1956 United States Olympic Trials (track and field)

The men's 1956 United States Olympic Trials for track and field for men were held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, between June 28-9. The 20 kilometer walk trials were held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on August 26, and the 50 kilometer walk trials were held on September 16 in Baltimore, Maryland. Two marathon trials were held between two races, the AAU National Championships in Yonkers, New York, on September 30 and the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, on April 19. As it turned out, the three selectees were the top 3 Americans at both events. The 10,000 meters was held in Bakersfield, California on June 23.

1956 United States Olympic Track And Field Trials
DatesJuly 1–2
Host cityLos Angeles, United States
VenueLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
LevelSenior
TypeOutdoor
1952
1960

The decathlon was held two weeks after the trials on July 13-4 in Crawfordsville, Indiana allowing athletes to make attempts in individual events. Rafer Johnson qualified in the long jump but didn't jump in Melbourne. Bob Richards qualified in the Decathlon after winning the pole vault in his attempt to repeat as Olympic pole vault champion. He did compete in both events in Melbourne, successfully winning the pole vault, but after scoring in 11th place through nine events, he chose not to suffer through a 1500 and did not finish. The process was organized by the AAU.

The Women's Olympic Trials were held separately in Washington, D.C. between July 15-6.[1]

Men's results

Key:  Athlete without "A" standard, not selected.

Men track events

Event Gold Silver Bronze
100 meters Bobby Morrow10.3 (10.28) Ira Murchison10.4 (10.32) Thane Baker10.4 (10.36)
200 meters Bobby Morrow20.6 =WR Thane Baker20.7 Andy Stanfield20.9
400 meters Lou Jones45.2 WR Jim Lea45.7 Charlie Jenkins46.1
800 meters Tom Courtney1:46.4 NR Arnie Sowell1:46.9 Lon Spurrier1:47.6
1500 meters Jerome Walters3:47.6 Ted Wheeler3:48.0 Don Bowden3:48.6
5000 meters Bill Dellinger14:26.0 NR Curtis Stone14:29.0 Max Truex14:30.8
10,000 meters Max Truex30:52.0 Dick Hart31:06.3 Gordon McKenzie31:06.8
110 m hurdles Jack Davis13.8 Lee Calhoun13.9 Joel Shankle14.1
400 m hurdles Glenn Davis49.5 WR Eddie Southern49.7 Josh Culbreath49.9
3000 m s'chase Phil Coleman9:00.3 Charles Jones9:00.6 Horace Ashenfelter9:02.4
20K racewalk Alex Oakley  Canada
James Hewson
1:39:06
1:39:16
Henry Laskau1:39:45 Bruce MacDonald1:39:56
50K racewalk Adolf Weinacker4:38:58 Leo Sjogren4:44:18 James Hewson4:51:03
Boston Marathon Antti Viskari  Finland
John J. Kelley
2:14:14
2:14:33
Eino Oskanen  Finland
Nick Costes
2:17:56
2:18:01
Dean Thackeray2:20:24
Yonkers Marathon John J. Kelley
2:24:52.2 Dean Thackeray2:31:14 Nick Costes2:31:52

Men field events

Event Gold Silver Bronze
High jump Charles Dumas2.15 m (7 ft 12 in)WR Vernon Wilson2.07 m (6 ft 9 14 in) Phil Reavis2.07 m (6 ft 9 14 in)
Pole vault Bob Richards4.60 m (15 ft 1 in) George Mattos4.53 m (14 ft 10 14 in) Jim Graham4.48 m (14 ft 8 14 in)
Long jump John Bennett
Greg Bell
7.83 m (25 ft 8 14 in)
7.83 m (25 ft 8 14 in)
Rafer Johnson7.70 m (25 ft 3 in)
Triple jump Ira Davis15.66 m (51 ft 4 12 in) NR George Shaw15.23 m (49 ft 11 12 in) Bill Sharpe15.16 m (49 ft 8 34 in)
Shot put Parry O'Brien18.54 m (60 ft 9 34 in) Ken Bantum18.15 m (59 ft 6 12 in) Bill Nieder17.71 m (58 ft 1 in)
Discus throw Fortune Gordien57.21 m (187 ft 8 in) Al Oerter54.44 m (178 ft 7 in) Ron Drummond54.06 m (177 ft 4 in)
Hammer throw Al Hall60.24 m (197 ft 7 in) Hal Connolly60.03 m (196 ft 11 in) Cliff Blair59.91 m (196 ft 6 in)
Javelin throw Cy Young74.65 m (244 ft 10 in) Phil Conley74.40 m (244 ft 1 in) Ben Garcia71.45 m (234 ft 4 in)
Decathlon Rafer Johnson7755 Milt Campbell7559 Bob Richards7054

Women's results

Women track events

Event Gold Silver Bronze
100 meters Isabelle Daniels11.5 =NR Mae Faggs11.6 Lucinda Williams11.7
200 meters Mae Faggs24.2 Wilma Rudolph24.2 Meredith Ellis25.2
80 m hurdles Barbara Mueller11.9 Constance Darnowski12.0 Irene Robertson12.1

Women field events

Event Gold Silver Bronze
High jump Mildred McDaniel1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) Anne Flynn1.55 m (5 ft 1 in) Veneda Thomas1.53 m (5 ft 0 in)
Long jump Margaret Matthews6.02 m (19 ft 9 in)NR Willye White5.88 m (19 ft 3 14 in) Joan Wolski5.49 m (18 ft 0 in)
Shot put Earlene Brown14.26 m (46 ft 9 14 in)NR Lois Testa13.88 m (45 ft 6 14 in) Paula Deubel12.75 m (41 ft 9 34 in)
Discus throw Earlene Brown44.31 m (145 ft 4 in) NR Pamela Kurrell43.78 m (143 ft 7 in) Marjorie Larney43.40 m (142 ft 4 in)
Javelin throw Karen Anderson46.75 m (153 ft 4 in) Marjorie Larney43.78 m (143 ft 7 in) Amelia Wershoven43.79 m (143 ft 8 in)

References

  1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-06-20. Retrieved 2019-12-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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