Wrestling at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle light heavyweight

The men's freestyle light heavyweight competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin took place from 3 August to 4 August at the Deutschlandhalle. Nations were limited to one competitor.[1][2] This weight class was limited to wrestlers weighing up to 87kg.[3]

Men's freestyle light heavyweight
at the Games of the XI Olympiad
VenueDeutschlandhalle
Dates3–4 August
Competitors12 from 12 nations
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Knut Fridell  Sweden
2nd place, silver medalist(s) August Neo  Estonia
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Erich Siebert  Germany
← 1932
1948 →

This freestyle wrestling competition continued to use the "bad points" elimination system introduced at the 1928 Summer Olympics for Greco-Roman and at the 1932 Summer Olympics for freestyle wrestling, with a slight modification. Each round featured all wrestlers pairing off and wrestling one bout (with one wrestler having a bye if there were an odd number). The loser received 3 points if the loss was by fall or unanimous decision and 2 points if the decision was 2-1 (this was the modification from prior years, where all losses were 3 points). The winner received 1 point if the win was by decision and 0 points if the win was by fall. At the end of each round, any wrestler with at least 5 points was eliminated.[3]

Schedule edit

Date Event
3 August 1936 Round 1
4 August 1936 Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5

Results edit

Round 1 edit

Of the winners, two won by fall and advanced with 0 points while four won by decision and moved to the second round with 1 point. All six losers received 3 points for defeats by fall or unanimous decision.[4]

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
Knut Fridell   Sweden Decision, 3–0 August Neo   Estonia
Ede Virág-Ébner   Hungary Decision, 3–0 Matti Lahti   Finland
Mustafa Avcioglu   Turkey Decision, 3–0 Thomas Ward   Great Britain
Ray Clemons   United States Fall Paul Dätwyler   Switzerland
Eddie Scarf   Australia Fall Maurice Beke   Belgium
Erich Siebert   Germany Decision, 3–0 Hubert Prokop   Czechoslovakia
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation Start Earned Total
1 Ray Clemons   United States 0 0 0
1 Eddie Scarf   Australia 0 0 0
3 Mustafa Avcioglu   Turkey 0 1 1
3 Knut Fridell   Sweden 0 1 1
3 Erich Siebert   Germany 0 1 1
3 Ede Virág-Ébner   Hungary 0 1 1
7 Maurice Beke   Belgium 0 3 3
7 Paul Dätwyler   Switzerland 0 3 3
7 Matti Lahti   Finland 0 3 3
7 August Neo   Estonia 0 3 3
7 Hubert Prokop   Czechoslovakia 0 3 3
7 Thomas Ward   Great Britain 0 3 3

Round 2 edit

Clemons and Siebert were the best wrestlers through the first two rounds, each with 1 point for a win by decision and a win by fall. Fridell was also 2–0, but both wins were by decision and he had 2 points. Scarf finished the round at 2 points as well, with a 1–1 record (win by fall, loss by split decision). Six other wrestlers had a 1–1 record and finished the round with 3 or 4 points. Three had lost both the first two rounds and were eliminated.[4]

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
August Neo   Estonia Fall Ede Virág-Ébner   Hungary
Knut Fridell   Sweden Decision, 3–0 Matti Lahti   Finland
Ray Clemons   United States Decision, 3–0 Thomas Ward   Great Britain
Paul Dätwyler   Switzerland Fall Mustafa Avcioglu   Turkey
Erich Siebert   Germany Fall Maurice Beke   Belgium
Hubert Prokop   Czechoslovakia Decision, 2–1 Eddie Scarf   Australia
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation Start Earned Total
1 Ray Clemons   United States 0 1 1
1 Erich Siebert   Germany 1 0 1
3 Knut Fridell   Sweden 1 1 2
4 Eddie Scarf   Australia 0 2 2
5 Paul Dätwyler   Switzerland 3 0 3
5 August Neo   Estonia 3 0 3
7 Mustafa Avcioglu   Turkey 1 3 4
7 Hubert Prokop   Czechoslovakia 3 1 4
7 Ede Virág-Ébner   Hungary 1 3 4
10 Maurice Beke   Belgium 3 3 6
10 Matti Lahti   Finland 3 3 6
10 Thomas Ward   Great Britain 3 3 6

Round 3 edit

Clemons fell from first to fifth with a loss to Neo. Siebert picked up a second point but stayed in the lead along with Fridell. Dätwyler and Neo had 3 points apiece after the third round. The three losers other than Clemons were eliminated, as was Avcioglu, who withdrew.[4]

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
August Neo   Estonia Fall Ray Clemons   United States
Knut Fridell   Sweden Fall Ede Virág-Ébner   Hungary
Paul Dätwyler   Switzerland Fall Hubert Prokop   Czechoslovakia
Erich Siebert   Germany Decision, 3–0 Eddie Scarf   Australia
N/A N/A Withdrew Mustafa Avcioglu   Turkey
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation Start Earned Total
1 Knut Fridell   Sweden 2 0 2
1 Erich Siebert   Germany 1 1 2
3 Paul Dätwyler   Switzerland 3 0 3
3 August Neo   Estonia 3 0 3
5 Ray Clemons   United States 1 3 4
6 Eddie Scarf   Australia 2 3 5
7 Mustafa Avcioglu   Turkey 4 3 7
7 Hubert Prokop   Czechoslovakia 4 3 7
7 Ede Virág-Ébner   Hungary 4 3 7

Round 4 edit

Dätwyler and Clemons were eliminated with losses, leaving three wrestlers in competition. Fridell and Siebert each stayed at 2 points, winning by fall and having a bye, respectively. Neo received his fourth point in the win by decision.[4]

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
August Neo   Estonia Decision, 3–0 Paul Dätwyler   Switzerland
Knut Fridell   Sweden Fall Ray Clemons   United States
Erich Siebert   Germany Bye N/A N/A
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation Start Earned Total
1 Knut Fridell   Sweden 2 0 2
1 Erich Siebert   Germany 2 0 2
3 August Neo   Estonia 3 1 4
4 Paul Dätwyler   Switzerland 3 3 6
5 Ray Clemons   United States 4 3 7

Round 5 edit

Fridell had previously defeated Neo, but Siebert had not faced either other wrestler. Fridell received the bye in this round, with Neo and Siebert wrestling. Had Siebert earned fewer than 3 points in the round, another bout would have been contested with Fridell and Siebert facing off. However, Neo defeated Siebert by unanimous decision. This put both wrestlers at 5 points—Neo adding 1 point to his starting 4 and Siebert adding 3 to his 2. Neo earned silver based on the head-to-head result in this round breaking the tie. Fridell won the gold medal.

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
August Neo   Estonia Decision, 3–0 Erich Siebert   Germany
Knut Fridell   Sweden Bye N/A N/A
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation Start Earned Total
  Knut Fridell   Sweden 2 0 2
  August Neo   Estonia 4 1 5
  Erich Siebert   Germany 2 3 5

References edit

  1. ^ "Wrestling at the 1936 Berlin Summer Games: Men's Light-Heavyweight, Freestyle". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  2. ^ Official Olympic Report, la84.org. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  3. ^ a b Official Report, p. 716.
  4. ^ a b c d Official Report, p. 734.