Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1960 Summer Olympics - up to 79 kg

Fight on 1960 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 1960 Olympic Games in middle weight (up to 79 kilograms) were held in Rome from August 26 to August 31, 1960 at the Maxentius Basilica .

The tournament was held according to the system with the accrual of penalty points, but in comparison with previous games, the system of accrual was changed and a result such as a draw was introduced. No penalty points were awarded for a clear victory, a fighter received one penalty point for a victory in points, two penalty points for a draw, three penalty points for a point loss, and four penalty points for a clean loss. The wrestler who scored six penalty points dropped out of the tournament. The three remaining wrestlers reached the final, where they held meetings with each other. The meetings between the finalists, held in preliminary fights, were offset. 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 downstairs for two minutes (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, 24 participants fought. The youngest was the 21-year-old wrestler Lothar Metz , the oldest 33-year-old Luis Caldash. In the absence of Givi Kartosia , the reigning Olympic champion and winner of the last three world championships, who moved to the light heavyweight, there were no obvious favorites. Among the applicants for the awards were Kazyma Aivaz , the current Olympic champion and world champion, but welterweight, the current vice-champion of the Olympic Games Dimitar Dobrev and bronze medalist of the World Championship Lothar Metz . The fate of the first two places was decided even before the final, in the sixth round, when there was only one wrestler who had the right to further participate in the tournament: Dimitar Dobrev; all the rest went over the penalty points and dropped out of the tournament. Lothar Metz, who has the least penalty among those who dropped out, got the second place, and for the third place a meeting was held between Ceranu and Aivaz, in which the Romanian wrestler won.