1908 Summer Olympics / Wrestling

Wrestling at the IV Olympic Games
information
venue	London
Competition venue	White City Stadium
Nations	15th
Athletes	115 (115 men)
date	20th - 25th July 1908
decisions	9
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At the IV Olympic Games in London in 1908 , nine wrestling competitions were held, five of them in freestyle and four in Greco-Roman style . The venue was the White City Stadium in the White City district . The British Amateur Wrestling Association was responsible for the organization , which also carried out the weight classification.

A Greco-Roman style fight lasted a maximum of 20 minutes, in free style a maximum of 15 minutes. In order to win a fight prematurely, a wrestler had to put his opponent on the shoulders. If no clear winner could be determined within the specified time, the judges decided. A special rule said that participants were allowed to compete again in the next higher weight class. Depending on the number of participants, there were two or three preliminary rounds. This was followed by two semi-finals, a battle for the bronze medal and the final.

Balance sheet

Medal table

space	country				total
1	United Kingdom	3	4th	4th	11
2	United States	2	-	-	2
3	Finland	1	1	1	3
4th	Sweden	1	1	-	2
5	Italy	1	-	-	1
	Hungary	1	-	-	1
7th	Russia	-	2	-	2
8th	Norway	-	1	-	1
9	Denmark	-	-	3	3
10	Canada	-	-	1	1

Medalist

Freestyle competitor gold silver bronze Bantamweight George Mehnert William J. Press Aubert Côté Featherweight George S. Dole John Slim William McKie lightweight George de Relwyskow William Wood Albert Gingell medium weight Stanley Bacon George de Relwyskow Frederick Beck Heavyweight George Con O'Kelly Jacob Gundersen Edward Barrett

Greco-Roman style competitor gold silver bronze lightweight Enrico Porro Nikolai Orlov Arvid Lindén medium weight Frithiof Mårtensson Mauritz Andersson Andersen is different Light heavyweight Verner Weckman Yrjö Saarela Carl Jensen Heavyweight Richárd Weisz Alexander Petrov Søren Marinus Jensen

Results freestyle

Bantam weight (up to 54 kg)

space	country	athlete
1	United States	George Mehnert
2	GBR	William J. Press
3	CAN	Aubert Côté
4th	GBR	Frederick Tomkins
5	GBR	Frank Davis
	GBR	Burt Sansom
	GBR	George Saunders
	GBR	Harry Sprenger

Date: July 20, 1908
13 participants from 3 countries

There were two preliminary rounds, with three byes in the first round. Côté won the battle for the bronze medal after 8:50 minutes, in the final Mehnert beat Press after 11:45 minutes.

Feather weight (up to 60.3 kg)

space	country	athlete
1	United States	George S. Dole
2	GBR	John Slim
3	GBR	William McKie
4th	GBR	William Tagg
5	GBR	Arthur Goddard
	GBR	Sidney Peake
	GBR	James Webster
	GBR	James White

Date: July 22, 1908
12 participants from 2 countries

There were two preliminary rounds, with four wrestlers progressing without a fight in the first round thanks to bye tickets. Dole, the only foreign participant, won the final thanks to a higher score against Slim, leaving all the British behind. The bronze medal went to McKie, because his opponent broke off the fight shortly after the fight.

Lightweight (up to 66.6 kg)

space	country	athlete
1	GBR	George de Relwyskow
2	GBR	William Wood
3	GBR	Albert Gingell
4th	GBR	George MacKenzie
5	GBR	Henry Baillie
	United States	John Jug
	GBR	James McKenzie
	GBR	William Shepherd

Date: July 24, 1908
11 participants from 2 countries

This competition was also an almost entirely British affair. Three participants had a bye in the first preliminary round; the only foreigner, an American, was eliminated in the second preliminary round. De Relwyskow won the final against Wood thanks to higher scores. Gingell won bronze early after 3:20 minutes.

