| | Event type

Lightweight, Freestyle (≤68 kg), Men

Date	27 – 31 July 1976
Status	Olympic
Location	Aréna Maurice-Richard, Montréal, Québec / Centre Pierre-Charbonneau, Parc olympique, Montréal, Québec
Participants	24 from 24 countries
Format	Scoring by negative points, with negative points given for any result short of a fall (win by fall-0.0; win by superior decision-0.0; win by decision-1.0; draw-2.0; loss by decision-3.0; loss by superior decision-4.0; loss by fall-4.0). Accumulation of 6 negative points eliminated the wrestler, but a wrestler could not be eliminated after a victory. When three or fewer wrestlers remained, they advanced to a final round, with preliminary results carried forward.

Soviet Pavel Pinigin came in as the favorite, having won the 1975 World and European Championships (as a welterweight), and he won the gold medal in Montréal, but he shouldn’t have. The class was dominated by American Butch Keaser who, before the final round, won one match by superior decision, and the others by falls or disqualifications. He came into the final with 0 bad points, and then defeated Doncho Zhekov by decision, 9-5. The American coaches told Keaser, the 1973 World Champion, that all he needed to do to win the gold medal was to avoid being pinned by Pinigin, so he wrestled defensively and stayed away, losing the match 12-1, but thinking he had still won the gold medal. Unfortunately, the American coaches had it wrong, and the decisive loss gave Pinigin the gold medal, with Kaeser dropping to silver. Pinigin would go on to win World titles again in 1977-78 and placed fourth in 1980 at Moskva as a welterweight.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Round Eliminated	Bad Points
1	331	Pavel Pinigin	URS	–	–	Gold
2	348	Butch Keaser	USA	–	–	Silver
3	187	Yasaburo Sugawara	JPN	–	–	Bronze
4	20	Doncho Zhekov	BUL	–	–
5	58	José Ramos	CUB	–	–
6	223	Tsedendambyn Natsagdorj	MGL	–	–
7	158	Rami Miron	ISR	–	–
8	94	Eberhard Probst	GDR	–	–
AC	128	János Kocsis	HUN	eliminated r4/6	7.0
AC	5	Zsigmond Kelevitz	AUS	eliminated r4/6	8.0
AC	151	Mohamed Reza Navaie	IRI	eliminated r4/6	8.0
AC	113	Gerhard Weisenberger	FRG	eliminated r4/6	8.5
AC	198	Go Jin-Won	KOR	eliminated r3/6	6.0
AC	262	Rafael González	PUR	eliminated r3/6	7.0
AC	2	Sergio Fiszman	ARG	eliminated r3/6	8.0
AC	81	Joe Gilligan	GBR	eliminated r3/6	8.0
AC	298	Lennart Lundell	SWE	eliminated r3/6	9.0
AC	312	Mehmet Sarı	TUR	eliminated r2/6	6.0
AC	40	Clive Llewellyn	CAN	eliminated r2/6	7.0
AC	363	Šaban Sejdi	YUG	eliminated r2/6	7.0
AC	70	Kari Övermark	FIN	eliminated r2/6	7.5
AC	160	Ronald Joseph	ISV	eliminated r2/6	8.0
AC	–	Segundo Olmedo	PAN	eliminated r2/6	8.0
AC	290	Arona Mané	SEN	eliminated r2/6	8.0
DNS	11	Jacques Van Lancker	BEL	–	–
DNS	62	Mohamed Ibrahim Abdulsattar	EGY	–	–
DNS	231	Muhammad Akram	PAK	–	–
DNS	244	Tomasz Podgorski	POL	–	–

Round One

Date	27 July 1976 — 12:49

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Bad Points
=1	58	José Ramos	CUB	0.0
=1	81	Joe Gilligan	GBR	0.0
=1	94	Eberhard Probst	GDR	0.0
=1	151	Mohamed Reza Navaie	IRI	0.0
=1	158	Rami Miron	ISR	0.0
=1	198	Go Jin-Won	KOR	0.0
=1	223	Tsedendambyn Natsagdorj	MGL	0.0
=1	348	Butch Keaser	USA	0.0
=9	20	Doncho Zhekov	BUL	1.0
=9	187	Yasaburo Sugawara	JPN	1.0
=9	298	Lennart Lundell	SWE	1.0
=9	331	Pavel Pinigin	URS	1.0
=13	128	János Kocsis	HUN	3.0
=13	262	Rafael González	PUR	3.0
=13	312	Mehmet Sarı	TUR	3.0
=13	363	Šaban Sejdi	YUG	3.0
=17	2	Sergio Fiszman	ARG	4.0
=17	5	Zsigmond Kelevitz	AUS	4.0
=17	40	Clive Llewellyn	CAN	4.0
=17	70	Kari Övermark	FIN	4.0
=17	113	Gerhard Weisenberger	FRG	4.0
=17	160	Ronald Joseph	ISV	4.0
=17	–	Segundo Olmedo	PAN	4.0
=17	290	Arona Mané	SEN	4.0

