Wrestling at the 1928 Summer Olympics – Men's Greco-Roman heavyweight

The men's Greco-Roman heavyweight was one of thirteen wrestling events held as part of the wrestling at the 1928 Summer Olympics programme.[1] The competition was held from August 2 to 5, and featured 15 wrestlers from 15 nations.[2] Heavyweight was the heaviest category, including wrestlers weighing over 82.5 kilograms (181.9 lb).[1]

Men's heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestling
at the Games of the IX Olympiad
VenueKrachtsportgebouw
DatesAugust 2–5
Competitors15 from 15 nations
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Rudolf Svensson  Sweden
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Hjalmar Nyström  Finland
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Georg Gehring  Germany
← 1924
1932 →

Competition format

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This Greco-Roman wrestling competition introduced an elimination system based on the accumulation of points. 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. 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][3]

Results

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Round 1

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The first round produced 4 winners by fall (0 points), 1 bye (0 points), 3 winners by decision (1 point), and 7 losers (3 points).

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
Josef Urban   Czechoslovakia Fall Gustave Colpaert   Belgium
Aleardo Donati   Italy Fall Simon de Lanfranchi   France
Georg Gehring   Germany Fall Emil Larsen   Denmark
Mehmet Çoban   Turkey Decision Jorge Briola   Argentina
Eugen Wiesberger Sr.   Austria Decision Alberts Zvejnieks   Latvia
Rajmund Badó   Hungary Fall Ibrahim Sobh   Egypt
Rudolf Svensson   Sweden Decision Hjalmar Nyström   Finland
Jacob Simonis   Netherlands Bye N/A N/A
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation R1
1 Rajmund Badó   Hungary 0
1 Aleardo Donati   Italy 0
1 Georg Gehring   Germany 0
1 Jacob Simonis   Netherlands 0
1 Josef Urban   Czechoslovakia 0
6 Mehmet Çoban   Turkey 1
6 Rudolf Svensson   Sweden 1
6 Eugen Wiesberger Sr.   Austria 1
9 Jorge Briola   Argentina 3
9 Gustave Colpaert   Belgium 3
9 Simon de Lanfranchi   France 3
9 Emil Larsen   Denmark 3
9 Hjalmar Nyström   Finland 3
9 Ibrahim Sobh   Egypt 3
9 Alberts Zvejnieks   Latvia 3

Round 2

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All 7 bouts were won by fall, with none of the winners gaining any points. Donati, Gehring, and Urban stayed at 0; Çoban, Svensson (with a bye), and Weisberger stayed at 1; Nyström and Zvejnieks stayed at 3. Also with 3 points were Badó and Simonis, after their first loss each. The other 5 round 2 losers had also lost in round 1; they were eliminated.

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
Josef Urban   Czechoslovakia Fall Jacob Simonis   Netherlands
Aleardo Donati   Italy Fall Gustave Colpaert   Belgium
Georg Gehring   Germany Fall Simon de Lanfranchi   France
Mehmet Çoban   Turkey Fall Emil Larsen   Denmark
Alberts Zvejnieks   Latvia Fall Jorge Briola   Argentina
Eugen Wiesberger Sr.   Austria Fall Ibrahim Sobh   Egypt
Hjalmar Nyström   Finland Fall Rajmund Badó   Hungary
Rudolf Svensson   Sweden Bye N/A N/A
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation R1 R2 Total
1 Aleardo Donati   Italy 0 0 0
1 Josef Urban   Czechoslovakia 0 0 0
1 Georg Gehring   Germany 0 0 0
4 Mehmet Çoban   Turkey 1 0 1
4 Rudolf Svensson   Sweden 1 0 1
4 Eugen Wiesberger Sr.   Austria 1 0 1
7 Rajmund Badó   Hungary 0 3 3
7 Hjalmar Nyström   Finland 3 0 3
7 Jacob Simonis   Netherlands 0 3 3
7 Alberts Zvejnieks   Latvia 3 0 3
11 Jorge Briola   Argentina 3 3 6
11 Gustave Colpaert   Belgium 3 3 6
11 Simon de Lanfranchi   France 3 3 6
11 Emil Larsen   Denmark 3 3 6
11 Ibrahim Sobh   Egypt 3 3 6

Round 3

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The Urban–Donati and Gehring–Çoban bouts each featured 2 wrestlers with fewer than 2 points and therefore no elimination possible for either wrestler in the bout. The Nyström–Wiesberger bout also ended in no eliminations, as Nyström won by decision to leave both wrestlers at 4 points. Zvejnieks and Simonis were eliminated. Urban was the only man left with 0 points; Gehring and Svensson also remained below 2 points and thus safe from elimination in the next round.

