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.[1][2] For the first time, the butterfly stroke was contested as a separate event. Australia dominated the medal standings with a total of 8 out of a possible 13 gold medals, eventually finishing with 14 medals overall.
| Swimming at the Games of the XVI Olympiad | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre |
| Dates | 29 November – 7 December 1956 |
| No. of events | 13 |
| Competitors | 235 from 33 nations |
Medal table
edit| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Australia (AUS) | 8 | 4 | 2 | 14 |
| 2 |  United States (USA) | 2 | 4 | 5 | 11 |
| 3 |  Japan (JPN) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 |  Great Britain (GBR) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
 United Team of Germany (EUA) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 6 |  Hungary (HUN) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 7 |  Soviet Union (URS) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 8 |  South Africa (RSA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (8 entries) | 13 | 13 | 13 | 39 | |
Medalists
editMen's events
edit| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 m freestyle |
Jon Henricks Australia |
55.4 (WR) | John Devitt Australia |
55.8 | Gary Chapman Australia |
56.7 |
| 400 m freestyle |
Murray Rose Australia |
4:27.3 (WR) | Tsuyoshi Yamanaka Japan |
4:30.4 | George Breen United States |
4:32.5 |
| 1500 m freestyle |
Murray Rose Australia |
17:58.9 | Tsuyoshi Yamanaka Japan |
18:00.3 | George Breen United States |
18:08.2 |
| 100 m backstroke |
David Theile Australia |
1:02.2 (WR) | John Monckton Australia |
1:03.2 | Frank McKinney United States |
1:04.5 |
| 200 m breaststroke |
Masaru Furukawa Japan |
2:34.7 | Masahiro Yoshimura Japan |
2:36.7 | Kharis Yunichev Soviet Union |
2:36.8 |
| 200 m butterfly |
William Yorzyk United States |
2:19.3 | Takashi Ishimoto Japan |
2:23.8 | György Tumpek Hungary |
2:23.9 |
| 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay |
Australia (AUS) Kevin O'Halloran John Devitt Murray Rose Jon Henricks |
8:23.6 (WR) | United States (USA) Dick Hanley George Breen Bill Woolsey Ford Konno |
8:31.5 | Soviet Union (URS) Vitaly Sorokin Vladimir Struzhanov Gennady Nikolayev Boris Nikitin |
8:34.7 |
Women's events
edit| Games | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 m freestyle |
Dawn Fraser Australia |
1:02.0 (WR) | Lorraine Crapp Australia |
1:02.3 | Faith Leech Australia |
1:05.1 |
| 400 m freestyle |
Lorraine Crapp Australia |
4:54.6 (OR) | Dawn Fraser Australia |
5:02.5 | Sylvia Ruuska United States |
5:07.1 |
| 100 m backstroke |
Judy Grinham Great Britain |
1:12.9 (WR) | Carin Cone United States |
1:12.9 (WR) | Margaret Edwards Great Britain |
1:13.1 |
| 200 m breaststroke |
Ursula Happe United Team of Germany |
2:53.1 (OR) | Éva Székely Hungary |
2:54.8 | Eva-Maria Elsen United Team of Germany |
2:55.1 |
| 100 m butterfly |
Shelley Mann United States |
1:11.0 (OR) | Nancy Ramey United States |
1:11.9 | Mary Sears United States |
1:14.4 |
| 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay |
Australia (AUS) Dawn Fraser Faith Leech Sandra Morgan Lorraine Crapp |
4:17.1 (WR) | United States (USA) Sylvia Ruuska Shelley Mann Nancy Simons Joan Rosazza |
4:19.2 | South Africa (RSA) Natalie Myburgh Susan Roberts Moira Abernethy Jeanette Myburgh |
4:25.7 |
Participating nations
edit235 swimmers from 33 nations competed.[1]
|
References
edit- ^ a b "Swimming at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
- ^ "Olympedia – Swimming at the 1956 Summer Olympics". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 17 December 2023.