Wrestling at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle featherweight

The men's freestyle featherweight competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin took place from 2 August to 4 August at the Deutschlandhalle. Nations were limited to one competitor.[1][2] This weight class was limited to wrestlers weighing up to 61kg.[3]

Men's freestyle featherweight
at the Games of the XI Olympiad
VenueDeutschlandhalle
Dates2–4 August
Competitors15 from 15 nations
Medalists
1st place, gold medalist(s) Kustaa Pihlajamäki  Finland
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Francis Millard  United States
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Gösta Frändfors  Sweden
← 1932
1948 →

This freestyle wrestling competition continued to use the "bad points" elimination system introduced at the 1928 Summer Olympics for Greco-Roman and at the 1932 Summer Olympics for freestyle wrestling, with a slight modification. Each round featured all wrestlers pairing off and wrestling one bout (with one wrestler having a bye if there were an odd number). The loser received 3 points if the loss was by fall or unanimous decision and 2 points if the decision was 2-1 (this was the modification from prior years, where all losses were 3 points). The winner received 1 point if the win was by decision and 0 points if the win was by fall. At the end of each round, any wrestler with at least 5 points was eliminated.[3]

Schedule edit

Date Event
2 August 1936 Round 1
3 August 1936 Round 2
4 August 1936 Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6

Results edit

Round 1 edit

The four wrestlers who won by fall and the one with the bye took the lead, with 0 bad points. The three other winners by decision each received 1 point. All of the losers were defeated by either fall or unanimous decision, so each received 3 points.[4]

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
Nevil Hall   South Africa Decision, 3–0 Karel Kváček   Czechoslovakia
Gösta Frändfors   Sweden Fall Marco Gavelli   Italy
Norman Morrell   Great Britain Decision, 3–0 Josef Böck   Germany
Francis Millard   United States Fall Jean Chasson   France
Ferenc Tóth   Hungary Fall Yaşar Erkan   Turkey
Kustaa Pihlajamäki   Finland Fall Hector Riské   Belgium
Mitsuo Mizutani   Japan Decision, 3–0 Werner Spycher   Switzerland
Vern Pettigrew   Canada Bye N/A N/A
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation Start Earned Total
1 Gösta Frändfors   Sweden 0 0 0
1 Francis Millard   United States 0 0 0
1 Vern Pettigrew   Canada 0 0 0
1 Kustaa Pihlajamäki   Finland 0 0 0
1 Ferenc Tóth   Hungary 0 0 0
6 Nevil Hall   South Africa 0 1 1
6 Mitsuo Mizutani   Japan 0 1 1
6 Norman Morrell   Great Britain 0 1 1
9 Josef Bock   Germany 0 3 3
9 Jean Chasson   France 0 3 3
9 Yaşar Erkan   Turkey 0 3 3
9 Marco Gavelli   Italy 0 3 3
9 Karel Kvaček   Czechoslovakia 0 3 3
9 Hector Riské   Belgium 0 3 3
9 Werner Spycher   Switzerland 0 3 3

Round 2 edit

Three men maintained 0-point scores through the first two rounds, with three more scoring 1 point total. The five wrestlers who lost in both the first two rounds were eliminated. No wrestlers finished the round with 2 or 3 points; four finished with 4 points.[4]

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
Vern Pettigrew   Canada Decision, 3–0 Karel Kvaček   Czechoslovakia
Marco Gavelli   Italy Decision, 3–0 Nevil Hall   South Africa
Gösta Frändfors   Sweden Decision, 3–0 Josef Bock   Germany
Francis Millard   United States Fall Norman Morrell   Great Britain
Ferenc Tóth   Hungary Fall Jean Chasson   France
Yaşar Erkan   Turkey Decision, 3–0 Hector Riské   Belgium
Kustaa Pihlajamäki   Finland Fall Werner Spycher   Switzerland
Mitsuo Mizutani   Japan Bye N/A N/A
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation Start Earned Total
1 Francis Millard   United States 0 0 0
1 Kustaa Pihlajamäki   Finland 0 0 0
1 Ferenc Tóth   Hungary 0 0 0
4 Gösta Frändfors   Sweden 0 1 1
4 Mitsuo Mizutani   Japan 1 0 1
4 Vern Pettigrew   Canada 0 1 1
7 Yaşar Erkan   Turkey 3 1 4
7 Marco Gavelli   Italy 3 1 4
7 Nevil Hall   South Africa 1 3 4
7 Norman Morrell   Great Britain 1 3 4
11 Josef Bock   Germany 3 3 6
11 Jean Chasson   France 3 3 6
11 Karel Kvaček   Czechoslovakia 3 3 6
11 Hector Riské   Belgium 3 3 6
11 Werner Spycher   Switzerland 3 3 6

