Probably less has been written in English about the wrestling competition of the 1906 Olympic Games than any other sport. It is barely mentioned in the newspaper reports. But in the Greek press it was highly covered, as Mathys has noted, "Great interest was shown too in the Greco-Roman freestyle wrestling, not only by the mainly Greek public, but also by the contestants. The contests continued long after the light had begun to fade; neither the wrestlers, the judges nor the public wanted to see the matches stop. Only when a few lit matches to enable the spectators to see did the judge decide to postpone the finals till the next day."

It was conducted under Greco-Roman rules. The competitions were held on the infield of the track in the Panathenaic Stadium. There were three main competitions conducted according to weight class\: lightweight, middleweight, and heavyweight. At the end of the competition, the winners of the heavyweight and middleweight competitions, [Søren Jensen] and [Verner Weckman], wrestled a match, won by Jensen, for the all-around title of the top wrestler at the 1906 Olympics.

It was difficult to choose favorites at this wrestling tournament, basically the first true international Olympic meet. World championships had only been conducted since 1904, with two different versions held in 1905. Søren Jensen and Verner Weckman had won both the heavyweight titles in 1905, at the two different meets. The lightweight Olympic champion in 1906, Rudolf Watzl, never competed at a world championship. Weckman would come back in 1908 to win the light-heavyweight Olympic championship at London.

Søren Jensen had first competed at the world championships in 1904, but he failed to place. His world championship record would eventually include one victory (1905) and one third-place (1910), both in the heavyweight class. Jensen competed at both the 1908 and 1912 Olympic Games, winning bronze medals both times in the heavyweight division. Strangely, he had less success at the European championships, winning three silver medals between 1907 and 1912.

Austria’s [Rudolf Watzl] defeated Dane [Carl Carlsen] in a 40-minute match in the final. The final was a three-way round-robin between Watzl, Carlsen, and [Ferenc Holubán] of Hungary. Watzl won both matches, and Carlsen defeated Holubán to decide the medals. Carlsen competed at the 1907 European and World Championships and the 1908 Olympics. In the first round in Athina, Holubán defeated American [Jack Niflot], the 1904 Olympic bantamweight freestyle champion.

Finland’s [Verner Weckman] defeated Austrian [Rudolf Lindmayer] in the final match in 8 minutes. Weckman had won the unofficial 1905 World Championships. He would also compete at the 1908 Olympics, winning another gold medal as a light-heavyweight. Silver went to Austria’s Rudolf Lindmayer , about whom little is known. Bronze medalist [Robert Behrens] of Denmark would also finish third at the unofficial 1907 European Championships in the unlimited class.

[Søren Marinus Jensen] had won one of unofficial world heavyweight titles in 1905. In Athina he won the heavyweight gold medal by defeating Austria’s [Henri Baur] in the final. Baur not only competed in wrestling in 1906, but also the tug-of-war and in athletics, the discus throw and pentathlon.

Jensen had first competed at the world championships in 1904, but failed to place. His world championship record would eventually include one victory (1905) and one third-place (1910), both in the heavyweight class. Jensen competed at both the 1908 and 1912 Olympic Games, winning bronze medals both times in the heavyweight division. Strangely, he had less success at the European championships, winning three silver medals between 1907 and 1912.

There were three weight classes in 1906 Greco-Roman wrestling: lightweight, middleweight, and heavyweight. At the end of the competition, the winners of the heavyweight and middleweight competitions, [Søren Marinus Jensen] and [Verner Weckman], wrestled a match for the all-around title of the top wrestler at the 1906 Olympics, won by Jensen. Jensen and Weckman had won unofficial World heavyweight titles in 1905, at the two different meets. Weckman would come back in 1908 to win the light-heavyweight Olympic championship at London, while Jensen competed at both the 1908 and 1912 Olympic Games, winning bronze medals both times in the heavyweight division.