Middle weight (up to 73 kg)

space	country	athlete
1	GBR	Stanley Bacon
2	GBR	George de Relwyskow
3	GBR	Frederick Beck
4th	SWE	Carl Andersson
5	GBR	Edgar Bacon
	GBR	Aubrey Coleman
	United States	John Craige
	United States	Fred Narganes

Date: July 23, 1908
12 participants from 3 countries

In the first of two preliminary rounds, four wrestlers had a bye. In the final, Bacon won on points against Relwyskow. The bronze medal went to Beck without a fight. The Swede Andersson-Gorthon had been declared a loser in the semifinals despite their superiority. Team leader Sigfrid Edström (the later IOC president) was able to prevent the Swedish wrestlers from leaving in protest. However, Andersson-Gorthon decided not to fight for third place.

Heavy weight (over 73 kg)

space	country	athlete
1	GBR	George Con O'Kelly
2	NOR	Jacob Gundersen
3	GBR	Edward Barrett
4th	GBR	Edward Nixson
5	GBR	Lawrence Bruce
	GBR	Frederick Humphreys
	GBR	Harold Foskett
	GBR	Charles Brown

Date: July 22, 1908
11 participants from 2 countries

In the first of two preliminary rounds, three byes were awarded. The Norwegian Gunderson, the only non-British rider, lost to the Irishman O'Kelly in the final after 3:35 minutes. Barrett won the battle for the bronze medal after 4:52 minutes.

Results Greco-Roman style

Lightweight (up to 66.6 kg)

space	country	athlete
1	ITA	Enrico Porro
2	RUS	Nikolai Orlov
3	FIN	Arvid Lindén
4th	SWE	Gunnar Persson
5	SWE	Gustaf Malmström
	HUN	József Maróthy
	THE	Møller is different
	HUN	Ödön Radvány

Date: July 24th and 25th, 1908
25 participants from 10 countries

There were three preliminary rounds, with nine wrestlers progressing without a fight in the first preliminary round thanks to a bye. In the final, the Italian Porro won on points against the Russian Orlov. The Finn Lindén won the battle for the bronze medal prematurely after 2:25 minutes.

Middle weight (up to 73 kg)

space	country	athlete
1	SWE	Frithiof Mårtensson
2	SWE	Mauritz Andersson
3	THE	Andersen is different
4th	ISL	Johannes Josefsson
5	NED	Jaap Belmer
	THE	Johannes Eriksen
	SWE	Axel Frank
	THE	Axel Larsson

Date: July 25, 1908
21 participants from 8 countries

In the first of three preliminary rounds, five wrestlers benefited from a bye. In the final, the Swede Mårtensson was able to put his compatriot Andersson on the mat after 6:25 minutes. The bronze medal went to the Dane Andersen without a fight because his opponent Josefsson broke his arm in the semifinals.

Light heavyweight (up to 93 kg)

space	country	athlete
1	FIN	Verner Weckman
2	FIN	Yrjö Saarela
3	THE	Carl Jensen
4th	HUN	Hugó Payr
5	GBR	Arthur Banbrook
	BEL	Fritz Larsson
	SWE	Axel Frank
	NED	Jacob van Westrop

Date: July 22, 1908
21 participants from 9 countries

Five wrestlers were able to benefit from a bye in the first of three preliminary rounds. Both medal battles were ended prematurely, the final after 16:10 minutes, the battle for the bronze medal after 100 seconds.

Heavy weight (over 93 kg)

space	country	athlete
1	HUN	Richárd Weisz
2	RUS	Alexander Petrov
3	THE	Søren Marinus Jensen
4th	HUN	Hugó Payr
5	GBR	Edward Barrett
	GBR	Frederick Humphreys
	THE	Carl Jensen

Date: July 21 and 24, 1908
7 participants from 4 countries

There was only one preliminary round. The final was decided on points in favor of the Hungarian Weisz. The bronze fight was over after 5:44 minutes, the third placed had a bye in the preliminary round.

Web links

• Wrestling at the Olympic Games 1908 in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )
• Official report of the Olympic Games 1908 (PDF, 12.4 MB)