Match	Date/Time	Competitor	NOC	Result	Competitor	NOC
Match #1	27 Jul	Tsedendambyn Natsagdorj	MGL	Decision (21-6)	Zsigmond Kelevitz	AUS
Match #2	27 Jul	Go Jin-Won	KOR	Fall (2:43)	Segundo Olmedo	PAN
Match #3	27 Jul	Lennart Lundell	SWE	Decision (16-13)	Rafael González	PUR
Match #4	27 Jul	Rami Miron	ISR	Fall (2:09)	Ronald Joseph	ISV
Match #5	27 Jul	Doncho Zhekov	BUL	Decision (9-4)	János Kocsis	HUN
Match #6	27 Jul	José Ramos	CUB	Fall (7:19)	Clive Llewellyn	CAN
Match #7	27 Jul	Eberhard Probst	GDR	Fall (1:32)	Arona Mané	SEN
Match #8	27 Jul	Joe Gilligan	GBR	Fall (2:30)	Sergio Fiszman	ARG
Match #9	27 Jul	Mohamed Reza Navaie	IRI	Decision (19-7)	Gerhard Weisenberger	FRG
Match #10	27 Jul	Butch Keaser	USA	Decision (20-4)	Kari Övermark	FIN
Match #11	27 Jul	Yasaburo Sugawara	JPN	Decision (8-7)	Mehmet Sarı	TUR
Match #12	27 Jul	Pavel Pinigin	URS	Decision (8-3)	Šaban Sejdi	YUG

Round Two

Date	28 July 1976 — 12:25

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Bad Points	Event Status
=1	94	Eberhard Probst	GDR	0.0	–
=1	158	Rami Miron	ISR	0.0	–
=1	223	Tsedendambyn Natsagdorj	MGL	0.0	–
=1	348	Butch Keaser	USA	0.0	–
=5	58	José Ramos	CUB	1.0	–
=5	187	Yasaburo Sugawara	JPN	1.0	–
7	331	Pavel Pinigin	URS	2.0	–
=8	198	Go Jin-Won	KOR	3.0	–
=8	262	Rafael González	PUR	3.0	–
=10	2	Sergio Fiszman	ARG	4.0	–
=10	20	Doncho Zhekov	BUL	4.0	–
=10	81	Joe Gilligan	GBR	4.0	–
=10	128	János Kocsis	HUN	4.0	–
=10	151	Mohamed Reza Navaie	IRI	4.0	–
15	113	Gerhard Weisenberger	FRG	4.5	–
=16	5	Zsigmond Kelevitz	AUS	5.0	–
=16	298	Lennart Lundell	SWE	5.0	–
18	312	Mehmet Sarı	TUR	6.0	eliminated
=19	40	Clive Llewellyn	CAN	7.0	eliminated
=19	363	Šaban Sejdi	YUG	7.0	eliminated
21	70	Kari Övermark	FIN	7.5	eliminated
=22	160	Ronald Joseph	ISV	8.0	eliminated
=22	–	Segundo Olmedo	PAN	8.0	eliminated
=22	290	Arona Mané	SEN	8.0	eliminated

Match	Date/Time	Competitor	NOC	Result	Competitor	NOC
Match #1	28 Jul	Tsedendambyn Natsagdorj	MGL	Decision (19-4)	Segundo Olmedo	PAN
Match #2	28 Jul	Zsigmond Kelevitz	AUS	Decision (11-8)	Go Jin-Won	KOR
Match #3	28 Jul	Rafael González	PUR	Fall (2:08)	Ronald Joseph	ISV
Match #4	28 Jul	Rami Miron	ISR	Decision (16-3)	Lennart Lundell	SWE
Match #5	28 Jul	José Ramos	CUB	Decision (9-4)	Doncho Zhekov	BUL
Match #6	28 Jul	János Kocsis	HUN	Decision (7-5)	Clive Llewellyn	CAN
Match #7	28 Jul	Eberhard Probst	GDR	Fall (4:51)	Joe Gilligan	GBR
Match #8	28 Jul	Sergio Fiszman	ARG	Fall (4:49)	Arona Mané	SEN
Match #9	28 Jul	Gerhard Weisenberger	FRG	Decision (24-14)	Kari Övermark	FIN
Match #10	28 Jul	Butch Keaser	USA	Fall (6:40)	Mohamed Reza Navaie	IRI
Match #11	28 Jul	Yasaburo Sugawara	JPN	Fall (2:31)	Šaban Sejdi	YUG
Match #12	28 Jul	Pavel Pinigin	URS	Decision (10-3)	Mehmet Sarı	TUR

