| Date | 1 – 2 August 1996 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia (Hall G) | |
| Participants | 21 from 21 countries | |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament with classification rounds for placements. | |
This class would be discontinued after 1996, as the International Wrestling Federation (FILA) shuffled weight limits to decrease the number of weight classes, as mandated by the IOC. The last two gold medals had been won by Russia’s Makharbek Khadartsev, and he was back and still tough, having won the 1995 European title and been runner-up at the 1994-95 Worlds. He was not as dominant as he had been, however, losing the last two World titles, which had been won by Iranian Rasoul Khadem Azgadhi. The two met again in the Atlanta final, with Khadem Azgadhi winning a workmanlike final, 3-0. His brother, Amir Reza Khadem Azgadhi, won a bronze medal in Atlanta, as a freestyle middleweight.
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | CP | TP | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Rasoul Khadem Azgadhi | IRI | – | – | Gold | ||
| 2 | 20 | Makharbek Khadartsev | RUS | – | – | Silver | ||
| 3 | 3 | Eldar Kurtanidze | GEO | – | – | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 7 | Jozef Lohyňa | SVK | – | – | |||
| 5 | 16 | Dzhambolat Tedieiev | UKR | – | – | |||
| 6 | 11 | Victor Kodei | NGR | – | – | |||
| 7 | 21 | Melvin Douglas | USA | – | – | |||
| 8 | 5 | Kim Ik-Hui | KOR | – | – | |||
| 9 | 1 | Ričardas Pauliukonis | LTU | 9 | 24 | |||
| 10 | 6 | Péter Bacsa | HUN | 8 | 17 | |||
| 11 | 14 | Islam Bayramukov | KAZ | 7 | 11 | |||
| 12 | 18 | Heiko Balz | GER | 5 | 12 | |||
| 13 | 4 | Kaloyan Baev | BUL | 5 | 9 | |||
| 14 | 9 | Bayanmönkhiin Gantogtokh | MGL | 5 | 9 | |||
| 15 | 13 | Scott Bianco | CAN | 4 | 5 | |||
| 16 | 19 | Bashir Bhola Bhala | PAK | 3 | 7 | |||
| 17 | 15 | Robert Kostecki | POL | 2 | 6 | |||
| 18 | 17 | Bob Renney | AUS | 2 | 4 | |||
| 19 | 8 | Tatsuo Kawai | JPN | 1 | 2 | |||
| =20 | 10 | José Betancourt | PUR | 0 | 0 | |||
| =20 | 2 | Louis Purcell | ASA | 0 | 0 |
| Date | 1 August 1996 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Location | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Ričardas Pauliukonis | LTU | 11 | Louis Purcell | ASA | |
| Match #2 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Eldar Kurtanidze | GEO | 11 | Kaloyan Baev | BUL | |
| Match #3 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Kim Ik-Hui | KOR | 2 | Péter Bacsa | HUN | |
| Match #4 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Jozef Lohyňa | SVK | 5 | Tatsuo Kawai | JPN | |
| Match #5 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Bayanmönkhiin Gantogtokh | MGL | 5 | José Betancourt | PUR | |
| Match #6 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Rasoul Khadem Azgadhi | IRI | 6 | Victor Kodei | NGR | |
| Match #7 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Islam Bayramukov | KAZ | 5 | Scott Bianco | CAN | |
| Match #8 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Dzhambolat Tedieiev | UKR | 5 | Robert Kostecki | POL | |
| Match #9 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Heiko Balz | GER | 11 | Bob Renney | AUS | |
| Match #10 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Makharbek Khadartsev | RUS | 10 | Bashir Bhola Bhala | PAK | |
| Match #11 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Melvin Douglas | USA |
| Date | 1 August 1996 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Location | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Melvin Douglas | USA | 5 | Ričardas Pauliukonis | LTU | |
| Match #2 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Kim Ik-Hui | KOR | 3 | Eldar Kurtanidze | GEO | |
| Match #3 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Jozef Lohyňa | SVK | 5 | Bayanmönkhiin Gantogtokh | MGL | |
