| | Event type
Light-Heavyweight, Greco-Roman (≤87 kg), Men
| Date | 3 – 6 December 1956 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne, Victoria | |
| Participants | 10 from 10 countries | |
| Format | Elimination by bad points. Win by fall = 0 points; win by decision = 1 point; loss by 2-1 decision = 3 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. | |
Soviet wrestler Valentin Nikolayev was the 1955 World Champion and would win the gold medal in this class but he did not overwhelm anybody, winning four matches by decision. In early rounds he defeated both Bulgaria’s Petko Sirakov and Sweden’s Karl-Erik Nilsson, who were the other finalists, which guaranteed Nikolayev the gold medal. Sirakov defeated Nilsson by unanimous decision in the final round to win the silver medal.
Nikolayev never wrestled internationally again but Sirakov won the 1957 World Championship in this class. Nilsson was competing in his third Olympics in light-heavyweight Greco-Roman, having won the 1948 gold medal and a bronze medal in 1952.
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Round Eliminated | Bad Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 178 | Valentin Nikolayev |  URS | – | – | Gold | ||
| 2 | 87 | Petko Sirakov |  BUL | – | – | Silver | ||
| 3 | 147 | Karl-Erik Nilsson |  SWE | – | – | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 88 | Bob Steckle |  CAN | – | – | |||
| 5 | 148 | Dale Thomas |  USA | – | – | |||
| 6 | 86 | Eugen Wiesberger, Jr. |  AUT | – | – | |||
| 89 | Veikko Lahti |  FIN | eliminated r3/5 | 6 | ||||
| 186 | Adil Atan |  TUR | withdrew r3/5 | 3 | ||||
| 144 | Victor Mucha |  AUS | eliminated r2/5 | 5 | ||||
| 146 | Gyula Kovács |  HUN | eliminated r2/5 | 5 | ||||
| 145 | Wilfried Dietrich |  GER | – | – | ||||
| 94 | Mitsuhiro Ohira |  JPN | – | – |
Round One
| Date | 3 December 1956 — - |
|---|
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Bad Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 148 | Dale Thomas | USA | 0 | ||
| =2 | 88 | Bob Steckle | CAN | 1 | ||
| =2 | 147 | Karl-Erik Nilsson | SWE | 1 | ||
| =2 | 186 | Adil Atan | TUR | 1 | ||
| =2 | 178 | Valentin Nikolayev | URS | 1 | ||
| =6 | 144 | Victor Mucha | AUS | 2 | ||
| =6 | 146 | Gyula Kovács | HUN | 2 | ||
| =8 | 86 | Eugen Wiesberger, Jr. | AUT | 3 | ||
| =8 | 87 | Petko Sirakov | BUL | 3 | ||
| =8 | 89 | Veikko Lahti | FIN | 3 |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 03 Dec | Adil Atan | TUR | Decision (2-1) | Gyula Kovács | HUN | |
| Match #2 | 03 Dec | Valentin Nikolayev | URS | Decision (3-0) | Petko Sirakov | BUL | |
| Match #3 | 03 Dec | Dale Thomas | USA | Fall (7:15) | Eugen Wiesberger, Jr. | AUT | |
| Match #4 | 03 Dec | Karl-Erik Nilsson | SWE | Decision (3-0) | Veikko Lahti | FIN | |
| Match #5 | 03 Dec | Bob Steckle | CAN | Decision (2-1) | Victor Mucha | AUS |
Round Two
| Date | 4 December 1956 — - |
|---|
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Bad Points | Event Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 147 | Karl-Erik Nilsson | SWE | 1 | – | ||
| 2 | 178 | Valentin Nikolayev | URS | 2 | – | ||
| =3 | 86 | Eugen Wiesberger, Jr. | AUT | 3 | – | ||
| =3 | 89 | Veikko Lahti | FIN | 3 | – | ||
| =3 | 186 | Adil Atan | TUR | 3 | – | ||
| =3 | 148 | Dale Thomas | USA | 3 | – | ||
| =7 | 87 | Petko Sirakov | BUL | 4 | – | ||
| =7 | 88 | Bob Steckle | CAN | 4 | – | ||
| =9 | 144 | Victor Mucha | AUS | 5 | eliminated | ||
| =9 | 146 | Gyula Kovács | HUN | 5 | eliminated |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 04 Dec | Petko Sirakov | BUL | Decision (2-1) | Adil Atan | TUR | |
| Match #2 | 04 Dec | Valentin Nikolayev | URS | Decision (3-0) | Gyula Kovács | HUN | |
| Match #3 | 04 Dec | Veikko Lahti | FIN | Fall (2:45) | Dale Thomas | USA | |
| Match #4 | 04 Dec | Eugen Wiesberger, Jr. | AUT | Fall (4:05) | Victor Mucha | AUS | |
| Match #5 | 04 Dec | Karl-Erik Nilsson | SWE | Fall (4:48) | Bob Steckle | CAN |
Round Three
| Date | 5 December 1956 — - |
|---|
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Bad Points | Event Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 147 | Karl-Erik Nilsson | SWE | 2 | – | ||
| 2 | 178 | Valentin Nikolayev | URS | 3 | – | ||
| =3 | 87 | Petko Sirakov | BUL | 4 | – | ||
| =3 | 88 | Bob Steckle | CAN | 4 | – | ||
| =5 | 86 | Eugen Wiesberger, Jr. | AUT | 6 | eliminated | ||
| =5 | 89 | Veikko Lahti | FIN | 6 | eliminated | ||
| =5 | 148 | Dale Thomas | USA | 6 | eliminated |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 05 Dec | Petko Sirakov | BUL | Fall (7:20) | Dale Thomas | USA | |
| Match #2 | 05 Dec | Valentin Nikolayev | URS | Decision (3-0) | Veikko Lahti | FIN | |
| Match #3 | 05 Dec | Karl-Erik Nilsson | SWE | Decision (3-0) | Eugen Wiesberger, Jr. | AUT | |
| Match #4 | 05 Dec | Bob Steckle | CAN |
Round Four
| Date | 6 December 1956 — - |
|---|
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | Bad Points | Event Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | 87 | Petko Sirakov | BUL | 4 | – | ||
| =1 | 178 | Valentin Nikolayev | URS | 4 | – | ||
| 3 | 147 | Karl-Erik Nilsson | SWE | 5 | eliminated | ||
| 4 | 88 | Bob Steckle | CAN | 7 | eliminated |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 06 Dec | Petko Sirakov | BUL | Fall (11:53) | Bob Steckle | CAN | |
| Match #2 | 06 Dec | Valentin Nikolayev | URS | Decision (3-0) | Karl-Erik Nilsson | SWE |
Final Round
| Date | 6 December 1956 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 06 Dec | Petko Sirakov | BUL | Decision (3-0) | Karl-Erik Nilsson | SWE |