| | Event type

Welterweight, Freestyle (≤73 kg), Men

Date	20 – 23 July 1952
Status	Olympic
Location	Messuhalli I, Helsinki / Messuhalli II, Helsinki
Participants	20 from 20 countries
Format	Win by fall = 0 points; win by decision = 1 point; loss of any type = 3 points. Three judges gave decisions, thus all decisions were either 2-1 or 3-0. Five bad points eliminated a wrestler. When only three wrestlers remained, if they had not yet met one another, they wrestled further rounds. Medal placements were determined by the match record among the medalists, with bad points as a tie breaker. A wrestler in the medal rounds could continue with 5 or more bad points.

There was no consensus favorite in this class. Turkey’s Celal Atik was the 1948 gold medalist as a lightweight, and won the 1949 Europeans and 1951 World Championships in this class, but he retired after the 1951 Worlds and was not in Helsinki. After four rounds, the finalists were determined, with American Bill Smith, Swede Per Berlin, and Iranian Abdollah Mojtabavi all still undefeated. None of the three had wrestled each other so a true round-robin final round ensued, which did little to straighten things out, as all three won one match and lost one, all by unanimous decisions. On total bad points, the gold medal went to the unheralded American Smith with Berlin taking silver, and Mojtabavi bronze. Of the three medalists, only Berlin ever won another major international medal, with a bronze at the 1956 Olympics in welterweight Greco-Roman.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Medalists Match Record (Bad Points) / Round Eliminated	Bad Points
1	348	Bill Smith	USA	1-1 (6 bad points)	–	Gold
2	205	Per Berlin	SWE	1-1 (7 bad points)	–	Silver
3	55	Abdollah Mojtabavi	IRI	1-1 (8 bad points)	–	Bronze
4	4	Alberto Longarella	ARG	–	–
=5	275	Vladislav Sekal	TCH	–	–
=5	30	Mohamed Moussa	EGY	–	–
=5	97	Tsugio Yamazaki	JPN	–	–
AC	243	Aleksanteri Keisala	FIN	eliminated r4/7	6
AC	289	Mehmet Ali Islioğlu	TUR	withdrew r4/7	4
AC	9	Bev Scott	AUS	eliminated r3/7	5
AC	235	Anton Mackowiak	GER	eliminated r3/7	5
AC	38	Cyril Martin	RSA	eliminated r3/7	6
AC	174	Jean-Baptiste Leclerc	FRA	eliminated r3/7	7
AC	133	Vasily Rybalko	URS	eliminated r2/7	4
AC	103	Nick Mohammed	CAN	eliminated r2/7	5
AC	18	Jos De Jong	BEL	eliminated r2/7	6
AC	69	Don Irvine	GBR	eliminated r2/7	6
AC	78	Arvedo Cecchini	ITA	eliminated r2/7	6
AC	122	Antonio Rosado	MEX	eliminated r2/7	6
AC	–	Daniel Hauser	SUI	eliminated r2/7	6
DNS	17	L. Berghmans	BEL	–	–
DNS	29	Mahmud Osman	EGY	–	–
DNS	259	Erkki Penttilä	FIN	–	–
DNS	70	John Allison	GBR	–	–
DNS	315	Kálmán Sóvári	HUN	–	–
DNS	316	Rudolf Kinizsi	HUN	–	–
DNS	314	Gyula Benő	HUN	–	–
DNS	56	H. Araba	IRI	–	–
DNS	206	S. A. A. Ekblad	SWE	–	–
DNS	207	Hugo Jonsson	SWE	–	–
DNS	288	B. Büke	TUR	–	–
DNS	132	Vakht'ang Balavadze	URS	–	–
DNS	349	James La Rock	USA	–	–

