The men's 100 metres

100 metres

The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...

sprint event at the 1956 Olympic Games

1956 Summer Olympics

The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...

took place between November 23 and November 24. The final was won by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Bobby Morrow.

Heats

The fastest two runners in each of the twelve heats advanced to the quarterfinal round.

Heat one

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Ira Murchison Ira Murchison Ira James Murchison was an American athlete, winner of the gold medal in 4x100 m relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics....		10.67
2	Jan Jarzembowski		10.95
3	Hilmar Þorbjörnsson		11.12
4	Mario Colarossi		11.14
5	René Ahumada		11.26
6	Raja bin Ngah Ali		11.41

Heat two

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Mike Agostini Mike Agostini Mike Agostini is a former track and field athlete from Trinidad and Tobago. In 1954, he became the first athlete from that state to take a gold medal at what is now known as the Commonwealth Games when he won the 100 yards final in Vancouver, Canada on July 31.-References:* * * at Best of Trinidad...		10.98
2	Luigi Gnocchi		11.01
3	Titus Erinle		11.09
4	Jorge de Barros		11.15
5	Vanchak Voradilok		11.78
6	Roba Negousse		12.07

Heat three

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Maurice Rae		10.84
2	Abdul Khaliq		10.97
3	Manfred Steinbach		10.99
4	Rafael Romero Rafael Romero Rafael Romero Sandrea is a retired track and field athlete from Venezuela, who competed in the sprint events. He represented his native country in three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1956. Romero claimed two medals at the 1963 Pan American Games in Brazil.-References:*...		11.14
5	Evaristo Iglesias		11.50

Heat four

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Ben Nduga		10.88
2	Ken Box		10.96
3	Kyohei Ushio		11.09
4	Kesevan Soon		11.35
5	Jack Parrington		11.62

Heat five

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Marian Foik Marian Foik Marian Foik was a Polish athlete who mainly competed in the 100 metres.He competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan, participating in the 4 x 100 metre relay. With his team mates Andrzej Zieliński, Wiesław Maniak and Marian Dudziak, he won the silver medal....		10.88
2	Boris Tokarev		11.09
3	Franco Galbiati		11.13
4	Tom Robinson Tom Robinson Tom Robinson is an English singer-songwriter, bassist and radio presenter, better known for the hits "Glad to Be Gay", "2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with his Tom Robinson Band...		11.30
5	Jalal Gozal		11.45
6	James Roberts		11.45

Heat six

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Manfred Germar Manfred Germar Manfred Germar is a West German athlete who mainly competed in sprint events.He competed for the United Team of Germany in the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia where he won the bronze medal in the 4 x 100 metre relay with his team mates Lothar Knörzer, Leonhard Pohl and Heinz...		10.91
2	Ray Land		11.05
3	Keith Gardner Keith Gardner Keith Alvin Saint Hope Gardner was a Jamaican athlete who competed in the 110 metre hurdles, 100 metres, 200 metres and 400 metres....		11.22
4	Alain David		11.24
5	Emmanuel Putu		11.44
6	Beyene Legesse		11.94

Heat seven

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Leonid Bartenev Leonid Bartenev Leonid Vladimirovich Bartenev was a Soviet athlete who competed mainly in the 100 metres. He trained at Burevestnik in Kiev. He competed for the USSR in the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne in the 4 x 100 metre relay where he won the silver medal with his team mates Boris Tokarev, Yuriy...		10.93
2	Béla Goldoványi Béla Goldoványi Béla Goldoványi was a Hungarian athlete, who mainly competed in the 100 metres....		11.02
3	Clive Bonas		11.17
4	Gavin Carragher		11.36
5	Thomas Obi		11.47
6	Bjørn Nilsen Bjørn Nilsen Bjørn Nilsen is a Norwegian poet and television producer. His literary debut was the poetry collection Hvis jeg var trollmann from 1960. He was a member of the editorial board of the literary magazine Profil, a co-founder of The Norwegian Writers' Center , and a leader of the Norwegian Authors'...		11.58

Heat eight

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Hec Hogan		10.72
2	René Bonino		10.96
3	Géza Varasdi Géza Varasdi Géza Varasdi was a Hungarian athlete who mainly competed in the 100 metres. He was a member of the national team of Hungary between 1948 and 1956....		11.00
4	Akira Kiyofuji		11.00

Heat nine

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Thane Baker Thane Baker Walter Thane Baker is a former American athlete and winner of the gold medal in the 4x100 m relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, with a new world record of 39.5 seconds. At those Olympics Baker also won a silver medal in the 100-meter and a bronze in the 200-meter...		10.93
2	Edmund Turton Edmund Turton Edmund Turton is a retired athlete from Trinidad and Tobago who competed mainly in the middle distance events....		11.38
3	Sinnayah Karuppiah Jarabalan		11.56
4	Tan Eng Yoon		11.63

Heat ten

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Stan Levenson		10.94
2	Heinz Fütterer Heinz Fütterer Heinrich Ludwig Fütterer is a West German athlete, who mainly competed in sprint events. He was born in Illingen...		11.10
3	João Pires Sobrinho		11.14
4	Joe Goddard		11.19
5	Oliver Hunter		11.22
6	Ghulam Raziq		11.26

Heat eleven

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Edward Ajado		11.01
2	Roy Sandstrom		11.05
3	Dick Harding		11.20
4	Muhammad Sharif Butt		11.26
5	Abebe Hailou		11.54
6	Snay Wongchaoom		11.95

Heat twelve

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Bobby Morrow		10.90
2	Yuriy Konovalov		11.04
3	David Segal David Segal (athlete) David Hugh Segal was a British athlete who competed in the sprints. He had best times of 9.5 seconds for the 100 yards and 21.0 seconds for the 220 yards...		11.19
4	Phaibulya Vacharabhan		11.27
5	Lee Kah Fook		11.84

Quarterfinals

The fastest three runners in each of the four heats advanced to the semifinal round.

