In 1932 wrestling each nation could enter one athlete in each event. The events were decided by the “bad point” system for the second time (after 1928) at the Olympics. Wrestlers who lost either by fall or decision were given 3 bad points, while winning by decision gave a wrestler 1 bad point. A win by fall had no deductions. The bad points were totaled after every match, and a total of 5 bad points eliminated a wrestler, so the competition effectively was a double-elimination tournament.

The Olympic wrestling tournament was held in the 15,300-seat Olympic Auditorium, where the competitions in weightlifting and boxing also took place. Match lengths were 20 minutes in Greco -Roman wrestling, and 15 minutes in freestyle. The audience had major problems following the competitions, as the state of the fights and their results were not clearly published. The strongest wrestling nations in Los Angeles were Sweden with six titles, with the Americans winning three (all in freestyle) and the Finns two.

Wrestling at the 1932 Summer Olympics was held between August 1–7 August at the Grand Olympic Auditorium. It was split into two disciplines, Freestyle and Greco-Roman which were further divided into different weight categories

There were only eight entrants. The first round saw Greek [Georgios Zervinis] pin Canadian [Jim Trifunov] in only 41 seconds, but neither would factor in the medals. After three rounds, the medalists were decided, with [Bob Pearce] (USA), [Ödön Zombori] (HUN) and [Aatos Jaskari] (FIN) advancing to the medal round. Zombori was leading at that time with only 1 bad point, but Pearce and Jaskari both defeated him by decision to eliminate him. This gave the gold medal to Pearce as he had defeated Jaskari in the first round, and it also gave Jaskari 5 bad points.

Zombori would return to win the gold medal in Berlin and enjoyed a very long career. He was European Champion in freestyle in 1931 and 1933 and in Greco-Roman in 1933, and he actually competed at the World Championships in 1958, after a long absence. Pearce was a top American wrestler, but this was his only international competition.

The men's freestyle bantamweight competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles took place from 1 August to 3 August at the Grand Olympic Auditorium. Nations were limited to one competitor. This weight class was limited to wrestlers weighing up to 56kg.

This freestyle wrestling competition did not use the single-elimination bracket format previously used for Olympic freestyle wrestling but instead followed the format that was introduced at the 1928 Summer Olympics for Greco-Roman wrestling, using an elimination system based on the accumulation of points. Each round featured all wrestlers pairing off and wrestling one bout (with one wrestler having a bye if there were an odd number). The loser received 3 points. The winner received 1 point if the win was by decision and 0 points if the win was by fall. At the end of each round, any wrestler with at least 5 points was eliminated.

Ten wrestlers came to the mat in this event, the most of any wrestling event in Los Angeles. The favorite was Finland’s [Hermanni Pihlajamäki], who was the 1931 European Champion and whose cousin, [Kustaa], was the silver medalist in this class in 1928 and was considered one of the greatest wrestlers of the 1930s. Hermanni was nowhere near his level but was still expected to win and he did not disappoint, winning his first three matches by falls, and decisioning Greece’s [Ioannis Farmakidis] in the medal round to secure the gold medal. He would win a bronze medal in freestyle lightweight in 1936. The bronze medal in Los Angeles went to Sweden’s [Einar Karlsson], who came back in Berlin and won another silver medal, that time in Greco-Roman featherweight. The silver medal went to unheralded American [Ed Nemir], who had never won anything more in the US than the Pacific Coast South titles in 1929 and 1930.

The men's freestyle featherweight competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles took place from 1 August to 3 August at the Grand Olympic Auditorium. Nations were limited to one competitor. This weight class was limited to wrestlers weighing up to 61kg.

This freestyle wrestling competition did not use the single-elimination bracket format previously used for Olympic freestyle wrestling but instead followed the format that was introduced at the 1928 Summer Olympics for Greco-Roman wrestling, using an elimination system based on the accumulation of points. Each round featured all wrestlers pairing off and wrestling one bout (with one wrestler having a bye if there were an odd number). The loser received 3 points. The winner received 1 point if the win was by decision and 0 points if the win was by fall. At the end of each round, any wrestler with at least 5 points was eliminated.

