Swimming at the 1956 Summer Olympics
Encyclopedia
At the 1956 Summer Olympics
in Melbourne
, 13 swimming
events were contested, seven for men and six for women. There was a total of 235 participants from 33 countries competing. For the first time, the butterfly stroke
was contested as a separate event. Australia
dominated the medal standings with a total of 14 medals.
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...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, 13 swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
events were contested, seven for men and six for women. There was a total of 235 participants from 33 countries competing. For the first time, the butterfly stroke
Butterfly stroke
The butterfly is a swimming stroke swum on the breast, with both arms moving simultaneously. The butterfly kick was developed separately, and is also known as the "dolphin kick"...
was contested as a separate event. Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
dominated the medal standings with a total of 14 medals.
Medal table
| 1 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 14 | |
| 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 11 | |
| 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | |
| 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Men's events
| 100 m freestyle | 55.4 (WR) | 55.8 | 56.7 | |||
| 400 m freestyle | 4:27.3 (WR) | 4:30.4 | 4:32.5 | |||
| 1500 m freestyle | 17:58.9 | 18:00.3 | 18:08.2 | |||
| 100 m backstroke | 1:02.2 (WR) | 1:03.2 | 1:04.5 | |||
| 200 m breaststroke | 2:34.7 | 2:36.7 | 2:36.8 | |||
| 200 m butterfly | 2:19.3 | 2:23.8 | 2:23.9 | |||
| 4×200 m freestyle relay | Kevin O'Halloran Kevin O'Halloran Kevin O'Halloran was an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1950s, who won a gold medal in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. The first Western Australian to win Olympic gold, O'Halloran learnt to swim in his home town of Katanning... John Devitt John Devitt John Thomas Devitt was an Australian sprint freestyle swimmer of the 1960s, who won a gold medal in the 100 m freestyle at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. He won in controversial circumstances, being awarded the gold medal despite the timekeepers recording a slower time than the silver medallist... Murray Rose Murray Rose Iain Murray Rose AM was born on 6 January 1939 in Nairn, Scotland, but he moved to Australia with his family at an early age after World War II. He took up swimming as a boy and was an Olympic Games champion at age 17.... Jon Henricks Jon Henricks John Malcolm Henricks started his swimming career as a distance swimmer, scoring his first real successes in 1952 when he came in 3rd in the Australian 1500 meters, 2nd in the 800, and won the 400 meters. The distance work proved too arduous, perhaps due to a prolonged ear infection that kept... |
8:23.6 (WR) | Dick Hanley Dick Hanley (swimmer) Richard Dennis "Dick" Hanley was an American swimmer. Hanley won a silver medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Hanley attended the University of Michigan where he was a varsity swimmer.... George Breen George Breen George Breen is a retired freestyle swimmer from the United States, who has won four Olympic medals in his career. Breen twice broke the world record in the 1500 m freestyle.... Bill Woolsey Bill Woolsey William Tripp "Bill" Woolsey was an American swimmer. Woolsey won a gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki and a silver medal in the same event four years later in Melbourne.-References:... Ford Konno Ford Konno Ford Hiroshi Konno is a former freestyle swimmer from the United States, who swam at McKinley High School and the Ohio State University.... |
8:31.5 | Vitali Sorokin Vladimir Struzhanov Gennadi Nikolaev Boris Nikitin |
8:34.7 |
Women's events
| 100 m freestyle Swimming at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metre freestyle The women's 100 metre freestyle event at the 1956 Olympic Games took place between November 29 and 1. This swimming event used freestyle swimming, which means that the method of the stroke is not regulated . Nearly all swimmers use the front crawl or a variant of that stroke... |
1:02.0 (WR) | 1:02.3 | 1:05.1 | |||
| 400 m freestyle Swimming at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Women's 400 metre freestyle The women's 400 metre freestyle event at the 1956 Olympic Games took place between December 5 and 7. This swimming event used freestyle swimming, which means that the method of the stroke is not regulated . Nearly all swimmers use the front crawl or a variant of that stroke... |
4:54.6 (OR) | 5:02.5 | 5:07.1 | |||
| 100 m backstroke Swimming at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metre backstroke The women's 100 metre backstroke event at the 1956 Olympic Games took place December 5. This swimming event used backstroke. Because an Olympic size swimming pool is 50 metres long, this race consisted of two lengths of the pool.-Medalists:-Final:... |
1:12.9 (WR) | 1:12.9 (=WR) | 1:13.1 | |||
| 200 m breaststroke Swimming at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Women's 200 metre breaststroke The women's 200 metre breaststroke event at the 1952 Olympic Games took place between November 29 and November 30. This swimming event used the breaststroke... |
2:53.1 (OR) | 2:54.8 | 2:55.1 | |||
| 100 m butterfly Swimming at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metre butterfly The women's 100 metre butterfly event at the 1956 Olympic Games took place on December 3 and December 5. This swimming event used the butterfly stroke... |
1:11.0 (OR) | 1:11.9 | 1:14.4 | |||
| 4×100 m freestyle relay Swimming at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Women's 4 x 100 metre freestyle relay The women's 4×100 metre freestyle relay event at the 1956 Olympic Games took place on December 4 and 6. This swimming event used freestyle as a relay, with swimmers typically using the front crawl. Because an Olympic size swimming pool is 50 metres long, each of the four swimmers completed two... |
Dawn Fraser Dawn Fraser Dawn Fraser AO, MBE is an Australian champion swimmer. She is one of only two swimmers to win the same Olympic event three times – in her case the 100 meters freestyle.... Faith Leech Faith Leech Faith Yvonne Leech is a former Australian freestyle swimmer who won gold in the 4 × 100 metres freestyle relay and bronze in the 100 m freestyle at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.A tall and lean swimmer known for her elegant technique, Leech started swimming as a... Sandra Morgan Sandra Morgan Sandra Anne Morgan is a former Australian freestyle swimmer, who won gold in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. At the age of 14 years and 6 months, she became the youngest Australian to win an Olympic gold medal, a record that still stands... Lorraine Crapp Lorraine Crapp Lorraine Crapp is a former Olympic swimming champion representing Australia. She competed in two Olympic Games — the 1956 Summer Olympics and the 1960 Summer Olympics. She won two Olympic gold medals in 1956... |
4:17.1 (WR) | Sylvia Ruuska Sylvia Ruuska Sylvia Elina Ruuska is a retired medley and freestyle swimmer from the United States, who won two Olympic medals at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia when she was aged fourteen. She captured silver with the women's relay team in the 4x100 m freestyle and bronze in the individual 400... Shelley Mann Shelley Mann Shelley Isabel Mann is a former butterfly swimmer from the United States. At the 1956 Summer Olympics she won the gold medal in the 100 m butterfly competition and was a member of the relay team that won the silver medal for the 100 m freestyle.Mann caught polio aged six and took up swimming to... Nancy Simons Nancy Simons Nancy Joan Simons-Peterson is a former American swimmer. She represented the United States as an eighteen-year-old at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, where she won a silver medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay with Sylvia Ruuska, Shelley Mann, and Joan Alderson-Rosazza... Joan Alderson-Rosazza Joan Alderson-Rosazza Joan Ann Alderson-Rosazza was an American swimmer. Alderson-Rosazza won a bronze medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki and a silver medal in the same event four years later in Melbourne.... |
4:19.2 | Natalie Myburgh Susan Roberts Moira Abernethy Jeanette Myburgh |
4:25.7 |