Lightweight, Greco-Roman (≤68 kg), Men

Four of the top five finishers from 1976 were back in 1980, and were considered the major contenders – defending champion Suren Nalbandyan of the Soviet Union, 1976 silver medalist Ştefan Rusu of Romania, also the 1978 World Champion and 1978-80 European Champion, and the 1976 4th- and 5th-place finishers, Lars-Erik Skiöld of Sweden, and Andrzej Supron of Poland, the latter of whom was the 1979 World Champion. Nalbandyan was eliminated after round five when he met Rusu, with both disqualified for passivity at 7:09 of the match. That left the finals to Rusu, Skiöld, and Supron, and none of them had yet competed the others, which made for a rare final round with three matches. This started with Skiöld throwing Supron in 7:08, followed by Rusu defeating Supron in a narrow decision, 3-2. Rusu then met Skiöld, decisioning him 5-1, to win the gold medal, with Supron taking silver based on his victory over Skiöld. Both Rusu and Supron moved up to welterweight in the next few years, both winning European titles – 1982 for Supron and 1985 for Rusu, with Rusu also winning the 1985 World title as a welterweight.