Wrestling at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle light heavyweight
{{short description|Wrestling at the Olympics}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Infobox Olympic event
|event = Men's freestyle light heavyweight
|games = 1956 Summer
|image =
|image_size =
|caption =
|venue = Royal Exhibition Building
|dates = 28 November–1 December 1956
|competitors = 12
|nations = 12
|gold = Gholam Reza Takhti
|goldNOC = IRI
|silver = Boris Kulayev
|silverNOC = URS
|bronze = Pete Blair
|bronzeNOC = USA
|prev = 1952
|next = 1960
}}
{{WrestlingAt1956SummerOlympics}}
The men's freestyle light heavyweight competition at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne took place from 28 November to 1 December at the Royal Exhibition Building. Nations were limited to one competitor.{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1956/WRE/mens-light-heavyweight-freestyle.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418132131/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1956/WRE/mens-light-heavyweight-freestyle.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 April 2020 |title=Wrestling at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Games: Men's Freestyle Light Heavyweight |work=Sports Reference |accessdate=14 March 2019}} Light heavyweight was the second-heaviest category, including wrestlers weighing {{convert|79|to|87|kg|lbs|1}}.{{sfn|Official Report|1958|p=670}}
Competition format
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, as modified in 1952 (adding medal rounds and making all losses worth 3 points—from 1936 to 1948 losses by split decision only cost 2). 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. 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. This elimination continued until the medal rounds, which began when 3 wrestlers remained. These 3 wrestlers each faced each other in a round-robin medal round (with earlier results counting, if any had wrestled another before); record within the medal round determined medals, with bad points breaking ties.{{sfn|Official Report|1958|p=670}}
Results
=Round 1=
Defteraios withdrew after his bout.
; Bouts
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left;"
! Winner | Nation | Victory Type | Loser | Nation |
| Kevin Coote | {{flagIOC|AUS|1956 Summer}} | Decision, 3–0 | Bob Steckle | {{flagIOC|CAN|1956 Summer}} |
| Gholam Reza Takhti | {{flagIOC|IRI|1956 Summer}} | Fall | Jan Theron | {{flagIOC|RSA|1956 Summer}} |
| Peter Blair | {{flagIOC|USA|1956 Summer}} | Fall | Veikko Lahti | {{flagIOC|FIN|1956 Summer}} |
| Adil Atan | {{flagIOC|TUR|1956 Summer}} | Fall | Mitsuhiro Ohira | {{flagIOC|JPN|1956 Summer}} |
| Boris Kulayev | {{flagIOC|URS|1956 Summer}} | Decision, 3–0 | Viking Palm | {{flagIOC|SWE|1956 Summer}} |
| Gerry Martina | {{flagIOC|IRL|1956 Summer}} | Fall | Spyros Defteraios | {{flagIOC|GRE|1956 Summer}} |
; Points
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
! Rank | Wrestler | Nation | Start | Earned | Total |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 1 | align=left| {{sortname|Adil|Atan}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|TUR|1956 Summer}} | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 1 | align=left| {{sortname|Peter|Blair|dab=wrestler}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|USA|1956 Summer}} | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 1 | align=left| {{sortname|Gerry|Martina}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|IRL|1956 Summer}} | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 1 | align=left| {{sortname|Gholam Reza|Takhti}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|IRI|1956 Summer}} | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 5 | align=left| {{sortname|Kevin|Coote}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|AUS|1956 Summer}} | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 5 | align=left| {{sortname|Boris|Kulayev}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|URS|1956 Summer}} | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 7 | align=left| {{sortname|Veikko|Lahti}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|FIN|1956 Summer}} | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 7 | align=left| {{sortname|Mitsuhiro|Ohira}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|JPN|1956 Summer}} | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 7 | align=left| {{sortname|Viking|Palm}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|SWE|1956 Summer}} | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 7 | align=left| {{sortname|Bob|Steckle}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|CAN|1956 Summer}} | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 7 | align=left| {{sortname|Jan|Theron}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|RSA|1956 Summer}} | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 12 | align=left| {{sortname|Spyros|Defteraios}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|GRE|1956 Summer}} | 0 | 3 | 3* |
=Round 2=
; Bouts
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left;"
! Winner | Nation | Victory Type | Loser | Nation |
| Jan Theron | {{flagIOC|RSA|1956 Summer}} | Decision, 3–0 | Kevin Coote | {{flagIOC|AUS|1956 Summer}} |
| Gholam Reza Takhti | {{flagIOC|IRI|1956 Summer}} | Fall | Bob Steckle | {{flagIOC|CAN|1956 Summer}} |
| Mitsuhiro Ohira | {{flagIOC|JPN|1956 Summer}} | Decision, 2–1 | Veikko Lahti | {{flagIOC|FIN|1956 Summer}} |
| Viking Palm | {{flagIOC|SWE|1956 Summer}} | Decision, 3–0 | Peter Blair | {{flagIOC|USA|1956 Summer}} |
| Boris Kulayev | {{flagIOC|URS|1956 Summer}} | Decision, 2–1 | Adil Atan | {{flagIOC|TUR|1956 Summer}} |
| Gerry Martina | {{flagIOC|IRL|1956 Summer}} | Bye | N/A | N/A |
; Points
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
