1956 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 100 m (men)

sport	athletics
discipline	100 meter run
gender	Men
Attendees	65 athletes from 32 countries
Competition location	Melbourne Cricket Ground
Competition phase	November 23, 1956 (heats / quarter-finals) November 24, 1956 (semi-finals / finals)
Medalist Bobby Morrow ( USA )   Thane Baker ( USA )   Hector Hogan ( AUS )

The men's 100-meter run at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne was held on November 23 and 24, 1956 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground . 65 athletes took part.

The American Bobby Morrow became Olympic champion . He won ahead of his compatriot Thane Baker . The Australian Hector Hogan won bronze .

The German Manfred Germar was fifth, his teammate Heinz Fütterer was eliminated in the quarter-finals, Manfred Steinbach failed in the preliminary run. Swiss and Austrian athletes did not take part.

Existing records

World record	10.1 s	Willie Williams ( USA )	Berlin , Germany	3rd August 1956
		Ira Murchison ( USA )	Berlin , Germany	4th August 1956
		Leamon King ( USA )	Ontario , USA	3rd August 1956
Olympic record	10.3 s	Eddie Tolan ( USA )	Los Angeles Olympic Final , USA	August 1, 1932

Conducting the competition

The runners started twelve heats on November 23. The two best runners qualified for the quarter-finals on the same day on which the three fastest athletes reached the semi-finals. The two preliminary rounds and the final were held on November 24th. In the semi-finals, the first three starters qualified for the final.

Note: The qualified athletes are highlighted in light blue.

Time schedule

November 23, 3.10 p.m .: Preliminaries
November 23, 5:05 p.m .: Quarter-finals
November 24, 3:45 p.m .: Semi-finals
November 24, 5:30 p.m .: Final

Note: All times are local Melbourne time (UTC + 10)

Prelims

Date: November 23, 1956, from 3:10 p.m.

Forward 1

Raja bin Ngah Ali was the first athlete to compete for the Malaya Federation .

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Ira Murchison	United States	10.5 s	10.67 s
2	Janusz Jarzembowski	Poland	10.7 s	10.95 s
3	Hilmar Þorbjörnsson	Iceland	10.9 s	11.12 s
4th	Mario Colarossi	Italy	10.9 s	11.14 s
5	René Ahumada	Mexico	11.1 s	11.26 s
6th	Raja bin Ngah Ali	Malaya	11.2 s	11.41 s

Forward 2

With Roba Negousse, the first athlete from Ethiopia took part in the Olympic Games.

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Mike Agostini	Trinidad and Tobago	10.7 s	10.98 s
2	Luigi Gnocchi	Italy	10.7 s	11.04 s
3	Titus Erinle	Nigeria	10.9 s	11.09 s
4th	Jorge de Barros	Brazil	10.9 s	11.15 s
5	Vanchak Voradilok	Thailand	11.5 s	11.78 s
6th	Roba Negousse	Ethiopia	11.8 s	12.07 s

Forward 3

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Maurice Rae	New Zealand	10.7 s	10.84 s
2	Abdul Khaliq	Pakistan	10.8 s	10.97 s
3	Manfred Steinbach	Germany	10.8 s	10.99 s
4th	Rafael Romero	Venezuela	10.9 s	11.14 s
5	Evaristo Iglesias	Cuba	11.3 s	11.50 s

Forward 4

Ben Nduga was the first Ugandan athlete to compete in the Olympics.

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Ben Nduga	Uganda	10.7 s	10.88 s
2	Ken Box	Great Britain	10.7 s	10.96 s
3	Kyohei Ushio	Japan	11.0 s	11.09 s
4th	Kesavan Soon	Singapore	11.4 s	11.35 s
5	Jack Parrington	Canada	11.6 s	11.62 s

Forward 5

Tom Robinson was the Bahamas' first Olympic athlete .
With James Roberts, Liberia's first athlete took part in the Olympic Games.

