Wrestling at the 1932 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle welterweight

The men's freestyle welterweight competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles took place from 1 August to 3 August at the Grand Olympic Auditorium. Nations were limited to one competitor.^[1][2] This weight class was limited to wrestlers weighing up to 72kg.^[3]

Men's freestyle welterweight at the Games of the X Olympiad
Venue	Grand Olympic Auditorium
Dates	1–3 August
Competitors	9 from 9 nations
Medalists
Jack van Bebber  United States Daniel MacDonald  Canada Eino Leino  Finland
← 1928 1936 →

This freestyle wrestling competition did not use the single-elimination bracket format previously used for Olympic freestyle wrestling but instead followed the format that was introduced at the 1928 Summer Olympics for Greco-Roman wrestling, using an elimination system based on the accumulation of points. 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.^[4]

Schedule

Date	Event
1 August 1932	Round 1
2 August 1932	Round 2 Round 3
3 August 1932	Round 4 Final round

Results

Round 1

Of the four bouts, three were won by fall to give the victors 0 points, along with Zombori who had a bye. Földeak had the only win by decision, starting with 1 point. The four losers each received 3 points. Lopez withdrew after his loss.^[5]

Bouts

Winner	Nation	Victory Type	Loser	Nation
Daniel MacDonald	Canada	Fall	Yoshio Kono	Japan
Eino Leino	Finland	Fall	Ludvig Lindblom	Sweden
Jack van Bebber	United States	Fall	Raúl López	Mexico
Jean Földeak	Germany	Decision	Børge Jensen	Denmark
Julius Zombori	Hungary	Bye	N/A	N/A

Points

Rank	Wrestler	Nation	Start	Earned	Total
1	Jack van Bebber	United States	0	0	0
1	Eino Leino	Finland	0	0	0
1	Daniel MacDonald	Canada	0	0	0
1	Julius Zombori	Hungary	0	0	0
5	Jean Földeak	Germany	0	1	1
6	Børge Jensen	Denmark	0	3	3
6	Kohno Yoshio	Japan	0	3	3
6	Ludvig Lindblom	Sweden	0	3	3
9	Raul Lopez	Mexico	0	3	3r

Round 2

All three of the remaining first-round losers lost again and were eliminated. In the bout between two 0-point wrestlers, MacDonald won by fall to stay at 0 points.^[5]

Bouts

Winner	Nation	Victory Type	Loser	Nation
Daniel MacDonald	Canada	Fall	Julius Zombori	Hungary
Eino Leino	Finland	Decision	Kohno Yoshio	Japan
Jean Földeak	Germany	Decision	Ludvig Lindblom	Sweden
Jack van Bebber	United States	Decision	Børge Jensen	Denmark

Points

Rank	Wrestler	Nation	Start	Earned	Total
1	Daniel MacDonald	Canada	0	0	0
2	Jack van Bebber	United States	0	1	1
2	Eino Leino	Finland	0	1	1
4	Jean Földeak	Germany	1	1	2
5	Julius Zombori	Hungary	0	3	3
6	Børge Jensen	Denmark	3	3	6
6	Kohno Yoshio	Japan	3	3	6
6	Ludvig Lindblom	Sweden	3	3	6

Round 3

Leino won by default (Zombori defaulting and being eliminated) and Földeak had a bye, staying at 1 and 2 points, respectively. The only contested bout featured van Bebber and MacDonald, with the American beating the Canadian by decision.^[5]

Bouts

Winner	Nation	Victory Type	Loser	Nation
Jack van Bebber	United States	Decision	Daniel MacDonald	Canada
Eino Leino	Finland	Default	Julius Zombori	Hungary
Jean Földeak	Germany	Bye	N/A	N/A

Points

Rank	Wrestler	Nation	Start	Earned	Total
1	Eino Leino	Finland	1	0	1
2	Jack van Bebber	United States	1	1	2
2	Jean Földeak	Germany	2	0	2
4	Daniel MacDonald	Canada	0	3	3
5	Julius Zombori	Hungary	3	3	6

Round 4

MacDonald eliminated Földeak in this round, leaving three wrestlers. The bout between Leino and van Bebber therefore became the final and was considered part of the final round.^[6]

Bouts

Winner	Nation	Victory Type	Loser	Nation
Daniel MacDonald	Canada	Decision	Jean Földeak	Germany
Eino Leino	Finland	Bye	N/A	N/A
Jack van Bebber	United States	Bye	N/A	N/A

Points

Rank	Wrestler	Nation	Start	Earned	Total
1	Eino Leino	Finland	1	0	1
2	Jack van Bebber	United States	2	0	2
3	Daniel MacDonald	Canada	3	1	4
4	Jean Földeak	Germany	2	3	5

Final round

Van Bebber defeated Leino to win the gold medal. Leino then faced MacDonald for the silver and bronze; the Canadian prevailed.^[6]

Bouts

Winner	Nation	Victory Type	Loser	Nation
Jack van Bebber	United States	Decision	Eino Leino	Finland
Daniel MacDonald	Canada	Fall	Eino Leino	Finland

Points

Rank	Wrestler	Nation	Start	Earned	Total
	Jack van Bebber	United States	2	1	3
	Daniel MacDonald	Canada	4	0	4
	Eino Leino	Finland	1	6	7

References

1. "Wrestling at the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Games: Men's Welterweight, Freestyle". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
2. Official Olympic Report, la84.org. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
3. Official Report, p. 550.
4. Official Report, pp. 547–48.
5. Official Report, p. 557.
6. Official Report, p. 558.