There were eight competitors, with the overwhelming favorite being Finn [Kustaa Pihlajamäki], who was 1924 freestyle bantamweight gold medalist and had won a silver medal in this class in 1928. He was already twice a European Champion in Greco-Roman by the time he came to Los Angeles, would eventually win nine European titles, and is considered one of the greatest wrestlers of the 1930s. In the first round, he met American [Marvin Clodfelter], who had been a 1928 NCAA Champion in the US, but was not considered a threat to Pihlajamäki. But Clodfelter defeated the Finn by decision, and when Pihlajamäki won his next two bouts only by decision, he was eliminated on bad points.

The medal round came down to Sweden’s [Gustaf Klarén], Hungary’s [Károly Karpati], and France’s [Charles Pacôme], who was the silver medalist from Amsterdam. Pacôme defeated both Klarén and Karpati to secure the gold medal with the silver going to Karpati. Karpati would return in 1936 and win the gold medal in this event at Berlin. He was also European Champion in this class in both 1930 and 1935. This was the only international appearance for Klarén.

The men's freestyle lightweight competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles took place from 1 August to 3 August at the Grand Olympic Auditorium. Nations were limited to one competitor. This weight class was limited to wrestlers weighing up to 66kg.

This freestyle wrestling competition did not use the single-elimination bracket format previously used for Olympic freestyle wrestling but instead followed the format that was introduced at the 1928 Summer Olympics for Greco-Roman wrestling, using an elimination system based on the accumulation of points. Each round featured all wrestlers pairing off and wrestling one bout (with one wrestler having a bye if there were an odd number). The loser received 3 points. The winner received 1 point if the win was by decision and 0 points if the win was by fall. At the end of each round, any wrestler with at least 5 points was eliminated.

Nine wrestlers competed but the favorite was likely Finland’s [Eino Leino], who mostly lived in the United States during his wrestling career and rarely competed internationally, except at the Olympics. This was his fourth Olympic Games as a freestyle wrestler. He had won gold in 1920 as a middleweight, silver in 1924, and bronze in 1928, dropping down in each weight at each Olympics. The medals eventually came down to Leino, American [Jack VanBebber], and Canada’s [Danny McDonald], with the three advancing to the medal round. The decisive gold medal match, however, had come in round three when VanBebber decisioned McDonald. In the medal round, both North Americans defeated Leino to give the gold to VanBebber, based on his earlier victory over McDonald, who took silver.

The bronze was the fourth consecutive Olympic medal for Leino. VanBebber was likely the best American wrestler in Los Angeles as he had won three AAU and three NCAA titles before the Olympics. VanBebber had left the wrestling arena prior to his final match and he was six miles away less than an hour before the match was to start. He got there by walking two miles and then getting a lift from a driver who recognized him as a wrestler at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

The men's freestyle welterweight competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles took place from 1 August to 3 August at the Grand Olympic Auditorium. Nations were limited to one competitor. This weight class was limited to wrestlers weighing up to 72kg.

This freestyle wrestling competition did not use the single-elimination bracket format previously used for Olympic freestyle wrestling but instead followed the format that was introduced at the 1928 Summer Olympics for Greco-Roman wrestling, using an elimination system based on the accumulation of points. Each round featured all wrestlers pairing off and wrestling one bout (with one wrestler having a bye if there were an odd number). The loser received 3 points. The winner received 1 point if the win was by decision and 0 points if the win was by fall. At the end of each round, any wrestler with at least 5 points was eliminated.

Swede [Ivar Johansson] was the clear favorite as he had won the 1931 European Championship, and was beginning a stretch that would not see him lose any international event through the end of his career in 1939. But in the first round he was upset by Finland’s [Kyösti Luukko], which meant that Johansson had to win all his later matches by falls to garner the gold medal – so he did, winning as expected. Luukko held on for the silver medal, losing by fall in the third round to American [Robert Hess], which cost Luukko the gold medal. The bronze went to Hungarian [József Tunyogi], who won his first three matches before losing in the medal round to Luukko by fall.

Four days later, Johansson would win another gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling, making him the first Olympic wrestler to win gold medals in freestyle and Greco-Roman at the same Olympics. This had previously only been accomplished by Kalle Anttila (FIN), but not in the same year, and through 2012, only Estonia’s [Kristjan Palusalu] in 1936 has ever repeated this feat.

