Wrestling at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's Greco-Roman
| Men's Greco-Roman at the Games of the I Olympiad | ||||||||||
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Schuhmann (left) before the Olympic wrestling final, which he won | ||||||||||
| Venue | Panathinaiko Stadium | |||||||||
| Dates | April 10–11 | |||||||||
| Competitors | 5 from 4 nations | |||||||||
| Medalists | ||||||||||
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| Wrestling at the 1896 Summer Olympics  | ||
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| Greco-Roman | men | |
The men's Greco-Roman was the only wrestling event on the Wrestling at the 1896 Summer Olympics programme.
No weight classes existed for the wrestling competition, held in the Panathinaiko Stadium which meant that there would only be one winner among competitors of all sizes. The rules used were similar to modern Greco-Roman wrestling, although there was no time limit, and not all leg holds were forbidden (in contrast to current rules). Apart from the two Greek contestants, all competitors had previously been active in other sports. The wrestling competition was held on 10 April, except for the continuation of the final match on 11 April.
Standings
| Place | Wrestler |
|---|---|
| 1 |  Carl Schuhmann (GER) |
| 2 | .svg.png){kind=small} Georgios Tsitas (GRE) |
| 3 | Stephanos Christopoulos (GRE) |
| 4 |  Launceston Elliot (GBR) |
.svg.png){kind=small} Momcsilló Tapavicza (HUN) |
Bracket
| Quarterfinals April 10 | Semifinals April 10 | Final April 11 | ||||||||||||
| - | Christopoulos
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| - | Tapavicza
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| - | Christopoulos 
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| - | Tsitas
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| - | Tsitas
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| - | Bye | |||||||||||||
| - | Tsitas 
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| - | Schuhmann 
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| - | Schuhmann
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| - | Elliot
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| - | Schuhmann
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| - | Bye | |||||||||||||
| - | None | |||||||||||||
| - | None | |||||||||||||
Competition summary
Quarterfinals
Stephanos Christopoulos of Greece faced Momcsilló Tapavicza of Hungary in the first match. The pair were nearly evenly matched, and the contest lasted until Tapavicza eventually retired.
In the second match, gymnastics champion Carl Schuhmann of Germany faced the weightlifting champion, Launceston Elliot of the United Kingdom. Schuhmann won easily.
Georgios Tsitas, a Greek, had a bye in the first round, joining Christopoulos and Schuhmann as the three semifinalists.
Semifinals
For the only actual semifinal match, two Greeks faced each other. Tsitas and Christopoulos faced off, with the contest resulting in a win for Tsitas and a shoulder injury, as well as a bronze medal, for Christopoulos.
Schuhmann had a bye for the semifinals.
Final
In the final match, Tsitas faced Schuhmann. This bout lasted 40 minutes before it had to be postponed on account of darkness, as the sun had begun to set.
On the morning of 11 April, Schuhmann and Tsitas returned to their match. Schuhmann captured the victory shortly thereafter.
References
- Lampros, S.P.; Polites, N.G.; De Coubertin, Pierre; Philemon, P.J. & Anninos, C. (1897). The Olympic Games: BC 776 – AD 1896. Athens: Charles Beck. (Digitally available at )
- Mallon, Bill & Widlund, Ture (1998). The 1896 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0379-9. (Excerpt available at )
- Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004). Olympics in Athens 1896. The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X.