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Marian Foik	Poland	10.5 s	10.74 s
2	Boris Tokarev	Soviet Union	10.6 s	10.90 s
3	Franco Galbiati	Italy	10.9 s	11.00 s
4th	Tom Robinson	Bahamas	10.9 s	11.06 s
5	Jalal Gozal	Indonesia	10.9 s	11.09 s
6th	James Roberts	Liberia	11.3 s	11.45 s

Forward 6

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Manfred Germar	Germany	10.7 s	10.91 s
2	Ray Land	Australia	10.8 s	11.05 s
3	Keith Gardner	Jamaica	11.1 s	11.22 s
4th	Alain David	France	11.1 s	11.24 s
5	Emmanuel Putu	Liberia	11.3 s	11.44 s
6th	Beyene Legesse	Ethiopia	11.8 s	11.94 s

Forward 7

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Leonid Bartenew	Soviet Union	10.7 s	10.87 s
2	Béla Goldoványi	Hungary	10.8 s	10.88 s
3	Clive Bonas	Venezuela	10.9 s	10.99 s
4th	Gavin Carragher	Australia	10.9 s	10.98 s
5	Thomas Obi	Nigeria	11.0 s	11.10 s
6th	Bjørn Nilsen	Norway	11.0 s	11.11 s

Forward 8

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Hector Hogan	Australia	10.5 s	10.72 s
2	René Bonino	France	10.8 s	10.96 s
3	Géza Varasdi	Hungary	10.8 s	11.00 s
4th	Akira Kiyofuji	Japan	10.8 s	11.00 s

Forward 9

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Thane Baker	United States	10.7 s	10.93 s
2	Edmund Turton	Trinidad and Tobago	11.1 s	11.38 s
3	Sinnayah Jarabalan	Malaya	11.3 s	11.56 s
4th	Tan Eng Yoon	Singapore	11.4 s	11.63 s

Forward 10

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Stan Levenson	Canada	10.8 s	10.94 s
2	Heinz Fütterer	Germany	10.9 s	11.10 s
3	João Pires Sobrinho	Brazil	11.0 s	11.14 s
4th	Joe Goddard	Trinidad and Tobago	11.1 s	11.19 s
5	Oliver Hunter	British Guiana	11.1 s	11.22 s
6th	Ghulam Raziq	Pakistan	11.2 s	11.26 s

Forward 11

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Edward Ajado	Nigeria	10.8 s	11.01 s
2	Roy Sandstrom	Great Britain	10.8 s	11.05 s
3	Dick Harding	Canada	11.0 s	11.20 s
4th	Muhammad Sharif Butt	Pakistan	11.1 s	11.26 s
5	Abebe Hailou	Ethiopia	11.3 s	11.54 s
6th	Sneh Wongchaoom	Thailand	11.8 s	11.95 s

Forward 12

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Bobby Morrow	United States	10.4 s	10.47 s
2	Yuri Konovalov	Soviet Union	10.6 s	10.92 s
3	David Segal	Great Britain	10.9 s	11.02 s
4th	Paiboon Vacharapan	Thailand	11.3 s	11.57 s
5	Lee Kah Fook	Malaya	11.6 s	11.84 s

Quarter finals

Date: November 23, 1956, from 5:05 p.m.

Run 1

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Bobby Morrow	United States	10.3 s	10.55 s	ORe / wind: −1.4 m / s
2	Mike Agostini	Trinidad and Tobago	10.5 s	10.75 s
3	Maurice Rae	New Zealand	10.6 s	10.78 s
4th	Béla Goldoványi	Hungary	10.8 s	10.95 s
5	Heinz Fütterer	Germany	10.8 s	10.99 s
6th	Ray Land	Australia	11.0 s	11.15 s

Run 2

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Ira Murchison	United States	10.3 s	10.55 s	ORe / calm
2	Abdul Khaliq	Pakistan	10.5 s	10.78 s
3	Yuri Konovalov	Soviet Union	10.7 s	10.93 s
4th	Luigi Gnocchi	Italy	10.8 s	10.96 s
5	Edmund Turton	Trinidad and Tobago	11.2 s	11.37 s
6th	Ben Nduga	Uganda	12.8 s	12.95 s

Run 3

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Hector Hogan	Australia	10.5 s	10.78 s
2	Boris Tokarev	Soviet Union	10.7 s	10.87 s
3	Stan Levenson	Australia	10.8 s	10.93 s
4th	Janusz Jarzembowski	Poland	10.8 s	10.98 s
5	Edward Ajado	Nigeria	10.9 s	11.02 s
6th	Ken Box	Great Britain	11.3 s	11.45 s

Run 4

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Thane Baker	United States	10.4 s	10.62 s
2	Manfred Germar	Germany	10.6 s	10.80 s
3	Marian Foik	Poland	10.6 s	10.83 s
4th	Leonid Bartenew	Soviet Union	10.6 s	10.84 s
5	René Bonino	France	10.8 s	10.96 s
6th	Roy Sandstrom	Great Britain	10.9 s	11.03 s

Semifinals

Date: November 24, 1956, from 3:45 p.m.