| Match #4 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Rasoul Khadem Azgadhi | IRI | 4 | Islam Bayramukov | KAZ | |
| Match #5 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Dzhambolat Tedieiev | UKR | 4 | Heiko Balz | GER | |
| Match #6 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Makharbek Khadartsev | RUS |
| Date | 2 August 1996 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Location | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 02 Aug | Hall G | Makharbek Khadartsev | RUS | 4 | Melvin Douglas | USA | |
| Match #2 | 02 Aug | Hall G | Jozef Lohyňa | SVK | 3 | Kim Ik-Hui | KOR | |
| Match #3 | 02 Aug | Hall G | Rasoul Khadem Azgadhi | IRI | ||||
| Match #4 | 02 Aug | Hall G | Dzhambolat Tedieiev | UKR |
| Date | 2 August 1996 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Location | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 02 Aug | Hall G | Makharbek Khadartsev | RUS | 7 | Jozef Lohyňa | SVK | |
| Match #2 | 02 Aug | Hall G | Rasoul Khadem Azgadhi | IRI | 3 | Dzhambolat Tedieiev | UKR |
| Date | 2 August 1996 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Location | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match 1/2 | 02 Aug | Hall G | Rasoul Khadem Azgadhi | IRI | 3 | Makharbek Khadartsev | RUS | |
| Match 3/4 | 02 Aug | Hall G | Eldar Kurtanidze | GEO | 5 | Jozef Lohyňa | SVK | |
| Match 5/6 | 02 Aug | Hall G | Dzhambolat Tedieiev | UKR | 12 | Victor Kodei | NGR | |
| Match 7/8 | 02 Aug | Hall G | Melvin Douglas | USA | 6 | Kim Ik-Hui | KOR |
| Date | 1 August 1996 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Location | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Kaloyan Baev | BUL | 4 | Louis Purcell | ASA | |
| Match #2 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Péter Bacsa | HUN | 5 | Tatsuo Kawai | JPN | |
| Match #3 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Victor Kodei | NGR | 10 | José Betancourt | PUR | |
| Match #4 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Scott Bianco | CAN | 3 | Robert Kostecki | POL | |
| Match #5 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Bashir Bhola Bhala | PAK | 7 | Bob Renney | AUS |
| Date | 1 August 1996 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Location | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Péter Bacsa | HUN | 7 | Kaloyan Baev | BUL | |
| Match #2 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Victor Kodei | NGR | 7 | Scott Bianco | CAN | |
| Match #3 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Ričardas Pauliukonis | LTU | 12 | Bashir Bhola Bhala | PAK | |
| Match #4 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Eldar Kurtanidze | GEO | 6 | Bayanmönkhiin Gantogtokh | MGL | |
| Match #5 | 01 Aug | Hall G | Islam Bayramukov | KAZ | 3 | Heiko Balz | GER |
| Date | 2 August 1996 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Location | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 02 Aug | Hall G | Victor Kodei | NGR | 7 | Péter Bacsa | HUN | |
| Match #2 | 02 Aug | Hall G | Eldar Kurtanidze | GEO | 5 | Ričardas Pauliukonis | LTU | |
| Match #3 | 02 Aug | Hall G | Melvin Douglas | USA | 3 | Islam Bayramukov | KAZ | |
| Match #4 | 02 Aug | Hall G | Kim Ik-Hui | KOR |
| Date | 2 August 1996 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Location | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 02 Aug | Hall G | Victor Kodei | NGR | 7 | Kim Ik-Hui | KOR | |
| Match #2 | 02 Aug | Hall G | Eldar Kurtanidze | GEO | 1 | Melvin Douglas | USA |
| Date | 2 August 1996 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Location | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 02 Aug | Hall G | Jozef Lohyňa | SVK | 10 | Victor Kodei | NGR | |
| Match #2 | 02 Aug | Hall G | Eldar Kurtanidze | GEO | 10 | Dzhambolat Tedieiev | UKR |