Round One

Date	20 July 1952

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Bad Points
=1	30	Mohamed Moussa	EGY	0
=1	348	Bill Smith	USA	0
=3	4	Alberto Longarella	ARG	1
=3	9	Bev Scott	AUS	1
=3	235	Anton Mackowiak	GER	1
=3	55	Abdollah Mojtabavi	IRI	1
=3	97	Tsugio Yamazaki	JPN	1
=3	38	Cyril Martin	RSA	1
=3	205	Per Berlin	SWE	1
=3	289	Mehmet Ali Islioğlu	TUR	1
=11	103	Nick Mohammed	CAN	3
=11	243	Aleksanteri Keisala	FIN	3
=11	174	Jean-Baptiste Leclerc	FRA	3
=11	133	Vasily Rybalko	URS	3
=11	18	Jos De Jong	BEL	3
=11	69	Don Irvine	GBR	3
=11	78	Arvedo Cecchini	ITA	3
=11	122	Antonio Rosado	MEX	3
=11	–	Daniel Hauser	SUI	3
=11	275	Vladislav Sekal	TCH	3

Match	Date/Time	Competitor	NOC	Result	Competitor	NOC
Match #1	20 Jul	Per Berlin	SWE	Decision (3-0)	Daniel Hauser	SUI
Match #2	20 Jul	Anton Mackowiak	GER	Decision (3-0)	Arvedo Cecchini	ITA
Match #3	20 Jul	Alberto Longarella	ARG	Decision (2-1)	Nick Mohammed	CAN
Match #4	20 Jul	Bill Smith	USA	Fall (4:50)	Antonio Rosado	MEX
Match #5	20 Jul	Cyril Martin	RSA	Decision (3-0)	Vladislav Sekal	TCH
Match #6	20 Jul	Mohamed Moussa	EGY	Fall (7:23)	Jos De Jong	BEL
Match #7	20 Jul	Tsugio Yamazaki	JPN	Decision (2-1)	Jean-Baptiste Leclerc	FRA
Match #8	20 Jul	Bev Scott	AUS	Decision (3-0)	Don Irvine	GBR
Match #9	20 Jul	Mehmet Ali Islioğlu	TUR	Decision (2-1)	Vasily Rybalko	URS
Match #10	20 Jul	Abdollah Mojtabavi	IRI	Decision (2-1)	Aleksanteri Keisala	FIN

Round Two

Date	21 July 1952

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Bad Points	Event Status
1	30	Mohamed Moussa	EGY	0	–
=2	4	Alberto Longarella	ARG	1	–
=2	205	Per Berlin	SWE	1	–
=2	348	Bill Smith	USA	1	–
=5	9	Bev Scott	AUS	2	–
=5	235	Anton Mackowiak	GER	2	–
=5	55	Abdollah Mojtabavi	IRI	2	–
=5	97	Tsugio Yamazaki	JPN	2	–
9	275	Vladislav Sekal	TCH	3	–
=10	289	Mehmet Ali Islioğlu	TUR	4	–
=10	243	Aleksanteri Keisala	FIN	4	–
=10	38	Cyril Martin	RSA	4	–
=13	174	Jean-Baptiste Leclerc	FRA	6	–
=13	133	Vasily Rybalko	URS	6	eliminated
=13	103	Nick Mohammed	CAN	6	eliminated
=13	18	Jos De Jong	BEL	6	eliminated
=13	69	Don Irvine	GBR	6	eliminated
=13	78	Arvedo Cecchini	ITA	6	eliminated
=13	122	Antonio Rosado	MEX	6	eliminated
=13	–	Daniel Hauser	SUI	6	eliminated

Match	Date/Time	Competitor	NOC	Result	Competitor	NOC
Match #1	21 Jul	Anton Mackowiak	GER	Decision (3-0)	Daniel Hauser	SUI
Match #2	21 Jul	Per Berlin	SWE	Fall (9:26)	Arvedo Cecchini	ITA
Match #3	21 Jul	Bill Smith	USA	Decision (3-0)	Nick Mohammed	CAN
Match #4	21 Jul	Alberto Longarella	ARG	Fall (5:27)	Antonio Rosado	MEX
Match #5	21 Jul	Vladislav Sekal	TCH	Fall (4:59)	Jos De Jong	BEL
Match #6	21 Jul	Mohamed Moussa	EGY	Fall (3:10)	Cyril Martin	RSA
Match #7	21 Jul	Tsugio Yamazaki	JPN	Decision (3-0)	Don Irvine	GBR
Match #8	21 Jul	Bev Scott	AUS	Decision (2-1)	Jean-Baptiste Leclerc	FRA
Match #9	21 Jul	Abdollah Mojtabavi	IRI	Decision (2-1)	Vasily Rybalko	URS
Match #10	21 Jul	Aleksanteri Keisala	FIN	Decision (2-1)	Mehmet Ali Islioğlu	TUR