Round 3 edit

Three losers and one winner were eliminated this round; Gavelli was out with a 5th point after winning by decision. Pihlajamäki was the only wrestler to maintain a 0-point score through the third round, though three men had only 1 point apiece.[4]

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
Vern Pettigrew   Canada Fall Mitsuo Mizutani   Japan
Gösta Frändfors   Sweden Fall Nevil Hall   South Africa
Marco Gavelli   Italy Decision, 3–0 Norman Morrell   Great Britain
Francis Millard   United States Decision, 3–0 Ferenc Tóth   Hungary
Kustaa Pihlajamäki   Finland Fall Yaşar Erkan   Turkey
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation Start Earned Total
1 Kustaa Pihlajamäki   Finland 0 0 0
2 Gösta Frändfors   Sweden 1 0 1
2 Francis Millard   United States 0 1 1
2 Vern Pettigrew   Canada 1 0 1
5 Ferenc Tóth   Hungary 0 3 3
6 Mitsuo Mizutani   Japan 1 3 4
7 Marco Gavelli   Italy 4 1 5
8 Yaşar Erkan   Turkey 4 3 7
8 Nevil Hall   South Africa 4 3 7
8 Norman Morrell   Great Britain 4 3 7

Round 4 edit

Of the three losers, Tóth and Mizutani were eliminated. Pettigrew had started with 1 point, so remained in contention with 4 after losing. Pihlajamäki won by fall again, keeping his 0 point run intact. Millard had 1 point, Frändfors had 2.[4]

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
Gösta Frändfors   Sweden Decision, 3–0 Mitsuo Mizutani   Japan
Francis Millard   United States Fall Vern Pettigrew   Canada
Kustaa Pihlajamäki   Finland Fall Ferenc Tóth   Hungary
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation Start Earned Total
1 Kustaa Pihlajamäki   Finland 0 0 0
2 Francis Millard   United States 1 0 1
3 Gösta Frändfors   Sweden 1 1 2
4 Vern Pettigrew   Canada 1 3 4
5 Ferenc Tóth   Hungary 3 3 6
6 Mitsuo Mizutani   Japan 4 3 7

Round 5 edit

The first bout pitted Frändfors against Pettigrew; each was threatened with elimination with a loss (though Frändfors would remain if he lost by split decision). Frändfors came out the victor by decision, eliminating Pettigrew. The second bout featured Pihlajamäki and Millard, neither of whom could be eliminated in the round. Millard's loss by unanimous decision took him from 1 point to 4 points, while Pihlajamäki received his first point. This left three men to contest the medals.[4]

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
Gösta Frändfors   Sweden Decision, 3–0 Vern Pettigrew   Canada
Kustaa Pihlajamäki   Finland Decision, 3–0 Francis Millard   United States
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation Start Earned Total
1 Kustaa Pihlajamäki   Finland 0 1 1
2 Francis Millard   United States 1 3 4
3 Gösta Frändfors   Sweden 2 1 3
4 Vern Pettigrew   Canada 4 3 7

Round 6 edit

Frändfors had not faced with of the two other remaining wrestlers, but Millard and Pihlajamäki had faced each other. Pihlajamäki had the bye in round 6. If Frändfors had won this round, he would have faced Pihlajamäki in a final round. However, Millard proved the better by split decision, giving both wrestlers 5 points and ending the competition with Pihlajamäki the only man left to take gold. The tie between Millard and Frändfors at 5 points was broken by the results of this round itself, with Millard's head-to-head win earning him silver and placing Frändfors in third for the bronze.[4]

Bouts
Winner Nation Victory Type Loser Nation
Francis Millard   United States Decision, 2–1 Gösta Frändfors   Sweden
Kustaa Pihlajamäki   Finland Bye N/A N/A
Points
Rank Wrestler Nation Start Earned Total
  Kustaa Pihlajamäki   Finland 1 0 1
  Francis Millard   United States 4 1 5
  Gösta Frändfors   Sweden 3 2 5

References edit

  1. ^ "Wrestling at the 1936 Berlin Summer Games: Men's Featherweight, Freestyle". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  2. ^ Official Olympic Report, la84.org. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  3. ^ a b Official Report, p. 716.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Official Report, p. 728.