At the 1904 Summer Olympics, seven wrestling events were contested, all in the freestyle discipline. Then known as catch wrestling, it was the first time freestyle wrestling was featured at the Olympic Games, as the first Olympic wrestling contests in 1896 had been in the Greco-Roman style. Weight classes also made their first appearance. The sport continues to be in the Olympic program to the present day.[1] The event also doubled as that year's Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Catch Wrestling Championships.[2][3]
| Wrestling at the Games of the III Olympiad | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Venue | Francis Olympic Field |
| Dates | 14–15 October 1904 |
| No. of events | 7 (7 men, 0 women) |
| Competitors | 43 from 5 nations |
Medal summary
edit| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light flyweight |
Robert Curry United States
|
John Hein United States
|
Gustav Thiefenthaler Switzerland
|
| Flyweight |
George Mehnert United States
|
Gustave Bauer United States
|
William Nelson United States
|
| Bantamweight |
Isidor Niflot United States
|
August Wester United States
|
Louis Strebler United States
|
| Featherweight |
Benjamin Bradshaw United States
|
Theodore McLear United States
|
Charles Clapper United States
|
| Lightweight |
Otto Roehm United States
|
Rudolph Tesing United States
|
Albert Zirkel United States
|
| Welterweight |
Charles Ericksen Norway
|
William Beckmann United States
|
Jerry Winholtz United States
|
| Heavyweight |
Bernhoff Hansen Norway
|
Frank Kugler Germany
|
Fred Warmbold United States
|
Participating nations
edit
A total of 44 wrestlers competed at the St. Louis Games:
United States (38)
Germany (2)
Norway (2)
Canada (1)
Switzerland (1)
The nationalities of some medalists are disputed, as many American competitors were recent immigrants to the United States who had not yet been granted U.S. citizenship.
The International Olympic Committee formerly considered Norwegian-American wrestlers Charles Ericksen and Bernhoff Hansen to have competed for the United States. Each man won a gold medal. In 2012, Norwegian historians found documentation showing that Ericksen did not receive American citizenship until March 22, 1905, and that Hansen probably never received American citizenship. The historians have therefore petitioned the IOC to have the athletes registered as Norwegians,[4][5] which was done.
Medal table
edit| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States | 5 | 6 | 6 | 17 |
| 2 |  Norway | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 |  Germany | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 |  Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (4 entries) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | |
Notes
edit- ^ "Wrestling at the 1904 St. Louis Summer Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
- ^ "Wrestling at the 1904 Summer Olympics". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
- ^ Nash, John S. (2012-10-20). "Olympic History: Catch-As-Catch-Can Wrestling? Yep". Cageside Seats. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
- ^ "Her er beviset som endrer norsk idrettshistorie". NRK. August 14, 2012.
- ^ "USA-guld 1904 var Norges". Svenska Dagbladet. August 14, 2012.