Wrestling at the 1948 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle heavyweight

The men's freestyle heavyweight competition at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London took place from 29 July to 31 July at the Empress Hall, Earls Court Exhibition Centre. Nations were limited to one competitor.[1]

Men's freestyle heavyweight
at the Games of the XIV Olympiad
VenueEmpress Hall, Earls Court Exhibition Centre
Dates29–31 July
Competitors9 from 9 nations
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Gyula Bóbis  Hungary
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Bertil Antonsson  Sweden
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Jim Armstrong  Australia
← 1936
1952 →

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 the slight modification introduced in 1936. 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.[2]

Results edit

Round 1 edit

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
Josef Růžička   Czechoslovakia Decision, 2–1 Dick Hutton   United States
Jim Armstrong   Australia Decision, 3–0 Fred Oberlander   Great Britain
Gyula Bóbis   Hungary Decision, 3–0 Willy Lardon   Switzerland
Bertil Antonsson   Sweden Decision, 3–0 Sadik Esen   Turkey
Abdul Ghasem Sahkdari   Iran Bye N/A N/A
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation Start Earned Total
1 Abdul Ghasem Sahkdari   Iran 0 0 0
2 Bertil Antonsson   Sweden 0 1 1
2 Jim Armstrong   Australia 0 1 1
2 Gyula Bóbis   Hungary 0 1 1
2 Josef Růžička   Czechoslovakia 0 1 1
6 Dick Hutton   United States 0 2 2
7 Fred Oberlander   Great Britain 0 3 3
7 Willy Lardon   Switzerland 0 3 3
7 Sadik Esen   Turkey 0 3 3

Round 2 edit

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
Josef Růžička   Czechoslovakia Decision, 2–1 Fred Oberlander   Great Britain
Dick Hutton   United States Decision, 2–1 Abdul Ghasem Sahkdari   Iran
Gyula Bóbis   Hungary Fall Jim Armstrong   Australia
Sadik Esen   Turkey Decision, 3–0 Willy Lardon   Switzerland
Bertil Antonsson   Sweden Bye N/A N/A
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation Start Earned Total
1 Bertil Antonsson   Sweden 1 0 1
1 Gyula Bóbis   Hungary 1 0 1
3 Josef Růžička   Czechoslovakia 1 1 2
3 Abdul Ghasem Sahkdari   Iran 0 2 2
5 Dick Hutton   United States 2 1 3
6 Jim Armstrong   Australia 1 3 4
6 Sadik Esen   Turkey 3 1 4
8 Fred Oberlander   Great Britain 3 2 5
9 Willy Lardon   Switzerland 3 3 6

Round 3 edit

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
Bertil Antonsson   Sweden Fall Abdul Ghasem Sahkdari   Iran
Jim Armstrong   Australia Retired Dick Hutton   United States
Gyula Bóbis   Hungary Fall Josef Růžička   Czechoslovakia
Sadik Esen   Turkey Bye N/A N/A
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation Start Earned Total
1 Bertil Antonsson   Sweden 1 0 1
1 Gyula Bóbis   Hungary 1 0 1
3 Jim Armstrong   Australia 4 0 4
3 Sadik Esen   Turkey 4 0 4
5 Josef Růžička   Czechoslovakia 2 3 5
5 Abdul Ghasem Sahkdari   Iran 2 3 5
7 Dick Hutton   United States 3 3 6

Round 4 edit

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
Jim Armstrong   Australia Fall Sadik Esen   Turkey
Gyula Bóbis   Hungary Decision, 2–1 Bertil Antonsson   Sweden
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation Start Earned Total
1 Gyula Bóbis   Hungary 1 1 2
2 Bertil Antonsson   Sweden 1 2 3
3 Jim Armstrong   Australia 4 0 4
4 Sadik Esen   Turkey 4 3 7

Round 5 edit

Bóbis had already defeated both Armstrong and Antonsson, so the only possible match remaining was between the two of them (guaranteeing Bóbis the gold medal and making round 5 in effect a silver/bronze bout). Antonsson won by fall, taking the silver.

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
Bertil Antonsson   Sweden Fall Jim Armstrong   Australia
Gyula Bóbis   Hungary Bye N/A N/A
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation Start Earned Total
  Gyula Bóbis   Hungary 1 0 2
  Bertil Antonsson   Sweden 3 0 3
  Jim Armstrong   Australia 4 3 7

References edit

  1. ^ "Wrestling at the 1948 London Summer Games: Men's Heavyweight, Freestyle". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  2. ^ Official Report, p. 496.