Wrestling at the 1904 Summer Olympics
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, as the first Olympic wrestling contests 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.[1]
The event doubled as that year's Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Catch Wrestling Championships, although five nations were represented, each of the 42 competitors resided in the US [2][3]
Medal summary[edit]
| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light flyweight |
Robert Curry United States
|
John Hein United States
|
Gustav Thiefenthaler Switzerland
|
| Flyweight |
George Mehnert United States
|
Gustave Bauer United States
|
William Nelson United States
|
| Bantamweight |
Isidor Niflot United States
|
August Wester United States
|
Louis Strebler United States
|
| Featherweight |
Benjamin Bradshaw United States
|
Theodore McLear United States
|
Charles Clapper United States
|
| Lightweight |
Otto Roehm United States
|
Rudolph Tesing United States
|
Albert Zirkel United States
|
| Welterweight |
Charles Ericksen Norway
|
William Beckmann United States
|
Jerry Winholtz United States
|
| Heavyweight |
Bernhoff Hansen Norway
|
Frank Kugler Germany
|
Fred Warmbold United States
|
Participating nations[edit]
A total of 43 wrestlers competed at the St. Louis Games:
United States (38)
Norway (2)
Canada (1)
Germany (1)
Switzerland (1)
The nationalities of many medalists are disputed, as many American competitors were recent immigrants to the United States who had not yet been granted US citizenship.
The International Olympic Committee considers Norwegian-American wrestlers Charles Ericksen and Bernhoff Hansen to have competed for the United States, with each man winning a gold medal.
In 2012, Norwegian historians found documentation showing that Ericksen did not receive American citizenship until March 22, 1905, and that Hansen probably never received American citizenship. The historians have therefore petitioned the IOC to have the athletes registered as Norwegians.[4][5] In May 2013, it was reported that the Norwegian Olympic Committee had filed a formal application for changing the nationality of the wrestlers in the IOC's medal database.[6]
Medal table[edit]
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States | 5 | 6 | 6 | 17 |
| 2 |  Norway | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 |  Germany | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 |  Switzerland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (4 entries) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | |
Notes[edit]
- ^ "Wrestling at the 1904 St. Louis Summer Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
- ^ "Wrestling at the 1904 Summer Olympics". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
- ^ Nash, John S. (2012-10-20). "Olympic History: Catch-As-Catch-Can Wrestling? Yep". Cageside Seats. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
- ^ "Her er beviset som endrer norsk idrettshistorie". NRK. August 14, 2012.
- ^ "USA-guld 1904 var Norges". Svenska Dagbladet. August 14, 2012.
- ^ "Norges OL-historie skrives på nytt". Nettavisen. May 3, 2013.
