The 1904 Summer Olympics were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 1 July to 23 November 1904. Many events were conducted at what is now known as Francis Field on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis. This was the first time that the Olympic Games were held outside Europe.
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. The event also doubled as that year's Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Catch Wrestling Championships.
At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, nine wrestling events were contested, all for men. There were four weight classes in Greco-Roman wrestling and five weight classes in freestyle wrestling.
Wrestling at the Olympic Games first appeared at the first modern Olympics, in the form of Greco-Roman wrestling, held in Athens in 1896. Wrestling would appear at every Summer Olympics held since then, with the exception of the 1900 Summer Olympics when wrestling did not appear on the program. Freestyle wrestling and weight classes both made their first appearance at the 1904 Summer Olympics. Women's freestyle wrestling competition was first held at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Norway first participated at the Summer Olympics in 1900, and has sent athletes to compete in every Games since then, except for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow when they participated in the American-led boycott and, as previously thought, the 1904 Games in St. Louis, United States. However, at the beginning of the 21st century, it was discovered that wrestlers Charles Ericksen and Bernhoff Hansen, who were Norwegian expatriates in America whose medals at the 1904 Summer Olympics were previously attributed to United States, still held Norwegian citizenship at the time of the games. They won the gold medals in the wrestling welterweight and heavyweight events respectively.
The welterweight was the third heaviest boxing weight class held as part of the boxing programme at the 1904 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on Wednesday, September 21, 1904 and on Thursday, September 22, 1904. It was the first time the event, like all other boxing events, was held in Olympic competition. Welterweights had to be less than 65.8 kilograms. Four boxers competed.
The light flyweight was the lightest freestyle wrestling weight class held as part of the wrestling programme at the 1904 Summer Olympics. It included wrestlers weighing up to 105 pounds (47.6 kg). It was the first time the event, like all other freestyle wrestling events, was held in Olympic competition. Four wrestlers competed.
The flyweight was the second lightest freestyle wrestling weight class held as part of the wrestling programme at the 1904 Summer Olympics. It included wrestlers weighing 105 to 115 pounds. It was the first time the event, like all other freestyle wrestling events, was held in Olympic competition. Three wrestlers competed.
The bantamweight was the third lightest freestyle wrestling weight class held as part of the wrestling programme at the 1904 Summer Olympics. It included wrestlers weighing 115 to 125 pounds. It was the first time the event, like all other freestyle wrestling events, was held in Olympic competition. Seven wrestlers competed.
The featherweight was the middle of seven freestyle wrestling weight class held as part of the wrestling programme at the 1904 Summer Olympics. It included wrestlers weighing 125 to 135 pounds. It was the first time the event, like all other freestyle wrestling events, was held in Olympic competition. Nine wrestlers competed.
The lightweight was the third heaviest freestyle wrestling weight class held as part of the wrestling programme at the 1904 Summer Olympics. It included wrestlers weighing 135 to 145 pounds. It was the first time the event, like all other freestyle wrestling events, was held in Olympic competition. Ten wrestlers competed.
The heavyweight was the heaviest freestyle wrestling weight class held as part of the wrestling programme at the 1904 Summer Olympics. It included wrestlers weighing over 158 pounds (71.7 kg). It was the first time the event, like all other freestyle wrestling events, was held in Olympic competition. It was held on Friday, October 14, 1904 and on Saturday, October 15, 1904. Five wrestlers competed.
Karl Fredrik "Charles" Ericksen was a Norwegian-American wrestler who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics for the United States.
Ivar Valentin Johansson was a Swedish wrestler who competed at the 1928, 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics. In 1932 he won the gold medal in the Greco-Roman welterweight and freestyle middleweight events. Four years later he won the gold medal in the Greco-Roman middleweight competition.
The men's freestyle 74 kilograms at the 1996 Summer Olympics as part of the wrestling program were held at the Georgia World Congress Center from August 1 to August 2. The gold and silver medalists were determined by the final match of the main single-elimination bracket. The losers advanced to the repechage. These matches determined the bronze medalist for the event.
The men's freestyle welterweight was a freestyle wrestling event held as part of the Wrestling at the 1924 Summer Olympics programme. It was the second appearance of the event. Welterweight was the middle category, including wrestlers weighing from 66 to 72 kilograms.
The men's freestyle lightweight was a freestyle wrestling event held as part of the Wrestling at the 1928 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fifth appearance of the event. Lightweight was the third-lightest category, including wrestlers weighing up to 65 kilograms. Eino Leino won his third Olympic medal, a bronze to go with his 1920 middleweight gold and 1924 welterweight silver.
The men's freestyle welterweight was a freestyle wrestling event held as part of the Wrestling at the 1928 Summer Olympics programme. It was the third appearance of the event. Welterweight was the median category, including wrestlers weighing up to 72 kilograms. Arvo Haavisto, a 1924 bronze medalist in the lightweight category, won the tournament.
The sport of wrestling has been practiced in Canada for more than a century, with the first amateur wrestling championships being held at Toronto's Argonaut Rowing Club in 1901. The sport continued to grow during the 20th century and by 1969, the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association was formed. Today the same organization is called Wrestling Canada Lutte, and is the national governing body for Olympic style wrestling in Canada. The organization's purpose is to encourage and develop the widest participation and highest proficiency in Olympic wrestling in Canada.
Norway boycotted the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, United States. However, Norwegian immigrants to America Charles Ericksen and Bernhoff Hansen took part in wrestling competitions in welterweight and heavyweight events respectively and won gold medals.