Run 1

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Ira Murchison	United States	10.5 s	10.79 s
2	Mike Agostini	Trinidad and Tobago	10.5 s	10.79 s
3	Manfred Germar	Germany	10.6 s	10.85 s
4th	Abdul Khaliq	Pakistan	10.6 s	10.93 s
5	Stan Levenson	Canada	10.7 s	10.94 s
6th	Yuri Konovalov	Soviet Union	10.8 s	11.11 s

Run 2

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Bobby Morrow	United States	10.3 s	10.52 s	ORe
2	Thane Baker	United States	10.4 s	10.61 s
3	Hector Hogan	Australia	10.5 s	10.62 s
4th	Maurice Rae	New Zealand	10.5 s	10.68 s
5	Marian Foik	Poland	10.6 s	10.84 s
6th	Boris Tokarev	Soviet Union	10.7 s	10.91 s

final

Olympic Champion Bobby Morrow (USA)

Date: November 24, 1956, from 5.30 p.m.

The American Dave Sime was considered to be one of the fastest sprinters of 1956 . At the US championships over 100 meters , however, Sime was beaten by Bobby Morrow. In the 200 meter race , Sime suffered an injury to his Achilles tendon and was unable to take part in the US Olympic eliminations. Morrow won the 100 and 200 meters there and became the favorite. Ira Murchison, co-owner of the world record, was also rated highly .
In the interim, Morrow set the existing Olympic record despite a headwind of 1.4 m / s . Murchison also managed to do this in his intermediate run, albeit with no wind.
In the final there was a headwind of 5.0 m / s, which was certainly an advantage for Morrow with his physical strength. The fastest from the starting blocks was the Australian Hector Hogan, who kept the top 40 meters. Then Morrow passed him and became the Olympic champion by a clear margin. In the end, the US-American Thane Baker made a strong showing and by throwing his chest across the finish line he won the silver medal ahead of Hogan, who, to the delight of the audience, won bronze in front of Murchison. Fifth place went to the German Manfred Germar.
The gaps in ranks two to four were extremely close and, according to the unofficial electronic time measurement, were only two hundredths of a second. The officially reported time of 10.5 s for the second does not appear to be correct and should actually be 10.6 s as for Hogan and Murchison. The times achieved are put into perspective in view of the enormous headwind.

Bobby Morrow won the tenth gold medal for the USA in the 13th Olympic final.
Hector Hogan was the first Australian medalist in his country to win the 100 meters.

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Bobby Morrow	United States	10.5 s	10.62 s	Wind: −5.0 m / s
2	Thane Baker	United States	10.5 s	10.77 s
3	Hector Hogan	Australia	10.6 s	10.77 s
4th	Ira Murchison	United States	10.6 s	10.79 s
5	Manfred Germar	Germany	10.7 s	10.86 s
6th	Mike Agostini	Trinidad and Tobago	10.7 s	10.88 s

literature

• Ekkehard zur Megede , The History of Olympic Athletics, Volume 2: 1948–1968, Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 1st edition 1969, p. 121f

Web links

• SportsReference 100 m , accessed October 1, 2017
• Official report p. 285f, engl. (PDF), accessed October 1, 2017
• 1956 Melbourne Olympic Men's 100m final Olimpiadas Melbourne 1956 final 100 metros lisos masculinos , published January 11, 2013 on youtube.com, accessed October 1, 2017

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Ekkehard zur Megede , The History of Olympic Athletics, Volume 2: 1948–1968, Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 2nd edition 1970, p. 122
2. ↑ [htthttp: //library.la84.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1956/OR1956.pdf Official Report] P. 284, engl. (PDF)
3. ^ Official report p. 285, engl. (PDF)
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Official report p. 286, engl. (PDF)