! Rank | Wrestler | Nation | Start | Earned | Total |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 1 | align=left| {{sortname|Gerry|Martina}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|IRL|1956 Summer}} | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 1 | align=left| {{sortname|Gholam Reza|Takhti}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|IRI|1956 Summer}} | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 3 | align=left| {{sortname|Boris|Kulayev}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|URS|1956 Summer}} | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 4 | align=left| {{sortname|Adil|Atan}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|TUR|1956 Summer}} | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 4 | align=left| {{sortname|Peter|Blair|dab=wrestler}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|USA|1956 Summer}} | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 6 | align=left| {{sortname|Kevin|Coote}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|AUS|1956 Summer}} | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 6 | align=left| {{sortname|Mitsuhiro|Ohira}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|JPN|1956 Summer}} | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 6 | align=left| {{sortname|Viking|Palm}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|SWE|1956 Summer}} | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 6 | align=left| {{sortname|Jan|Theron}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|RSA|1956 Summer}} | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 10 | align=left| {{sortname|Veikko|Lahti}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|FIN|1956 Summer}} | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 10 | align=left| {{sortname|Bob|Steckle}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|CAN|1956 Summer}} | 3 | 3 | 6 |
=Round 3=
; Bouts
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left;"
! Winner | Nation | Victory Type | Loser | Nation |
| Kevin Coote | {{flagIOC|AUS|1956 Summer}} | Fall | Gerry Martina | {{flagIOC|IRL|1956 Summer}} |
| Peter Blair | {{flagIOC|USA|1956 Summer}} | Fall | Jan Theron | {{flagIOC|RSA|1956 Summer}} |
| Gholam Reza Takhti | {{flagIOC|IRI|1956 Summer}} | Fall | Mitsuhiro Ohira | {{flagIOC|JPN|1956 Summer}} |
| Adil Atan | {{flagIOC|TUR|1956 Summer}} | Decision, 2–1 | Viking Palm | {{flagIOC|SWE|1956 Summer}} |
| Boris Kulayev | {{flagIOC|URS|1956 Summer}} | Bye | N/A | N/A |
; Points
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
! Rank | Wrestler | Nation | Start | Earned | Total |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 1 | align=left| {{sortname|Gholam Reza|Takhti}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|IRI|1956 Summer}} | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 2 | align=left| {{sortname|Boris|Kulayev}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|URS|1956 Summer}} | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 3 | align=left| {{sortname|Peter|Blair|dab=wrestler}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|USA|1956 Summer}} | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 3 | align=left| {{sortname|Gerry|Martina}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|IRL|1956 Summer}} | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 5 | align=left| {{sortname|Adil|Atan}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|TUR|1956 Summer}} | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 5 | align=left| {{sortname|Kevin|Coote}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|AUS|1956 Summer}} | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | align=left| {{sortname|Mitsuhiro|Ohira}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|JPN|1956 Summer}} | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| 7 | align=left| {{sortname|Viking|Palm}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|SWE|1956 Summer}} | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| 7 | align=left| {{sortname|Jan|Theron}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|RSA|1956 Summer}} | 4 | 3 | 7 |
=Round 4=
; Bouts
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left;"
! Winner | Nation | Victory Type | Loser | Nation |
| Boris Kulayev | {{flagIOC|URS|1956 Summer}} | Fall | Gerry Martina | {{flagIOC|IRL|1956 Summer}} |
| Gholam Reza Takhti | {{flagIOC|IRI|1956 Summer}} | Fall | Kevin Coote | {{flagIOC|AUS|1956 Summer}} |
| Peter Blair | {{flagIOC|USA|1956 Summer}} | Decision, 3–0 | Adil Atan | {{flagIOC|TUR|1956 Summer}} |
; Points
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
! Rank | Wrestler | Nation | Start | Earned | Total |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 1 | align=left| {{sortname|Gholam Reza|Takhti}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|IRI|1956 Summer}} | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 2 | align=left| {{sortname|Boris|Kulayev}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|URS|1956 Summer}} | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| style="background:#cfc;"
| 3 | align=left| {{sortname|Peter|Blair|dab=wrestler}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|USA|1956 Summer}} | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | align=left| {{sortname|Gerry|Martina}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|IRL|1956 Summer}} | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 5 | align=left| {{sortname|Adil|Atan}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|TUR|1956 Summer}} | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| 5 | align=left| {{sortname|Kevin|Coote}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|AUS|1956 Summer}} | 4 | 3 | 7 |
=Medal rounds=
None of the medalists had faced each other yet, so a full round-robin was held. Takhti beat each of the other two medalists to win the gold medal, with Kulayev earning silver by beating Blair.
; Bouts
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left;"
! Winner | Nation | Victory Type | Loser | Nation |
| Gholam Reza Takhti | {{flagIOC|IRI|1956 Summer}} | Fall | Boris Kulayev | {{flagIOC|URS|1956 Summer}} |
| Boris Kulayev | {{flagIOC|URS|1956 Summer}} | Fall | Peter Blair | {{flagIOC|USA|1956 Summer}} |
| Gholam Reza Takhti | {{flagIOC|IRI|1956 Summer}} | Decision, 3–0 | Peter Blair | {{flagIOC|USA|1956 Summer}} |
; Points
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
! Rank | Wrestler | Nation | Wins | Losses |
| {{gold01}} | align=left| {{sortname|Gholam Reza|Takhti}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|IRI|1956 Summer}} | 2 | 0 |
| {{silver02}} | align=left| {{sortname|Boris|Kulayev}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|URS|1956 Summer}} | 1 | 1 |
| {{bronze03}} | align=left| {{sortname|Peter|Blair|dab=wrestler}} | align=left| {{flagIOC|USA|1956 Summer}} | 0 | 2 |
References
{{Reflist}}
General
- {{Cite book |title=The Official Report of the Organizing Committee for the Games of the XVI Olympiad, Melbourne, 1956 |year=1956 |publisher=W. M. Houston |location=Melbourne |publication-date=1958 |url=https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll8/id/16475/rec/23 |ref={{sfnref|Official Report|1958}} }}
{{Footer Olympic Champions freestyle wrestling light heavyweight}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wrestling at the 1956 Summer Olympics - Men's freestyle light heavyweight}}