| Date | 2 – 4 August 1936 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Deutschlandhalle, Berlin | |
| Participants | 15 from 15 countries | |
| Format | Elimination by bad points. Win by fall = 0 points; win by decision = 1 point; loss by 2-1 decision = 2 points; loss by 3-0 decision = 3 points; loss by fall = 3 points. Three judges gave decisions, thus all decisions were either 2-1 or 3-0. Five bad points eliminated a wrestler. | |
Finland’s Kustaa Pihlajamäki came in as the favorite, having won the 1934-35 European Championships. He was 34-years-old in 1936, after winning a gold medal in 1924 as a bantamweight, and a silver medal in this class in 1928. His cousin, Hermanni, was the defending champion from Los Angeles, but he fought as a lightweight in Berlin. Kustaa Pihlajamäki won his first four bouts by falls, and then met American Frank Millard, defeating him by a unanimous decision. Pihlajamäki, Millard and Sweden’s Gösta Jonsson advanced to the final round, where the Finn had a bye. Millard defeated Jonsson, which eliminated him and decided the medals, Pihlajamäki winning gold, Millard silver, and Jonsson bronze.
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Round Eliminated | Bad Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 | Kustaa Pihlajamäki | FIN | – | – | Gold | ||
| 2 | 107 | Frank Millard | USA | – | – | Silver | ||
| 3 | 64 | Gösta Jönsson | SWE | – | – | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 14 | Vern Pettigrew | CAN | – | – | |||
| 5 | 99 | Ferenc Tóth | HUN | – | – | |||
| 6 | 57 | Mitsuo Mizutani | JPN | – | – | |||
| 53 | Marco Gavelli | ITA | eliminated r3/6 | 5 | ||||
| 42 | Norman Morrell | GBR | eliminated r3/6 | 7 | ||||
| – | Nevil Hall | RSA | eliminated r3/6 | 7 | ||||
| 92 | Yaşar Erkan | TUR | eliminated r3/6 | 7 | ||||
| 8 | Hector Riské | BEL | eliminated r2/6 | 6 | ||||
| 36 | Jean Chasson | FRA | eliminated r2/6 | 6 | ||||
| 121 | Josef Böck | GER | eliminated r2/6 | 6 | ||||
| 77 | Werner Spycher | SUI | eliminated r2/6 | 6 | ||||
| 85 | Karel Kvaček | TCH | eliminated r2/6 | 6 | ||||
| 27 | Aarne Reini | FIN | – | – | ||||
| 122 | Georg Pulheim | GER | – | – | ||||
| 58 | Hideichi Yoshioka | JPN | – | – | ||||
| 65 | Göte Persson | SWE | – | – | ||||
| 108 | Fred Parkey | USA | – | – |
| Date | 2 August 1936 — 11:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Bad Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | 14 | Vern Pettigrew | CAN | 0 | ||
| =1 | 26 | Kustaa Pihlajamäki | FIN | 0 | ||
| =1 | 99 | Ferenc Tóth | HUN | 0 | ||
| =1 | 64 | Gösta Jönsson | SWE | 0 | ||
| =1 | 107 | Frank Millard | USA | 0 | ||
| =6 | 42 | Norman Morrell | GBR | 1 | ||
| =6 | 57 | Mitsuo Mizutani | JPN | 1 | ||
| =6 | – | Nevil Hall | RSA | 1 | ||
| =9 | 8 | Hector Riské | BEL | 3 | ||
| =9 | 36 | Jean Chasson | FRA | 3 | ||
| =9 | 121 | Josef Böck | GER | 3 | ||
| =9 | 53 | Marco Gavelli | ITA | 3 | ||
| =9 | 77 | Werner Spycher | SUI | 3 | ||
| =9 | 85 | Karel Kvaček | TCH | 3 | ||
| =9 | 92 | Yaşar Erkan | TUR | 3 |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 02 Aug | Nevil Hall | RSA | Decision (3-0) | Karel Kvaček | TCH | |
| Match #2 | 02 Aug | Gösta Jönsson | SWE | Fall (8:30) | Marco Gavelli | ITA | |
| Match #3 | 02 Aug | Norman Morrell | GBR | Decision (3-0) | Josef Böck | GER | |
| Match #4 | 02 Aug | Frank Millard | USA | Fall (12:33) | Jean Chasson | FRA | |
| Match #5 | 02 Aug | Ferenc Tóth | HUN | Fall (13:23) | Yaşar Erkan | TUR | |
| Match #6 | 02 Aug | Kustaa Pihlajamäki | FIN | Fall (4:40) | Hector Riské | BEL | |
| Match #7 | 02 Aug | Mitsuo Mizutani | JPN | Decision (3-0) | Werner Spycher | SUI | |
| Match #8 | 02 Aug | Vern Pettigrew | CAN |
| Date | 3 August 1936 — 16:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Bad Points | Event Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | 26 | Kustaa Pihlajamäki | FIN | 0 | – | ||
