| | Event type
Welterweight, Freestyle (≤72 kilograms), Men
| Date | 30 July – 1 August 1928 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Krachtsportgebouw, Amsterdam | |
| Participants | 11 from 11 countries | |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament with separate single-elimination tournaments for second- and third-place. Second-place tournament conducted among those losing to the winner. Third-place tournament conducted among those losing to the winner or runner-up. | |
No international freestyle events had been contested since the 1924 Olympics so it was difficult to choose a favorite. Only one of the 11 entrants had previously won an Olympic medal and that was Finland’s Arvo Haavisto, who won bronze as a lightweight in 1924. Haavisto won three straight matches to coast to the gold medal, defeating American Lloyd Appleton in the final match. Appleton would get through the second-place tournament to win the silver medal, while the bronze went to Canadian Maurice Letchford.
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arvo Haavisto |  FIN | Gold | ||
| 2 | Lloyd Appleton |  USA | Silver | ||
| 3 | Maurice Letchford |  CAN | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Jean Jourlin |  FRA | |||
| =5 | Harry Morris |  AUS | |||
| =5 | Bob Cook |  GBR | |||
| =7 | Alfred Praks |  EST | |||
| =7 | Hyacinthe Roosen |  BEL | |||
| =7 | Fritz Käsermann |  SUI | |||
| =10 | Theofilos Tomazos |  GRE | |||
| =10 | Johannes Jacobsen |  DEN |
Round One (30 July 1928)
| Match #1 | Lloyd Appleton | USA | Bob Cook | GBR | |
| Match #2 | Alfred Praks | EST | Theofilos Tomazos | GRE | |
| Match #3 | Hyacinthe Roosen | BEL | Johannes Jacobsen | DEN | |
| Match #4 | Maurice Letchford | CAN | bye | ||
| Match #5 | Fritz Käsermann | SUI | bye | ||
| Match #6 | Jean Jourlin | FRA | bye | ||
| Match #7 | Harry Morris | AUS | bye | ||
| Match #8 | Arvo Haavisto | FIN | bye |
Quarter-Finals (30 July 1928)
| Match #1 | Lloyd Appleton | USA | Alfred Praks | EST | |
| Match #2 | Maurice Letchford | CAN | Hyacinthe Roosen | BEL | |
| Match #3 | Jean Jourlin | FRA | Fritz Käsermann | SUI | |
| Match #4 | Arvo Haavisto | FIN | Harry Morris | AUS |
Semi-Finals (31 July 1928)
| Match #1 | Lloyd Appleton | USA | Maurice Letchford | CAN | |
| Match #2 | Arvo Haavisto | FIN | Jean Jourlin | FRA |
Final Round (1 August 1928)
| Match #1 | Arvo Haavisto | FIN | Lloyd Appleton | USA |
2nd-Place Tournament (1 August 1928)
| Match #1 | Lloyd Appleton | USA | Jean Jourlin | FRA | |
| Match #2 | Lloyd Appleton | USA | Harry Morris | AUS |
3rd-Place Tournament (1 August 1928)
| Match #1 | Maurice Letchford | CAN | Bob Cook | GBR | |
| Match #2 | Jean Jourlin | FRA | Harry Morris | AUS | |
| Match #3 | Maurice Letchford | CAN | Jean Jourlin | FRA |