Listed are wrestlers who were World or Olympic Champions in men's freestyle wrestling. Men's freestyle wrestling competition began at the Olympics in 1904. The World Championships for men's freestyle wrestling began in 1951. The World Championships takes place during non-Olympic years. At the World Championships team scoring is kept, while no official team statistics are kept at the Olympics.

World Level Champions in Men's Freestyle Wrestling by Year and Weight

Olympic Champions and Olympic competition years in freestyle wrestling are highlighted in gold.

1904

1908

1920

1924–1936

1948–1968

1969–1996

1997–2001

2002–2013

2014–2017

2018–2019

2021

2021–2024

Individual Multiple-Time World Level Champions

10 World Level Championships

Aleksandr Medved, 1962–1972

9 World Level Championships

🇷🇺 Buvaisar Saitiev, 1995–2008

8 World Level Championships

Sergei Beloglazov, 1980–1988 Arsen Fadzaev, 1983–1992 🇧🇬 Valentin Yordanov, 1983–1996 🇷🇺 🇷🇺 🇷🇺 Abdulrashid Sadulaev, 2014–2024

7 World Level Championships

Makharbek Khadartsev, 1986–1992 🇺🇸 Jordan Burroughs, 2011–2022

6 World Level Championships

🇮🇷 Abdollah Movahed, 1965–1970 Levan Tediashvili, 1971–1976 Soslan Andiyev, 1973–1980 🇺🇸 John Smith, 1987–1992 🇷🇺 Leri Khabelov, 1985–1993 🇷🇺 Khadzhimurat Gatsalov, 2004–2013

5 World Level Championships

🇹🇷 Mustafa Dağıstanlı, 1954–1960 Aleksandr Ivanitsky, 1962–1966 Ali Aliev, 1959–1967 🇯🇵 Yuji Takada, 1974–1979 Vladimir Yumin, 1974–1979 🇺🇸 Bruce Baumgartner, 1984–1995

Team Championships

The list below includes unofficial championships won during the Olympic Games, although no official team statistics are kept during Olympic years.

47 World Level Championships

/ / 🇷🇺 / 🇷🇺 / 🇷🇺 / 🇷🇺 1959–2021

10 World Level Championships

🇺🇸 1904–2023

7 World Level Championships

🇹🇷 1948–1994

6 World Level Championships

🇮🇷 / 🇮🇷 / 🇮🇷 1956–2013

3 World Level Championships

🇯🇵 1964–2024

2 World Level Championships

🇫🇮 1920–1928 / 2003–2024

1 World Level Championship

1908 🇭🇺 1936 🇸🇪 1952