Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1956 Summer Olympics - up to 79 kg

Fight on 1956 Summer Olympics
Greco-Roman style
Up to 52 kg		Up to 73 kg
Up to 57 kg		Up to 79 kg
Up to 62 kg		Up to 87 kg
Up to 67 kg		Over 87 kg
Freestyle
Up to 52 kg		Up to 73 kg
Up to 57 kg		Up to 79 kg
Up to 62 kg		Up to 87 kg
Up to 67 kg		Over 87 kg

Greco-Roman wrestling competitions in the framework of the 1956 Olympic Games in middle weight (up to 79 kilograms) were held in Melbourne from December 3 to 6, 1956 at the Royal Exhibition Building.

The tournament was held according to the system with the accrual of penalty points. No penalty points were awarded for a clean victory, a fighter received one penalty point for a victory by points, two penalty points for a defeat with a score of 2-1 judges, three score points with a score of 3-0 or a pure defeat. The wrestler who scored five penalty points dropped out of the tournament. The three remaining wrestlers reached the final, held meetings among themselves. The battle according to the tournament regulations lasted 12 minutes. If no carcass was recorded within the first six minutes, then the judges could identify the wrestler with the advantage. If no one was given the advantage, then four minutes of struggle in the stalls were appointed, and each of the wrestlers was below two minutes below (the order was determined by lot). If one of the wrestlers was given an advantage, then he had the right to choose the following six minutes of struggle: either in the ground on top, or in the rack. If after four minutes a clear victory was not recorded, then the remaining two minutes, the wrestlers fought in the stance.

On average, 10 participants fought. Despite the small number of participants, the representation in weight was serious: four out of ten participants in the future became Olympic champions (including the champion of these games), three of them additionally became winners of the Olympic games; another participant was already at the rank of Olympic medalist. But the undisputed favorite in weight was the Soviet wrestler Givi Kartoziya , the world champion in 1953, 1955, the winner of the 1956 World Cup. He confirmed his title of the strongest on the planet, winning a gold medal even before the final meetings. In the final, between the Swede Rune Jansson and Bulgarian Dimitar Dobrev, the fate of only a silver medal was decided, and Dobrev won it.

Competitions in this weight category were marked by an Olympic record. Rune Jansson in the second round put his opponent on the shoulder blades in 11 seconds, which until now is the fastest clear victory in the history of the Olympic struggle.