American Franklin Green took silver, returning the United States to the podium in the event after a one-Games absence.

Yoshihisa Yoshikawa of Japan repeated as bronze medalist, the fourth man to earn multiple medals in the free pistol.

[3][4] Three of the top 10 shooters from the 1960 Games returned: bronze medalist Yoshihisa Yoshikawa of Japan, seventh-place finisher Vladimír Kudrna of Czechoslovakia, and tenth-place finisher Gavril Maghiar of Romania.

The reigning (1962) world champion, Vladimir Stolipin, was not on the Soviet Olympic team, but runner-up Yoshikawa and third-place finisher Ludwig Hemauer of Switzerland did compete in Tokyo.

[4] The 1964 competition abandoned the two-round format introduced in 1960 and returned to a single round.