Heat one

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Bobby Morrow		10.55	=OR
2	Mike Agostini Mike Agostini Mike Agostini is a former track and field athlete from Trinidad and Tobago. In 1954, he became the first athlete from that state to take a gold medal at what is now known as the Commonwealth Games when he won the 100 yards final in Vancouver, Canada on July 31.-References:* * * at Best of Trinidad...		10.75
3	Maurice Rae		10.78
4	Béla Goldoványi Béla Goldoványi Béla Goldoványi was a Hungarian athlete, who mainly competed in the 100 metres....		10.95
5	Heinz Fütterer Heinz Fütterer Heinrich Ludwig Fütterer is a West German athlete, who mainly competed in sprint events. He was born in Illingen...		10.99
6	Ray Land		11.15

Heat two

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Ira Murchison Ira Murchison Ira James Murchison was an American athlete, winner of the gold medal in 4x100 m relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics....		10.55	=OR
2	Abdul Khaliq		10.78
3	Yuriy Konovalov		10.93
4	Luigi Gnocchi		10.96
5	Edmund Turton Edmund Turton Edmund Turton is a retired athlete from Trinidad and Tobago who competed mainly in the middle distance events....		11.37
6	Ben Nduga		12.95

Heat three

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Hec Hogan		10.78
2	Boris Tokarev		10.87
3	Stan Levenson		10.93
4	Jan Jarzembowski		10.98
5	Edward Ajado		11.02
6	Ken Box		11.45

Heat four

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Thane Baker Thane Baker Walter Thane Baker is a former American athlete and winner of the gold medal in the 4x100 m relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, with a new world record of 39.5 seconds. At those Olympics Baker also won a silver medal in the 100-meter and a bronze in the 200-meter...		10.62
2	Manfred Germar Manfred Germar Manfred Germar is a West German athlete who mainly competed in sprint events.He competed for the United Team of Germany in the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia where he won the bronze medal in the 4 x 100 metre relay with his team mates Lothar Knörzer, Leonhard Pohl and Heinz...		10.80
3	Marian Foik Marian Foik Marian Foik was a Polish athlete who mainly competed in the 100 metres.He competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan, participating in the 4 x 100 metre relay. With his team mates Andrzej Zieliński, Wiesław Maniak and Marian Dudziak, he won the silver medal....		10.83
4	Leonid Bartenev Leonid Bartenev Leonid Vladimirovich Bartenev was a Soviet athlete who competed mainly in the 100 metres. He trained at Burevestnik in Kiev. He competed for the USSR in the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne in the 4 x 100 metre relay where he won the silver medal with his team mates Boris Tokarev, Yuriy...		10.84
5	René Bonino		10.96
6	Roy Sandstrom		11.03

Semifinals

The fastest three runners in each of the two heats advanced to the final round.

Heat one

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Ira Murchison Ira Murchison Ira James Murchison was an American athlete, winner of the gold medal in 4x100 m relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics....		10.79
2	Mike Agostini Mike Agostini Mike Agostini is a former track and field athlete from Trinidad and Tobago. In 1954, he became the first athlete from that state to take a gold medal at what is now known as the Commonwealth Games when he won the 100 yards final in Vancouver, Canada on July 31.-References:* * * at Best of Trinidad...		10.79
3	Manfred Germar Manfred Germar Manfred Germar is a West German athlete who mainly competed in sprint events.He competed for the United Team of Germany in the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia where he won the bronze medal in the 4 x 100 metre relay with his team mates Lothar Knörzer, Leonhard Pohl and Heinz...		10.85
4	Abdul Khaliq		10.93
5	Stan Levenson		10.94
6	Yuriy Konovalov		11.11

Heat two

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time	Notes
1	Bobby Morrow		10.52	=OR
2	Thane Baker Thane Baker Walter Thane Baker is a former American athlete and winner of the gold medal in the 4x100 m relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, with a new world record of 39.5 seconds. At those Olympics Baker also won a silver medal in the 100-meter and a bronze in the 200-meter...		10.61
3	Hec Hogan		10.62
4	Maurice Rae		10.68
5	Marian Foik Marian Foik Marian Foik was a Polish athlete who mainly competed in the 100 metres.He competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan, participating in the 4 x 100 metre relay. With his team mates Andrzej Zieliński, Wiesław Maniak and Marian Dudziak, he won the silver medal....		10.84
6	Boris Tokarev		10.91

Final

Rank	Name	Nationality	Time (hand)	Notes
	Bobby Morrow		10.62
	Thane Baker Thane Baker Walter Thane Baker is a former American athlete and winner of the gold medal in the 4x100 m relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, with a new world record of 39.5 seconds. At those Olympics Baker also won a silver medal in the 100-meter and a bronze in the 200-meter...		10.77
	Hec Hogan		10.77
4	Ira Murchison Ira Murchison Ira James Murchison was an American athlete, winner of the gold medal in 4x100 m relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics....		10.79
5	Manfred Germar Manfred Germar Manfred Germar is a West German athlete who mainly competed in sprint events.He competed for the United Team of Germany in the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia where he won the bronze medal in the 4 x 100 metre relay with his team mates Lothar Knörzer, Leonhard Pohl and Heinz...		10.86
6	Mike Agostini Mike Agostini Mike Agostini is a former track and field athlete from Trinidad and Tobago. In 1954, he became the first athlete from that state to take a gold medal at what is now known as the Commonwealth Games when he won the 100 yards final in Vancouver, Canada on July 31.-References:* * * at Best of Trinidad...		10.88

Key: =OR = Equalled Olympic record; DQ = Disqualified