Light-Heavyweight, Freestyle (≤87 kilograms), Men
| Date | 28 November – 1 December 1956 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne, Victoria | |
| Participants | 12 from 12 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. | |
As a middleweight, Iran’s Gholam Reza Takhti was silver medalist at the 1951 World Championships and the 1952 Olympics. He won gold in Melbourne, starting with four victories by falls, and then a fifth-round decision to move into the final round against Soviet Boris Kulayev and American Pete Blair. Takhti had won round five by decision over Kulayev, although Kulayev had defeated him earlier in the year at the World Cup. Blair then defeated Kulayev in round one of the final, and moved on to meet Takhti for the gold medal, with Blair losing by decision, moving Kulayev up to silver.
Takhti would become Iran’s greatest wrestling champion, achieving legendary status in their most popular sport. He won another Olympic silver medal in 1960 at Roma, and was World Champion in 1959 and 1961. Kulayev would also finish second at the 1957 World Championships.
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | RE | Bad Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gholam Reza Takhti |  IRI | – | – | Gold | ||
| 2 | Boris Kulayev |  URS | – | – | Silver | ||
| 3 | Pete Blair |  USA | – | – | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Gerry Martina |  IRL | – | – | |||
| =5 | Adil Atan |  TUR | – | – | |||
| =5 | Kevin Coote |  AUS | – | – | |||
| Viking Palm |  SWE | Eliminated r3/7 | 6 | ||||
| Mitsuhiro Ohira |  JPN | Eliminated r3/7 | 7 | ||||
| Jan Theron |  RSA | Eliminated r3/7 | 7 | ||||
| Veikko Lahti |  FIN | Eliminated r2/7 | 5 | ||||
| Bob Steckle |  CAN | Eliminated r2/7 | 6 | ||||
| Spyros Defteraios |  GRE | Withdrew r2/7 | 3 |
Round One (28 November 1956 — -)
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bad Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Gholam Reza Takhti | IRI | 0 | |||
| =1 | Gerry Martina | IRL | 0 | |||
| =1 | Adil Atan | TUR | 0 | |||
| =1 | Pete Blair | USA | 0 | |||
| =5 | Kevin Coote | AUS | 1 | |||
| =5 | Boris Kulayev | URS | 1 | |||
| =7 | Bob Steckle | CAN | 3 | |||
| =7 | Veikko Lahti | FIN | 3 | |||
| =7 | Spyros Defteraios | GRE | 3 | withdrew | ||
| =7 | Mitsuhiro Ohira | JPN | 3 | |||
| =7 | Jan Theron | RSA | 3 | |||
| =7 | Viking Palm | SWE | 3 |
| Match #1 | Kevin Coote | AUS | decision (3-0) | Bob Steckle | CAN |
| Match #2 | Gholam Reza Takhti | IRI | fall (7:00) | Jan Theron | RSA |
| Match #3 | Pete Blair | USA | fall (12:37) | Veikko Lahti | FIN |
| Match #4 | Adil Atan | TUR | fall (6:15) | Mitsuhiro Ohira | JPN |
| Match #5 | Boris Kulayev | URS | decision (3-0) | Viking Palm | SWE |
| Match #6 | Gerry Martina | IRL | fall (3:00) | Spyros Defteraios | GRE |
Round Two (29 November 1956 — -)
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bad Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Gholam Reza Takhti | IRI | 0 | |||
| =1 | Gerry Martina | IRL | 0 | |||
| =3 | Adil Atan | TUR | 2 | |||
| =3 | Boris Kulayev | URS | 2 | |||
| 5 | Pete Blair | USA | 3 | |||
| =6 | Kevin Coote | AUS | 4 | |||
| =6 | Mitsuhiro Ohira | JPN | 4 | |||
| =6 | Jan Theron | RSA | 4 | |||
| =6 | Viking Palm | SWE | 4 | |||
| 10 | Veikko Lahti | FIN | 5 | eliminated | ||
| 11 | Bob Steckle | CAN | 6 | eliminated |
| Match #1 | Jan Theron | RSA | decision (3-0) | Kevin Coote | AUS |
| Match #2 | Gholam Reza Takhti | IRI | fall (4:46) | Bob Steckle | CAN |
| Match #3 | Mitsuhiro Ohira | JPN | decision (2-1) | Veikko Lahti | FIN |
| Match #4 | Viking Palm | SWE | decision (3-0) | Pete Blair | USA |
| Match #5 | Boris Kulayev | URS | decision (2-1) | Adil Atan | TUR |
| Match #6 | Gerry Martina | IRL | bye |
Round Three (30 November 1956 — -)
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bad Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gholam Reza Takhti | IRI | 0 | |||
| 2 | Boris Kulayev | URS | 2 | |||
| =3 | Gerry Martina | IRL | 3 | |||
| =3 | Adil Atan | TUR | 3 | |||
| =3 | Pete Blair | USA | 3 | |||
| 6 | Kevin Coote | AUS | 4 | |||
| 7 | Viking Palm | SWE | 6 | eliminated | ||
| =8 | Mitsuhiro Ohira | JPN | 7 | eliminated | ||
| =8 | Jan Theron | RSA | 7 | eliminated |
| Match #1 | Kevin Coote | AUS | fall (11:00) | Gerry Martina | IRL |
| Match #2 | Pete Blair | USA | fall (5:00) | Jan Theron | RSA |
| Match #3 | Gholam Reza Takhti | IRI | fall (3:00) | Mitsuhiro Ohira | JPN |
| Match #4 | Adil Atan | TUR | decision (2-1) | Viking Palm | SWE |
| Match #5 | Boris Kulayev | URS | bye |
Round Four (1 December 1956)
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bad Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gholam Reza Takhti | IRI | 0 | |||
| 2 | Boris Kulayev | URS | 2 | |||
| 3 | Pete Blair | USA | 4 | |||
| =4 | Gerry Martina | IRL | 6 | eliminated | ||
| =4 | Adil Atan | TUR | 6 | eliminated | ||
| 6 | Kevin Coote | AUS | 7 | eliminated |
| Match #1 | Boris Kulayev | URS | fall (7:55) | Gerry Martina | IRL |
| Match #2 | Gholam Reza Takhti | IRI | fall (3:20) | Kevin Coote | AUS |
| Match #3 | Pete Blair | USA | decision (3-0) | Adil Atan | TUR |
Round Five (1 December 1956 — -)
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bad Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gholam Reza Takhti | IRI | 1 | |||
| 2 | Pete Blair | USA | 4 | |||
| 3 | Boris Kulayev | URS | 5 |
| Match #1 | Gholam Reza Takhti | IRI | decision (3-0) | Boris Kulayev | URS |
| Match #2 | Pete Blair | USA | bye |
Round Six (1 December 1956 — -)
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bad Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gholam Reza Takhti | IRI | 1 | |||
| 2 | Boris Kulayev | URS | 6 | eliminated | ||
| 3 | Pete Blair | USA | 7 | eliminated |
| Match #1 | Boris Kulayev | URS | decision (3-0) | Pete Blair | USA |
| Match #2 | Gholam Reza Takhti | IRI | bye |
Final Round (1 December 1956)
| Match #1 | Gholam Reza Takhti | IRI | decision (3-0) | Pete Blair | USA |