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
Rudolf Svensson   Sweden Fall Jacob Simonis   Netherlands
Josef Urban   Czechoslovakia Fall Aleardo Donati   Italy
Georg Gehring   Germany Decision Mehmet Çoban   Turkey
Rajmund Badó   Hungary Fall Alberts Zvejnieks   Latvia
Hjalmar Nyström   Finland Decision Eugen Wiesberger Sr.   Austria
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation R1 R2 R3 Total
1 Josef Urban   Czechoslovakia 0 0 0 0
2 Georg Gehring   Germany 0 0 1 1
2 Rudolf Svensson   Sweden 1 0 0 1
4 Rajmund Badó   Hungary 0 3 0 3
4 Aleardo Donati   Italy 0 0 3 3
6 Mehmet Çoban   Turkey 1 0 3 4
6 Hjalmar Nyström   Finland 3 0 1 4
6 Eugen Wiesberger Sr.   Austria 1 0 3 4
9 Jacob Simonis   Netherlands 0 3 3 6
9 Alberts Zvejnieks   Latvia 3 0 3 6

Round 4

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All 4 bouts this round were won by fall; Nyström and Wiesberger needed to win that way to continue, as they started (and ended) with 4 points. Svensson and Gehring each stayed at 1 point, now in the lead as Urban took his first loss and moved to 3 points. The other three losers, Badó, Çoban, and Donati, were eliminated.

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
Rudolf Svensson   Sweden Fall Josef Urban   Czechoslovakia
Georg Gehring   Germany Fall Aleardo Donati   Italy
Hjalmar Nyström   Finland Fall Mehmet Çoban   Turkey
Eugen Wiesberger Sr.   Austria Fall Rajmund Badó   Hungary
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation R1 R2 R3 R4 Total
1 Georg Gehring   Germany 0 0 1 0 1
1 Rudolf Svensson   Sweden 1 0 0 0 1
3 Josef Urban   Czechoslovakia 0 0 0 3 3
4 Hjalmar Nyström   Finland 3 0 1 0 4
4 Eugen Wiesberger Sr.   Austria 1 0 3 0 4
6 Rajmund Badó   Hungary 0 3 0 3 6
7 Aleardo Donati   Italy 0 0 3 3 6
8 Mehmet Çoban   Turkey 1 0 3 3 7

Round 5

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The two leaders faced off (neither could be eliminated, however), with Svensson prevailing (ultimately securing himself the gold medal). Urban, who had 0 points after 3 rounds, now had 6 points after two consecutive losses and was eliminated in 5th place. Wiesberger was also eliminated in his victory over Urban, as he needed a win by fall to continue but won by decision instead. Nyström had a bye.

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
Rudolf Svensson   Sweden Fall Georg Gehring   Germany
Eugen Wiesberger Sr.   Austria Decision Josef Urban   Czechoslovakia
Hjalmar Nyström   Finland Bye N/A N/A
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 Total
1 Rudolf Svensson   Sweden 1 0 0 0 0 1
2 Georg Gehring   Germany 0 0 1 0 3 4
2 Hjalmar Nyström   Finland 3 0 1 0 0 4
4 Eugen Wiesberger Sr.   Austria 1 0 3 0 1 5
5 Josef Urban   Czechoslovakia 0 0 0 3 3 6

Round 6

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The only bout possible was Nyström against Gehring, as Svensson had already faced each of the other wrestlers. Svensson thus ended up with his second bye of the tournament and the gold medal.

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
Hjalmar Nyström   Finland Decision Georg Gehring   Germany
Rudolf Svensson   Sweden Bye N/A N/A
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 Total
  Rudolf Svensson   Sweden 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
  Hjalmar Nyström   Finland 3 0 1 0 0 1 5
  Georg Gehring   Germany 0 0 1 0 3 3 7

References

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  1. ^ a b 1928 Summer Olympics - Official Report
  2. ^ a b "Wrestling at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Games: Men's Heavyweight, Greco-Roman". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  3. ^ Official Report, p. 859.