Wrestling at the 1936 Summer Olympics

The 1936 wrestling tournament was held at the Deutschlandhalle, which also hosted boxing and weightlifting. It was built in 1935 primarily for the 1936 Olympics and could hold just under 9,000 spectators. It was heavily damaged by bombing in World War II but was rebuilt after the War and still serves as a multi-purpose arena for sports and entertainment events.

There was no change in the program in 1936 from 1932, with seven events in Greco-Roman and freestyle. For the first time, both freestyle and Greco-Roman were conducted using the negative (bad) points system. A win by fall earned 0 points, while winning by unanimous decision gained the wrestler 1 point. A loss by majority decision (2-1) cost 2 points, and a loss by unanimous decision or fall cost 3 points. Wrestlers were eliminated when they accumulated 5 points, so effectively the event was a double elimination tournament.

Sweden led the medal list with 9 medals and 4 golds, while Germany won 7 medals, but no gold medals. Hungary also won 3 gold medals. In freestyle the top nations were the United States, with 6 medals, while Hungary was the only nation to win 2 freestyle golds. In Greco-Roman, Sweden won 6 medals and 3 gold medals.