[3] This Greco-Roman wrestling competition continued to use the "bad points" elimination system introduced at the 1928 Summer Olympics, with a slight modification.

[3] Six wrestlers made it through the first round with 0 bad points, 5 by wins via fall (or opponent withdrawal) and 1 through a bye.

[4] The lead group of six was cut to three, with Erkan having a bye and Hering and Slazak each winning their second decision by fall to stay at 0 points.

[4] Erkan finished the round in sole possession of the lead, winning a second bout by fall (along with an earlier bye) to stay at 0 points.

Borgia and Karlsson also each ended the round at 3–0, but they had two wins by decision and one by fall to sit at 2 points.

Four men were eliminated with their second loss this round, finishing at either 6 or 7 points depending on the quality of their wins.

Thus, all four losers in the round were eliminated while all four winners (plus the man with the bye) remained alive.

[4] In the sixth round, Reini gave Erkan the latter's first loss, putting both men at 4 points.

[4] Erkan secured the gold medal while idle in the seventh and final round.