Flyweight, Greco-Roman (≤52 kilograms), Men

The defending gold medalist was Bulgarian Petar Kirov who had won the 1974 World Championships, and the European titles in 1974 and 1976, but he was injured in his second round match and had to withdraw. This left the division wide open. The final match saw Japan’s Koichiro Hirayama defeat Soviet Vitaly Konstantinov, but Konstantinov won the gold medal and Hirayama the bronze. To understand why, one must look at the head-to-head matches between the three finalists, which also included Romanian Nicu Gingă. In round five Hirayama lost to Gingă and was disqualified for passivity, while Konstantinov had defeated Gingă in round two by decision. Thus Konstantinov had 4 bad points in the final round, while Gingă and Hirayama both had 5 bad points. Gingă won the silver medal based on his victory over Hirayama.