The Men's Freestyle 52 kg at the 1980 Summer Olympics as part of the wrestling program were held at the Athletics Fieldhouse, Central Sports Club of the Army.
Medalists
Tournament results
The competition used a form of negative points tournament, with negative points given for any result short of a fall. Accumulation of 6 negative points eliminated the loser wrestler. When only three wrestlers remain, a special final round is used to determine the order of the medals.
Legend
TF — Won by Fall
IN — Won by Opponent Injury
DQ — Won by Passivity
D1 — Won by Passivity, the winner is passive too
D2 — Both wrestlers lost by Passivity
FF — Won by Forfeit
DNA — Did not appear
TPP — Total penalty points
MPP — Match penalty points
Penalties
0 — Won by Fall, Technical Superiority, Passivity, Injury and Forfeit
0.5 — Won by Points, 8-11 points difference
1 — Won by Points, 1-7 points difference
2 — Won by Passivity, the winner is passive too
3 — Lost by Points, 1-7 points difference
3.5 — Lost by Points, 8-11 points difference
4 — Lost by Fall, Technical Superiority, Passivity, Injury and Forfeit
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Final
Results from the preliminary round are carried forward into the final (shown in yellow).