Round Three

Date	22 July 1952

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Bad Points	Event Status
=1	205	Per Berlin	SWE	2	–
=1	348	Bill Smith	USA	2	–
=3	30	Mohamed Moussa	EGY	3	–
=3	55	Abdollah Mojtabavi	IRI	3	–
=3	97	Tsugio Yamazaki	JPN	3	–
=3	275	Vladislav Sekal	TCH	3	–
=7	243	Aleksanteri Keisala	FIN	4	–
=7	4	Alberto Longarella	ARG	4	–
=9	289	Mehmet Ali Islioğlu	TUR	5	eliminated
=9	9	Bev Scott	AUS	5	eliminated
=9	235	Anton Mackowiak	GER	5	eliminated
12	38	Cyril Martin	RSA	7	eliminated
13	174	Jean-Baptiste Leclerc	FRA	9	eliminated

Match	Date/Time	Competitor	NOC	Result	Competitor	NOC
Match #1	22 Jul	Per Berlin	SWE	Decision (3-0)	Anton Mackowiak	GER
Match #2	22 Jul	Bill Smith	USA	Decision (3-0)	Alberto Longarella	ARG
Match #3	22 Jul	Vladislav Sekal	TCH	Fall (7:01)	Mohamed Moussa	EGY
Match #4	22 Jul	Tsugio Yamazaki	JPN	Decision (2-1)	Cyril Martin	RSA
Match #5	22 Jul	Mehmet Ali Islioğlu	TUR	Decision (3-0)	Jean-Baptiste Leclerc	FRA
Match #6	22 Jul	Abdollah Mojtabavi	IRI	Decision (3-0)	Bev Scott	AUS
Match #7	22 Jul	Aleksanteri Keisala	FIN

Round Four

Date	22 July 1952

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Bad Points	Event Status
1	348	Bill Smith	USA	2	–
2	205	Per Berlin	SWE	3	–
3	55	Abdollah Mojtabavi	IRI	4	–
4	4	Alberto Longarella	ARG	5	eliminated
=5	275	Vladislav Sekal	TCH	6	eliminated
=5	30	Mohamed Moussa	EGY	6	eliminated
=5	97	Tsugio Yamazaki	JPN	6	eliminated
8	243	Aleksanteri Keisala	FIN	7	eliminated

Match	Date/Time	Competitor	NOC	Result	Competitor	NOC
Match #1	22 Jul	Per Berlin	SWE	Decision (3-0)	Aleksanteri Keisala	FIN
Match #2	22 Jul	Alberto Longarella	ARG	Decision (2-1)	Vladislav Sekal	TCH
Match #3	22 Jul	Bill Smith	USA	Fall (3:45)	Mohamed Moussa	EGY
Match #4	22 Jul	Abdollah Mojtabavi	IRI	Decision (3-0)	Tsugio Yamazaki	JPN

Round Five

Date	23 July 1952

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Bad Points
=1	55	Abdollah Mojtabavi	IRI	4
=1	205	Per Berlin	SWE	4
3	348	Bill Smith	USA	5

Match	Date/Time	Competitor	NOC	Result	Competitor	NOC
Match #1	23 Jul	Per Berlin	SWE	Decision (3-0)	Bill Smith	USA
Match #2	23 Jul	Abdollah Mojtabavi	IRI

Round Six

Date	23 July 1952

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Bad Points	Event Status
=1	55	Abdollah Mojtabavi	IRI	5	eliminated
=1	348	Bill Smith	USA	5	eliminated
3	205	Per Berlin	SWE	7	eliminated

Match	Date/Time	Competitor	NOC	Result	Competitor	NOC
Match #1	23 Jul	Abdollah Mojtabavi	IRI	Decision (3-0)	Per Berlin	SWE
Match #2	23 Jul	Bill Smith	USA

Final Round

Date	23 July 1952

Match	Date/Time	Competitor	NOC	Result	Competitor	NOC
Match #1	23 Jul	Bill Smith	USA	Decision (3-0)	Abdollah Mojtabavi	IRI
Match #2	23 Jul	Per Berlin	SWE