Bantamweight, Greco-Roman (≤56 kg), Men

There were no World Championships in this era but, at the 1931 European Championships in Praha, Sweden’s Herman Tuvesson won the title over Germany’s Kurt Leucht, with Italy’s Marcello Nizzola placing third. Tuvesson and Nizzola were in this event in Los Angeles, joined by 1931 World Championship contestants Louis François (FRA) and László Szekfű (HUN). Also competing was Germany’s Jakob Brendel, who had been runner-up at the 1930 Europeans.

Tuvesson advanced thru two rounds but was eliminated after losing a decision to Brendel in round three, leaving Brendel, François, and Nizzola to contest the medals. In round four, François defeated Nizzola, but it was Nizzola’s first loss of the event while François had lost a first-round match to Tuvesson, and the Frenchman was eliminated. The final was between Brendel and Nizzola, with the decision going to Jakob Brendel, the 1932 Official Report noting that Nizzola “gave up.” But Nizzola was not happy with the decision and, in the locker room after the match, attacked Brendel with a knife, with a policeman intervening to prevent any serious injuries.

Brendel would return in 1936 to a bronze medal in the same division. He was also European Champion in freestyle in 1937. François’ bronze medal was his only major international medal. Tuvesson, despite not winning a medal in Los Angeles, had the best career record of any of the competitors, winning four European Championships and seven European medals. Nizzola also competed at the 1936 Olympics and won the European Championship in freestyle in 1935. There is no record of any sanctions against Nizzola for his attack on Brendel in the locker room, and the Los Angeles papers do not even mention the incident. In 1947, he was assassinated at gunpoint when returning home, thought to be for political reasons.