The men's freestyle middleweight competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles took place from 1 August to 3 August at the Grand Olympic Auditorium. Nations were limited to one competitor. This weight class was limited to wrestlers weighing up to 79kg.

This freestyle wrestling competition did not use the single-elimination bracket format previously used for Olympic freestyle wrestling but instead followed the format that was introduced at the 1928 Summer Olympics for Greco-Roman wrestling, using an elimination system based on the accumulation of points. Each round featured all wrestlers pairing off and wrestling one bout (with one wrestler having a bye if there were an odd number). The loser received 3 points. The winner received 1 point if the win was by decision and 0 points if the win was by fall. At the end of each round, any wrestler with at least 5 points was eliminated.

Only four wrestlers made it to the mat in this class. [Thure Sjöstedt] (SWE) was the defending champion and was back in Los Angeles. He was challenged by American [Peter Mehringer], Canadian [Harry Madison], and Australian [Eddie Scarf]. Madison was a slight favorite but he lost by fall in round one to Scarf, as Mehringer defeated Sjöstedt by fall. When Mehringer also pinned Madison in round two, that left the Canadian out of the medals. Mehringer secured the gold with a workmanlike decision over Scarf in the final round, the silver going to Sjöstedt.

Mehringer was much better known in the United States as a football player, but would later turn to professional wrestling, mostly in New Zealand, as well as playing briefly in the NFL with the Chicago Cardinals. Scarf would later win a gold medal at the 1938 British Empire Games. In 1934 Sjöstedt would win the freestyle heavyweight class at the European Championships.

Only four wrestlers made it to the mat in this class. [Thure Sjöstedt] (SWE) was the defending champion and was back in Los Angeles. He was challenged by American [Peter Mehringer], Canadian [Harry Madison], and Australian [Eddie Scarf]. Madison was a slight favorite but he lost by fall in round one to Scarf, as Mehringer defeated Sjöstedt by fall. When Mehringer also pinned Madison in round two, that left the Canadian out of the medals. Mehringer secured the gold with a workmanlike decision over Scarf in the final round, the silver going to Sjöstedt.

Mehringer was much better known in the United States as a football player, but would later turn to professional wrestling, mostly in New Zealand, as well as playing briefly in the NFL with the Chicago Cardinals. Scarf would later win a gold medal at the 1938 British Empire Games. In 1934 Sjöstedt would win the freestyle heavyweight class at the European Championships.

The men's freestyle light heavyweight competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles took place from 1 August to 3 August at the Grand Olympic Auditorium. Nations were limited to one competitor. This weight class was limited to wrestlers weighing up to 87kg.

This freestyle wrestling competition did not use the single-elimination bracket format previously used for Olympic freestyle wrestling but instead followed the format that was introduced at the 1928 Summer Olympics for Greco-Roman wrestling, using an elimination system based on the accumulation of points. Each round featured all wrestlers pairing off and wrestling one bout (with one wrestler having a bye if there were an odd number). The loser received 3 points. The winner received 1 point if the win was by decision and 0 points if the win was by fall. At the end of each round, any wrestler with at least 5 points was eliminated.

There were only three competitors so everybody won a medal. They were led by the defending champion, Swede [Johan Richthoff ], who had won three European titles since the Amsterdam Olympics, and was an overwhelming favorite. In the first two rounds he defeated American [Jack Riley] and Austria’s [Nikolaus Hirschl] to defend his gold medal. Riley pinned Hirschl in the final round for the silver medal. Riley had been a two-time NCAA champion and later played briefly in the NFL with the Boston Redskins. A few days after this event ended, Hirschl would add another bronze medal in Greco-Roman heavyweight.

The men's freestyle heavyweight competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles took place from 1 August to 3 August at the Grand Olympic Auditorium. Nations were limited to one competitor. This weight class was not limited by maximum weight and was open to wrestlers above 87kg.

This freestyle wrestling competition did not use the single-elimination bracket format previously used for Olympic freestyle wrestling but instead followed the format that was introduced at the 1928 Summer Olympics for Greco-Roman wrestling, using an elimination system based on the accumulation of points. Each round featured all wrestlers pairing off and wrestling one bout (with one wrestler having a bye if there were an odd number). The loser received 3 points. The winner received 1 point if the win was by decision and 0 points if the win was by fall. At the end of each round, any wrestler with at least 5 points was eliminated.