Middleweight, Greco-Roman (≤75 kg), Men

The 75 kg field was considered to be pretty wide open despite the reigning World champion Roman Vlasov of Russia and the 2012 Olympic and 2013 World champion Kim Hyeon-Wu of South Korea, a veteran who had given Vlasov all he could handle in previous matches.

But the gold medal final was not only another old rivalry, but a rematch between Vlasov and 2015 World silver medalist Mark O. Madsen of Denmark – the five-time World Championship medalist who was also beaten by Vlasov at the 2012 Olympic Games, where he was fifth. They knew each other well having previously fought five times before. Midway through the first period of their gold medal match, Vlasov scored four points, and picked up another point in the next period after Madsen’s corner unsuccessfully challenged a call. And after giving up a point for passivity late in the match, Vlasov took a 5-1 victory over Madsen, winning his second Olympic gold medal.

In the semi-finals, Vlasov was in the lead when he was choked unconscious by Božo Starčević of Croatia on a legal move, and while officials awarded Starčević two points, they stopped the bout when they realized Vlasov had blacked out. Madsen beat Hungary’s Péter Bácsi, competing in his third Olympics, in the other semi-final, sending Starčević and Bácsi to the bronze medal matches. There, the 2014 World champion Bácsi lost to 2011 World champion Saeid Abdevali of Iran, while Starčević lost to Kim.