The men's freestyle heavyweight 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 not limited by maximum weight and was open to wrestlers above 87kg.[3]
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]
With only three wrestlers, there could only be three total bouts over three rounds. In the first, Hirschl had a bye while Richthoff defeated Riley by decision. This left Hirschl with 0 points, Richthoff with 1, and Riley with 3.[5]
In the second bout, Richthoff won again, this time over Hirschl. As the victory was by decision, Richthoff moved to 2 points; the other wrestlers finished the round with 3. Richthoff was assured of the gold medal after beating both the other wrestlers.[5]
The final round, pitting the two wrestlers who had lost to Richthoff against each other, was in effect a silver/bronze match. Riley won to take the silver.[5]
Sweden
United States
Austria
Olympic Champions in freestyle heavyweight
