Wrestling at the 1932 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle light heavyweight

The men's freestyle light heavyweight competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles took place from 1 August to 3 August at the Grand Olympic Auditorium. 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 X Olympiad
VenueGrand Olympic Auditorium
Dates1–3 August
Competitors4 from 4 nations
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Peter Mehringer  United States
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Thure Sjöstedt  Sweden
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Eddie Scarf  Australia
← 1928
1936 →

This freestyle wrestling competition did not use the single-elimination bracket format previously used for Olympic freestyle wrestling but instead followed the format that was introduced at the 1928 Summer Olympics for Greco-Roman wrestling, using 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.[4]

Schedule

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Date Event
1 August 1932 Round 1
2 August 1932 Round 2
3 August 1932 Final round

Results

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Round 1

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Both bouts were won by fall, with Mehringer and Scarf the victors (0 points) and Sjöstedt and Madison the losers (3 points).[5]

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
Peter Mehringer   United States Fall Thure Sjöstedt   Sweden
Eddie Scarf   Australia Fall Harry Madison   Canada
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation Start Earned Total
1 Peter Mehringer   United States 0 0 0
1 Eddie Scarf   Australia 0 0 0
3 Harry Madison   Canada 0 3 3
3 Thure Sjöstedt   Sweden 0 3 3

Round 2

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The first-round winners drew the opposite first-round loser for the second round, with mixed results. Mehringer prevailed a second time (this time by decision, earning 1 point), giving Madison his second loss and elimination. Scarf, however, fell to Sjöstedt by fall, with both wrestlers ending the round at 3 points.[5]

Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
Thure Sjöstedt   Sweden Fall Eddie Scarf   Australia
Peter Mehringer   United States Decision Harry Madison   Canada
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation Start Earned Total
1 Peter Mehringer   United States 0 1 1
2 Eddie Scarf   Australia 0 3 3
2 Thure Sjöstedt   Sweden 3 0 3
4 Harry Madison   Canada 3 3 6

Final round

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Sjöstedt had already faced each of Mehringer and Scarf, so the only possible bout left among the three wrestlers was between Mehringer and Scarf. Scarf could not have taken gold, but only silver with a win (a win by fall would have left him tied at 3 points with Sjöstedt, whom he had already lost to; a win by decision would leave him tied with Mehringer at second but also broken that tie in favor of Scarf) or bronze with a loss. Sjöstedt was guaranteed at least silver with the bye, hoping for a Scarf win to give Sjöstedt gold. Mehringer could have finished the round with either gold (any win) or bronze (a loss). Mehringer won by decision, earning gold and sending Scarf to the bronze medal position, while Sjöstedt took silver.[5]

Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
Peter Mehringer   United States Decision Eddie Scarf   Australia
Thure Sjöstedt   Sweden Bye N/A N/A
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation Start Earned Total
  Peter Mehringer   United States 1 1 2
  Thure Sjöstedt   Sweden 3 0 3
  Eddie Scarf   Australia 3 3 6

References

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  1. ^ "Wrestling at the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's Light-Heavyweight, Freestyle". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  2. ^ Official Olympic Report, la84.org. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  3. ^ Official Report, p. 550.
  4. ^ Official Report, pp. 547–48.
  5. ^ a b c Official Report, p. 561.