Wrestling at the 1896 Summer Olympics - Men's Greco-Roman

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.

tandings

Bracket

3RoundBracket
R1-title = Quarterfinals
R2-title = Semifinals
R3-title = Final

R1-date = 10 April
R2-date = 10 April
R3-date = 10 April
11 April

R1-name1 = flagicon|Greece|old Christopoulos
R1-score1 =
R1-name2 = flagicon|Hungary|1867 Tapavicza
R1-score2 =
R1-name3 = flagicon|Greece|old Tsitas
R1-score3 =
R1-name4 = "Bye"
R1-score4 =
R1-name5 = flagicon|Germany|empire Schuhmann
R1-score5 =
R1-name6 = flagicon|Great Britain Elliot
R1-score6 =
R1-name7 = "None"
R1-score7 =
R1-name8 = "None"
R1-score8 =

R2-name1 = flagicon|Greece|old Christopoulos
R2-score1 =
R2-name2 = flagicon|Greece|old Tsitas
R2-score2 =
R2-name3 = flagicon|Germany|empire Schuhmann
R2-score3 =
R2-name4 = "Bye"
R2-score4 =

R3-name1 = flagicon|Greece|old Tsitas
R3-score1 =
R3-name2 = flagicon|Germany|empire Schuhmann
R3-score2 =

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 Tapovitsa 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.

emifinals

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

* (Digitally available at [http://www.aafla.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1896/1896.pdf] )
* (Excerpt available at [http://www.aafla.org/6oic/OfficialReports/Mallon/1896.pdf] )
*