Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics

The 1996 Olympic wrestling tournaments were held at the Georgia World Congress Center, which hosted multiple sports in Atlanta, including fencing, handball, judo, modern pentathlon fencing and shooting, table tennis, and weightlifting, in addition to wrestling. The Georgia World Congress Center, the fourth-largest convention center in the US, was opened in 1976. It was also the venue for the International Broadcast Center (IBC) during the Atlanta Olympics.

There was no change in the wrestling programme in 1996, with 10 classes in each style and the same weight limits, including an upper weight limit of 130 kg (286 lbs) for the heaviest class in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. The format within each class was different in 1996, with the competition being decided by single-elimination matches, with classification matches for places 1-8, and a classification tournament to determine the lower places.

For the first time since 1948, a nation besides the USSR (or the Unified Team in 1992) led the Olympic medal lists in wrestling, save for 1984 when the Soviet Union did not compete. The United States won eight medals, against the Russians seven. Russia won the most gold medals, however, with four, followed by the USA and Poland, with three. The US and Russia both won three freestyle golds, but the US led with five freestyle medals won. Poland led the Greco-Roman medal lists, with five medals and three gold medals.