Round Three

Date	29 July 1976 — 12:25

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Bad Points	Event Status
1	348	Butch Keaser	USA	0.0	–
2	223	Tsedendambyn Natsagdorj	MGL	1.0	–
=3	58	José Ramos	CUB	2.0	–
=3	331	Pavel Pinigin	URS	2.0	–
5	94	Eberhard Probst	GDR	3.0	–
=6	20	Doncho Zhekov	BUL	4.0	–
=6	128	János Kocsis	HUN	4.0	–
=6	151	Mohamed Reza Navaie	IRI	4.0	–
=6	158	Rami Miron	ISR	4.0	–
10	113	Gerhard Weisenberger	FRG	4.5	–
=11	5	Zsigmond Kelevitz	AUS	5.0	–
=11	187	Yasaburo Sugawara	JPN	5.0	–
13	198	Go Jin-Won	KOR	6.0	eliminated
14	262	Rafael González	PUR	7.0	eliminated
=15	2	Sergio Fiszman	ARG	8.0	eliminated
=15	81	Joe Gilligan	GBR	8.0	eliminated
17	298	Lennart Lundell	SWE	9.0	eliminated

Match	Date/Time	Competitor	NOC	Result	Competitor	NOC
Match #1	29 Jul	Tsedendambyn Natsagdorj	MGL	Decision (9-6)	Go Jin-Won	KOR
Match #2	29 Jul	Zsigmond Kelevitz	AUS	Fall (1:48)	Rafael González	PUR
Match #3	29 Jul	Doncho Zhekov	BUL	Decision (17-3)	Lennart Lundell	SWE
Match #4	29 Jul	János Kocsis	HUN	Dq (7:42)	Rami Miron	ISR
Match #5	29 Jul	José Ramos	CUB	Decision (10-8)	Eberhard Probst	GDR
Match #6	29 Jul	Gerhard Weisenberger	FRG	Fall (5:56)	Joe Gilligan	GBR
Match #7	29 Jul	Mohamed Reza Navaie	IRI	Fall (4:44)	Sergio Fiszman	ARG
Match #8	29 Jul	Butch Keaser	USA	Dq (4:21)	Yasaburo Sugawara	JPN
Match #9	29 Jul	Pavel Pinigin	URS

Round Four

Date	29 July 1976 — 21:09

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Bad Points	Event Status
1	348	Butch Keaser	USA	0.0	–
=2	58	José Ramos	CUB	3.0	–
=2	331	Pavel Pinigin	URS	3.0	–
4	223	Tsedendambyn Natsagdorj	MGL	4.0	–
5	20	Doncho Zhekov	BUL	4.5	–
=6	158	Rami Miron	ISR	5.0	–
=6	187	Yasaburo Sugawara	JPN	5.0	–
8	94	Eberhard Probst	GDR	6.5	eliminated
9	128	János Kocsis	HUN	7.0	eliminated
=10	5	Zsigmond Kelevitz	AUS	8.0	eliminated
=10	151	Mohamed Reza Navaie	IRI	8.0	eliminated
12	113	Gerhard Weisenberger	FRG	8.5	eliminated

Match	Date/Time	Competitor	NOC	Result	Competitor	NOC
Match #1	29 Jul	Pavel Pinigin	URS	Decision (4-3)	Tsedendambyn Natsagdorj	MGL
Match #2	29 Jul	Rami Miron	ISR	Decision (7-4)	Zsigmond Kelevitz	AUS
Match #3	29 Jul	Doncho Zhekov	BUL	Decision (13-5)	Eberhard Probst	GDR
Match #4	29 Jul	José Ramos	CUB	Decision (8-3)	János Kocsis	HUN
Match #5	29 Jul	Butch Keaser	USA	Fall (1:55)	Gerhard Weisenberger	FRG
Match #6	29 Jul	Yasaburo Sugawara	JPN	Decision (16-4)	Mohamed Reza Navaie	IRI

Round Five

Date	30 July 1976 — 16:05

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Bad Points	Event Status
1	348	Butch Keaser	USA	0.0	–
2	331	Pavel Pinigin	URS	3.0	–
3	187	Yasaburo Sugawara	JPN	5.0	–
4	20	Doncho Zhekov	BUL	5.5	–
=5	58	José Ramos	CUB	7.0	eliminated
=5	223	Tsedendambyn Natsagdorj	MGL	7.0	eliminated
7	158	Rami Miron	ISR	9.0	eliminated

Match	Date/Time	Competitor	NOC	Result	Competitor	NOC
Match #1	30 Jul	Pavel Pinigin	URS	Dq (7:06)	Rami Miron	ISR
Match #2	30 Jul	Doncho Zhekov	BUL	Criteria (7-7)	Tsedendambyn Natsagdorj	MGL
Match #3	30 Jul	Butch Keaser	USA	Dq (7:47)	José Ramos	CUB
Match #4	30 Jul	Yasaburo Sugawara	JPN

Final Round

Date	31 July 1976 — 21:20

Match	Date/Time	Competitor	NOC	Result	Competitor	NOC
Match #1	31 Jul	Yasaburo Sugawara	JPN	Criteria (5-5)	Pavel Pinigin	URS
Match #2	31 Jul	Butch Keaser	USA	Decision (9-5)	Doncho Zhekov	BUL
Match #3	31 Jul	Pavel Pinigin	URS	Decision (12-1)	Butch Keaser	USA