Bantamweight, Freestyle (≤57 kg), Men

Soviet Ali Aliyev was the 1966-67 World Champion and also won the 1968 European title. He had wrestled at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics as a flyweight, just missing medals both times. The defending champion was Japan’s Yojiro Uetake, who had wrestled in the United States for Oklahoma State University, winning the NCAA Championships in 1964-66. Aliyev and Uetake made the final round, along with American Don Behm and Iranian Abutaleb Talebi. Uetake defended his gold medal by drawing with Talebi, and when Behm defeated Aliyev by decision, the other three were eliminated, with Behm winning silver, Talebi bronze, and Aliyev again missing the podium in fourth place.

Uetake retired from competition after the 1968 Olympics and became a coach at his alma mater, settling in Oklahoma. Behm won the 1970 Tbilisi International Tournament and the 1971 Pan American gold medal, but never made another Olympic team. Talebi’s bronze was a standard for him, as he had also placed third at the 1966-67 Worlds and would win another World Championship bronze in 1969.