| | Event type
Heavyweight, Freestyle (≤100 kilograms), Men
| Date | 30 – 31 July 1996 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia (Hall G) | |
| Participants | 19 from 19 countries | |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament with classification rounds for placements. | |
The two favorites were American Kurt Angle, the 1995 World Champion, and Iran’s Abbas Jadidi, who seemed to have won the 1993 World title in light-heavyweight, only to lose it on a doping positive. He returned in 1995, placing at the 1995 Worlds, behind Angle. Angle and Jadidi met in the final, and neither wrestler could gain an advantage, the match going to overtime. It ended after eight minutes, with the score still tied at 1-1. The tie-breaker was number of passivity cautions, but both wrestlers had had only two such cautions, so it came down to an official’s decision. When the referee raised Angle’s hand, declaring him the gold medalist, Jadidi went to his knees and begged the officials to review the tapes and reverse the decision. They did not. Jadidi would go on to win the 1998 World Championships. Angle turned professional and became one of the top, and most popular, wrestlers in WWE.
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | CP | TP | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kurt Angle |  USA | – | – | Gold | ||
| 2 | Abbas Jadidi |  IRI | – | – | Silver | ||
| 3 | Arawat Sabejew |  GER | – | – | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Siarhei Kavaleuski |  BLR | – | – | |||
| 5 | Marek Garmulewicz |  POL | – | – | |||
| 6 | Konstantin Aleksandrov |  KGZ | – | – | |||
| 7 | Sahid Murtazaliyev |  UKR | – | – | |||
| 8 | Oleg Ladik |  CAN | – | – | |||
| 9 | Wilfredo Morales |  CUB | 7 | 11 | |||
| 10 | Dolgorsürengiin Sumyaabazar |  MGL | 6 | 10 | |||
| 11 | Davud Məhəmmədov |  AZE | 5 | 11 | |||
| 12 | Arvi Aavik |  EST | 5 | 9 | |||
| 13 | Zaza T'qeshelashvili |  GEO | 4 | 5 | |||
| 14 | Leri Khabelovi |  RUS | 3 | 2 | |||
| 15 | Milan Mazáč |  SVK | 2 | 3 | |||
| 16 | Daniel Sánchez |  PUR | 1 | 2 | |||
| 17 | Kim Tae-U |  KOR | 1 | 1 | |||
| =18 | Shkëlqim Troplini |  ALB | 0 | 0 | |||
| =18 | Ben Vincent |  AUS | 0 | 0 |
Round One (30 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Arawat Sabejew | GER | decision (3-0) (5:00) | Siarhei Kavaleuski | BLR |
| Match #2 | Wilfredo Morales | CUB | decision (6-0) (5:00) | Kim Tae-U | KOR |
| Match #3 | Kurt Angle | USA | decision (4-0) (6:27) | Dolgorsürengiin Sumyaabazar | MGL |
| Match #4 | Konstantin Aleksandrov | KGZ | decision (2-1) (8:00) | Milan Mazáč | SVK |
| Match #5 | Arvi Aavik | EST | fall (8-0) (1:36) | Daniel Sánchez | PUR |
| Match #6 | Leri Khabelovi | RUS | decision (2-0) (8:00) | Zaza T'qeshelashvili | GEO |
| Match #7 | Abbas Jadidi | IRI | decision (4-0) (5:00) | Davud Məhəmmədov | AZE |
| Match #8 | Oleg Ladik | CAN | fall (7-0) (3:03) | Shkëlqim Troplini | ALB |
| Match #9 | Marek Garmulewicz | POL | grand superiority (11-0) (2:21) | Ben Vincent | AUS |
| Match #10 | Sahid Murtazaliyev | UKR | bye |
Round Two (30 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Sahid Murtazaliyev | UKR | grand superiority (13-3) (4:21) | Arawat Sabejew | GER |
| Match #2 | Kurt Angle | USA | decision (2-0) (8:00) | Wilfredo Morales | CUB |
| Match #3 | Konstantin Aleksandrov | KGZ | decision (1-0) (8:00) | Arvi Aavik | EST |
| Match #4 | Abbas Jadidi | IRI | decision (4-0) (5:00) | Leri Khabelovi | RUS |
| Match #5 | Marek Garmulewicz | POL | decision (3-0) (5:53) | Oleg Ladik | CAN |
Quarter-Finals (31 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Kurt Angle | USA | decision (4-3) (5:00) | Sahid Murtazaliyev | UKR |
| Match #2 | Konstantin Aleksandrov | KGZ | bye | ||
| Match #3 | Abbas Jadidi | IRI | bye | ||
| Match #4 | Marek Garmulewicz | POL | bye |
Semi-Finals (31 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Kurt Angle | USA | decision (4-1) (5:00) | Konstantin Aleksandrov | KGZ |
| Match #2 | Abbas Jadidi | IRI | decision (4-1) (7:21) | Marek Garmulewicz | POL |
Final Round (31 July 1996)
| Match 1/2 | Kurt Angle | USA | decision (1-1) (8:00) | Abbas Jadidi | IRI |
| Match 3/4 | Arawat Sabejew | GER | decision (7-4) (5:00) | Siarhei Kavaleuski | BLR |
| Match 5/6 | Marek Garmulewicz | POL | default (0-0) (0:00) | Konstantin Aleksandrov | KGZ |
| Match 7/8 | Sahid Murtazaliyev | UKR | decision (3-1) (5:29) | Oleg Ladik | CAN |
Classification Round Two (30 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Siarhei Kavaleuski | BLR | decision (3-1) (7:14) | Kim Tae-U | KOR |
| Match #2 | Dolgorsürengiin Sumyaabazar | MGL | decision (4-2) (5:00) | Milan Mazáč | SVK |
| Match #3 | Zaza T'qeshelashvili | GEO | decision (3-2) (5:00) | Daniel Sánchez | PUR |
| Match #4 | Davud Məhəmmədov | AZE | grand superiority (10-0) (2:54) | Shkëlqim Troplini | ALB |
| Match #5 | Ben Vincent | AUS | bye |
Classification Round Three (30 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Siarhei Kavaleuski | BLR | grand superiority (10-0) (1:28) | Ben Vincent | AUS |
| Match #2 | Dolgorsürengiin Sumyaabazar | MGL | decision (6-2) (5:00) | Zaza T'qeshelashvili | GEO |
| Match #3 | Arawat Sabejew | GER | decision (3-1) (5:00) | Davud Məhəmmədov | AZE |
| Match #4 | Wilfredo Morales | CUB | decision (3-1) (5:00) | Arvi Aavik | EST |
| Match #5 | Oleg Ladik | CAN | default (0-0) (0:00) | Leri Khabelovi | RUS |
Classification Round Four (31 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Siarhei Kavaleuski | BLR | fall (3-0) (0:40) | Dolgorsürengiin Sumyaabazar | MGL |
| Match #2 | Arawat Sabejew | GER | decision (3-2) (5:00) | Wilfredo Morales | CUB |
| Match #3 | Sahid Murtazaliyev | UKR | decision (4-1) (5:00) | Oleg Ladik | CAN |
Classification Round Five (31 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Siarhei Kavaleuski | BLR | decision (8-4) (5:00) | Sahid Murtazaliyev | UKR |
| Match #2 | Arawat Sabejew | GER | bye |
Classification Round Six (31 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Arawat Sabejew | GER | grand superiority (10-0) (3:20) | Konstantin Aleksandrov | KGZ |
| Match #2 | Siarhei Kavaleuski | BLR | decision (4-0) (7:15) | Marek Garmulewicz | POL |