# Wrestling at the 1932 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle lightweight

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.

## Schedule

| Date | Event |
| 1 August 1932 | Round 1 Round 2 |
| 2 August 1932 | Round 3 |
| 3 August 1932 | Round 4 Final round |

## Results
### Round 1

Kárpáti was the only winner by fall and therefore the only wrestler to advance with 0 points. The other three winners each received 1 point for wins by decision. The four losers each received 3 points.

#### Bouts

| Winner | Nation | Victory Type | Loser | Nation |
| Gustaf Klarén | Sweden | Decision | Howard Thomas | Canada |
| Melvin Clodfelter | United States | Decision | Kustaa Pihlajamäki | Finland |
| Károly Kárpáti | Hungary | Fall | Eitaro Suzuki | Japan |
| Charles Pacôme | France | Decision | Osvald Käpp | Estonia |

#### Points

| Rank | Wrestler | Nation | Start | Earned | Total |
| 1 | Károly Kárpáti | Hungary | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Melvin Carl Clodfelter | United States | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Gustaf Klarén | Sweden | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Charles Pacôme | France | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Osvald Käpp | Estonia | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Kustaa Pihlajamäki | Finland | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Suzuki Eitaro | Japan | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Howard Thomas | Canada | 0 | 3 | 3 |

### Round 2

Klarén against Clodfelter was a bout between two first-round winners, each of whom were safe from elimination. Klarén won by fall to stay at 1 point; Clodfelter's loss took him to 4 points. Both bouts pitting a 1–0 wrestler against an 0–1 wrestler ended in the first-round winner winning again (Pacôme staying at 1 point with a win by fall, Kárpáti picking up his first point via win by decision) and the first-round loser eliminated. The bout between two first-round losers resulted in Thomas being the man eliminated and Pihlajamäki holding on at 4 points.

#### Bouts

| Winner | Nation | Victory Type | Loser | Nation |
| Gustaf Klarén | Sweden | Fall | Melvin Carl Clodfelter | United States |
| Kustaa Pihlajamäki | Finland | Decision | Howard Thomas | Canada |
| Charles Pacôme | France | Fall | Suzuki Eitaro | Japan |
| Károly Kárpáti | Hungary | Decision | Osvald Käpp | Estonia |

#### Points

| Rank | Wrestler | Nation | Start | Earned | Total |
| 1 | Károly Kárpáti | Hungary | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | Gustaf Klarén | Sweden | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | Charles Pacôme | France | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Melvin Carl Clodfelter | United States | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | Kustaa Pihlajamäki | Finland | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | Osvald Käpp | Estonia | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 6 | Suzuki Eitaro | Japan | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 6 | Howard Thomas | Canada | 3 | 3 | 6 |

### Round 3

Pacôme had a bye this round, staying at 1 point. The two contested bouts each featured a 1-point wrestler against a 4-point wrestler; in both cases, the 4-point wrestler won. Clodfelter initially won by fall, which would have resulted in his staying in the competition, but the officials declared a rematch. This time, Clodfelter won by decision. Pihlajamäki also won by decision. Both winners, therefore, picked up their fifth point and were the only wrestlers eliminated in the round despite each winning.

#### Bouts

| Winner | Nation | Victory Type | Loser | Nation |
| Kustaa Pihlajamäki | Finland | Decision | Gustaf Klarén | Sweden |
| Melvin Carl Clodfelter | United States | Decision | Károly Kárpáti | Hungary |
| Charles Pacôme | France | Bye | N/A | N/A |

#### Points

| Rank | Wrestler | Nation | Start | Earned | Total |
| 1 | Charles Pacôme | France | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | Károly Kárpáti | Hungary | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 2 | Gustaf Klarén | Sweden | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | Melvin Carl Clodfelter | United States | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 | Kustaa Pihlajamäki | Finland | 4 | 1 | 5 |

### Round 4

Pacôme defeated Klarén to eliminate the latter, who received the bronze medal. Pacôme and Kárpáti (who had a bye) advanced to the final.

#### Bouts

| Winner | Nation | Victory Type | Loser | Nation |
| Charles Pacôme | France | Decision | Gustaf Klarén | Sweden |
| Károly Kárpáti | Hungary | Bye | N/A | N/A |

#### Points

| Rank | Wrestler | Nation | Start | Earned | Total |
| 1 | Charles Pacôme | France | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Károly Kárpáti | Hungary | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| | Gustaf Klarén | Sweden | 4 | 3 | 7 |

### Final round

Pacôme defeated Kárpáti in the final to take the gold medal.

#### Bouts

| Winner | Nation | Victory Type | Loser | Nation |
| Charles Pacôme | France | Decision | Károly Kárpáti | Hungary |

#### Points

| Rank | Wrestler | Nation | Start | Earned | Total |
| | Charles Pacôme | France | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| | Károly Kárpáti | Hungary | 4 | 3 | 7 |