Half-Middleweight (≤70 kilograms), Men

Japan had the two most recent World Champions in this class, but instead chose Toyokazu Nomura, who had won two silver medals at the Worlds in the half-lightweight division. There was concern about him moving up in weight, but it was unfounded. He dominated the class, winning his pool with three throws, seemingly as if the matches were demonstrations. In the final he faced Poland’s Antoni Zajkowski, who was bronze medalist in this class at the 1971 World Championships. But the result was no different. Nomura threw him with a shoulder throw in 27 seconds. His five matches had lasted a total of 10:49