ROU	3,5
14	Danzandarjaagiin Sereeter	MGL	4,5
=15	Mukhtiar Singh	IND	5,0
=15	Muhammad Yaghoub	PAK	5,0
=15	Mehmet Ali Demirtaş	TUR	5,0
=18	Shakar Khan Shakar	AFG	6,0	eliminated
=18	Tony Shacklady	GBR	6,0	eliminated
=20	Bruce Akers	AUS	6,5	eliminated
=20	Bruno Hartmann	AUT	6,5	eliminated
=22	Néstor González	ARG	8,0	eliminated
=22	Alfred Wurr	CAN	8,0	eliminated
=22	Francisco Lebeque	CUB	8,0	eliminated
=22	Bachir Hani Abou Assi	LBN	8,0	eliminated

Match #1	Mansour Barzegar	IRI	decision	Toshitada Yoshida	JPN
Match #2	Adolf Seger	FRG	fall (2:55)	Francisco Lebeque	CUB
Match #3	Yury Gusov	URS	fall (3:51)	Alfred Wurr	CAN
Match #4	Ludovic Ambruș	ROU	decision	Bruce Akers	AUS
Match #5	Daniel Robin	FRA	fall (2:24)	Mukhtiar Singh	IND
Match #6	Yancho Pavlov	BUL	fall (2:02)	Bachir Hani Abou Assi	LBN
Match #7	Robert Blaser	SUI	decision	Bruno Hartmann	AUT
Match #8	Wayne Wells	USA	fall (8:25)	Danzandarjaagiin Sereeter	MGL
Match #9	Mehmet Ali Demirtaş	TUR	decision	Tony Shacklady	GBR
Match #10	Miroslav Musil	TCH	fall (4:46)	Néstor González	ARG
Match #11	Wolfgang Nitschke	GDR	decision	Jan Karlsson	SWE
Match #12	Shakar Khan Shakar	AFG	draw	Muhammad Yaghoub	PAK
Match #13	Miklós Urbanovics	HUN	bye

Round Three (29 August 1972 — 19:00)

Pos	Competitor(s)	NOC	Bad Points
1	Wayne Wells	USA	0,0
=2	Wolfgang Nitschke	GDR	1,0
=2	Adolf Seger	FRG	1,0
4	Yancho Pavlov	BUL	2,0
5	Mansour Barzegar	IRI	2,5
=6	Daniel Robin	FRA	3,0
=6	Miklós Urbanovics	HUN	3,0
=6	Jan Karlsson	SWE	3,0
9	Ludovic Ambruș	ROU	3,5
10	Yury Gusov	URS	4,0
=11	Robert Blaser	SUI	5,0
=11	Miroslav Musil	TCH	5,0
13	Danzandarjaagiin Sereeter	MGL	7,5	eliminated
=14	Mukhtiar Singh	IND	9,0	eliminated
=14	Mehmet Ali Demirtaş	TUR	9,0	eliminated
=14	Muhammad Yaghoub	PAK	9,0	eliminated

Match #1	Miklós Urbanovics	HUN	draw	Mansour Barzegar	IRI
Match #2	Adolf Seger	FRG	decision	Yury Gusov	URS
Match #3	Ludovic Ambruș	ROU	fall (2:27)	Mukhtiar Singh	IND
Match #4	Daniel Robin	FRA	fall (4:17)	Robert Blaser	SUI
Match #5	Yancho Pavlov	BUL	decision	Danzandarjaagiin Sereeter	MGL
Match #6	Wayne Wells	USA	fall (1:24)	Miroslav Musil	TCH
Match #7	Wolfgang Nitschke	GDR	fall (8:18)	Mehmet Ali Demirtaş	TUR
Match #8	Jan Karlsson	SWE	fall (3:49)	Muhammad Yaghoub	PAK

Round Four (30 August 1972 — 10:00)

Pos	Competitor(s)	NOC	Bad Points
1	Wayne Wells	USA	1,0
2	Adolf Seger	FRG	2,0
=3	Yancho Pavlov	BUL	2,5
=3	Mansour Barzegar	IRI	2,5
5	Jan Karlsson	SWE	3,0
=6	Daniel Robin	FRA	4,0
=6	Wolfgang Nitschke	GDR	4,0
8	Ludovic Ambruș	ROU	6,5	eliminated
9	Yury Gusov	URS	8,0	eliminated
10	Robert Blaser	SUI	8,5	eliminated
11	Miroslav Musil	TCH	9,0	eliminated
12	Miklós Urbanovics	HUN	10,0	eliminated

Match #1	Adolf Seger	FRG	decision	Miklós Urbanovics	HUN
Match #2	Mansour Barzegar	IRI	fall (6:18)	Yury Gusov	URS
Match #3	Daniel Robin	FRA	decision	Ludovic Ambruș	ROU
Match #4	Yancho Pavlov	BUL	decision	Robert Blaser	SUI
Match #5	Wayne Wells	USA	decision	Wolfgang Nitschke	GDR
Match #6	Jan Karlsson	SWE	fall (5:36)	Miroslav Musil	TCH

Round Five (30 August 1972 — 19:00)

Pos	Competitor(s)	NOC	Bad Points
=1	Adolf Seger	FRG	2,0
=1	Wayne Wells	USA	2,0
3	Jan Karlsson	SWE	3,0
4	Yancho Pavlov	BUL	3,5
5	Mansour Barzegar	IRI	6,5	eliminated
=6	Daniel Robin	FRA	7,0	eliminated
=6	Wolfgang Nitschke	GDR	7,0	eliminated

Match #1	Adolf Seger	FRG	fall (5:18)	Mansour Barzegar	IRI
Match #2	Wayne Wells	USA	decision	Daniel Robin	FRA
Match #3	Yancho Pavlov	BUL	decision	Wolfgang Nitschke	GDR
Match #4	Jan Karlsson	SWE	bye

Round Six (31 August 1972 — 10:00)

Pos	Competitor(s)	NOC	Bad Points
1	Wayne Wells	USA	2,0
2	Jan Karlsson	SWE	4,0
3	Adolf Seger	FRG	5,0
4	Yancho Pavlov	BUL	7,5	eliminated

Match #1	Jan Karlsson	SWE	decision	Adolf Seger	FRG
Match #2	Wayne Wells	USA	fall (6:37)	Yancho Pavlov	BUL

Final Round (31 August 1972 — 19:00)

Match #1	Wayne Wells	USA	decision	Jan Karlsson	SWE
Match #2	Wayne Wells	USA	decision	Adolf Seger	FRG