| =1 | 99 | Ferenc Tóth | HUN | 0 | – | ||
| =1 | 107 | Frank Millard | USA | 0 | – | ||
| =4 | 14 | Vern Pettigrew | CAN | 1 | – | ||
| =4 | 57 | Mitsuo Mizutani | JPN | 1 | – | ||
| =4 | 64 | Gösta Jönsson | SWE | 1 | – | ||
| =7 | 42 | Norman Morrell | GBR | 4 | – | ||
| =7 | 53 | Marco Gavelli | ITA | 4 | – | ||
| =7 | – | Nevil Hall | RSA | 4 | – | ||
| =7 | 92 | Yaşar Erkan | TUR | 4 | – | ||
| =11 | 8 | Hector Riské | BEL | 6 | eliminated | ||
| =11 | 36 | Jean Chasson | FRA | 6 | eliminated | ||
| =11 | 121 | Josef Böck | GER | 6 | eliminated | ||
| =11 | 77 | Werner Spycher | SUI | 6 | eliminated | ||
| =11 | 85 | Karel Kvaček | TCH | 6 | eliminated |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 03 Aug | Vern Pettigrew | CAN | Decision (3-0) | Karel Kvaček | TCH | |
| Match #2 | 03 Aug | Marco Gavelli | ITA | Decision (3-0) | Nevil Hall | RSA | |
| Match #3 | 03 Aug | Gösta Jönsson | SWE | Decision (3-0) | Josef Böck | GER | |
| Match #4 | 03 Aug | Frank Millard | USA | Fall (8:36) | Norman Morrell | GBR | |
| Match #5 | 03 Aug | Ferenc Tóth | HUN | Fall (6:52) | Jean Chasson | FRA | |
| Match #6 | 03 Aug | Yaşar Erkan | TUR | Decision (3-0) | Hector Riské | BEL | |
| Match #7 | 03 Aug | Kustaa Pihlajamäki | FIN | Fall (1:57) | Werner Spycher | SUI | |
| Match #8 | 03 Aug | Mitsuo Mizutani | JPN |
| Date | 4 August 1936 — 11:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Bad Points | Event Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 | Kustaa Pihlajamäki | FIN | 0 | – | ||
| =2 | 14 | Vern Pettigrew | CAN | 1 | – | ||
| =2 | 64 | Gösta Jönsson | SWE | 1 | – | ||
| =2 | 107 | Frank Millard | USA | 1 | – | ||
| 5 | 99 | Ferenc Tóth | HUN | 3 | – | ||
| 6 | 57 | Mitsuo Mizutani | JPN | 4 | – | ||
| 7 | 53 | Marco Gavelli | ITA | 5 | eliminated | ||
| =8 | 42 | Norman Morrell | GBR | 7 | eliminated | ||
| =8 | – | Nevil Hall | RSA | 7 | eliminated | ||
| =8 | 92 | Yaşar Erkan | TUR | 7 | eliminated |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 04 Aug | Vern Pettigrew | CAN | Fall (8:18) | Mitsuo Mizutani | JPN | |
| Match #2 | 04 Aug | Gösta Jönsson | SWE | Fall (4:38) | Nevil Hall | RSA | |
| Match #3 | 04 Aug | Marco Gavelli | ITA | Decision (3-0) | Norman Morrell | GBR | |
| Match #4 | 04 Aug | Frank Millard | USA | Decision (3-0) | Ferenc Tóth | HUN | |
| Match #5 | 04 Aug | Kustaa Pihlajamäki | FIN | Fall (2:40) | Yaşar Erkan | TUR |
| Date | 4 August 1936 — 15:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Bad Points | Event Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 | Kustaa Pihlajamäki | FIN | 0 | – | ||
| 2 | 107 | Frank Millard | USA | 1 | – | ||
| 3 | 64 | Gösta Jönsson | SWE | 2 | – | ||
| 4 | 14 | Vern Pettigrew | CAN | 4 | – | ||
| 5 | 99 | Ferenc Tóth | HUN | 6 | eliminated | ||
| 6 | 57 | Mitsuo Mizutani | JPN | 7 | eliminated |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 04 Aug | Gösta Jönsson | SWE | Decision (3-0) | Mitsuo Mizutani | JPN | |
| Match #2 | 04 Aug | Frank Millard | USA | Fall (2:13) | Vern Pettigrew | CAN | |
| Match #3 | 04 Aug | Kustaa Pihlajamäki | FIN | Fall (3:41) | Ferenc Tóth | HUN |
| Date | 4 August 1936 — 19:00 |
|---|
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Bad Points | Event Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 | Kustaa Pihlajamäki | FIN | 1 | – | ||
| 2 | 64 | Gösta Jönsson | SWE | 3 | – | ||
| 3 | 107 | Frank Millard | USA | 4 | – | ||
| 4 | 14 | Vern Pettigrew | CAN | 7 | eliminated |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 04 Aug | Gösta Jönsson | SWE | Decision (3-0) | Vern Pettigrew | CAN | |
| Match #2 | 04 Aug | Kustaa Pihlajamäki | FIN | Decision (3-0) | Frank Millard | USA |
| Date | 4 August 1936 — 22:00 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 04 Aug | Frank Millard | USA | Decision (2-1) | Gösta Jönsson | SWE | |
| Match #2 | 04 Aug | Kustaa Pihlajamäki | FIN |