Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's 1500 metres
November 24, 2023
The men's 1500 metres was an event at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, with the final held on Saturday, December 1, 1956.[1] There were a total number of 37 participants from 22 nations. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Ron Delany of Ireland, the nation's first 1500 metres medal. The silver medalist was Klaus Richtzenhain, the only medalist in the event for the United Team of Germany. John Landy took bronze, Australia's first medal in the event since 1896.
Among the non-qualifiers for the final were defending champion Josy Barthel, future silver medalist Michel Jazy and eventual marathon champion Mamo.
The final had twelve men toe the line. Uniquely, Murray Halberg used a sprinter's crouched start in lane 1 and sprinted into the lead from the gun. In future years, this kind of start would become forbidden in a long race. Halberg held that lead until there were two laps to go where he was passed in a rush by Mervyn Lincoln running in front of a home crowd. Lincoln held the lead until just after the bell when he was swallowed up by a rush led by Brian Hewson. Ten men went around Lincoln and he was cooked. Klaus Richtzenhain was the next to follow with Halberg making one more rush down the backstretch before he too was cooked. From tenth place, Ron Delany began picking off runners on the backstretch, as Halberg slowed, Delany used the traffic to step into fifth place at the start of the final turn. Passing in lane 2, Delany ran around the field, catching Hewson at the head of the straightaway. Hewson looked helplessly at Delany as he passed. Fighting out of the group Delany passed at the start of the turn, another home town favorite John Landy chased from behind, still in sixth at the head of the straight. With a stiff, upright sprinting style, Delany pulled away from the field. Hewson struggled down the final straight, watching Richtzenhain run past on the outside. Landy made a late final charge in lane 3 but just came up short in trying to catch Richtzenhain for silver.
Backgroundedit
This was the 13th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Two finalists from the 1952 Games returned: gold medalist Josy Barthel of Luxembourg and eighth-place finisher Ingvar Ericsson of Sweden. The world record had changed hands six times since the 1952 Games; three of the men who had had it but were surpassed (László Tábori of Hungary, John Landy of Australia, and Gunnar Nielsen of Denmark) competed in Melbourne, along with the man who still held it (István Rózsavölgyi of Hungary). Five men had run a sub-four minute mile; the first to do so (Roger Bannister of Great Britain, who had finished fourth in this event in 1952) had retired, but three of those men (Tábori, Landy, and Brian Hewson, also of Great Britain) competed.[2]
Ethiopia and Pakistan each made their first appearance in the event; Germany competed as the United Team of Germany for the first time. The United States made its 13th appearance, the only nation to have competed in the men's 1500 metres at each Games to that point.
Competition formatedit
After a one-Games stint at three rounds in 1952, the 1956 competition returned to two rounds. There were three heats with 15 runners each (before withdrawals), with the top four runners in each advancing to the typical 12-man final race.[2][3]
Recordsedit
These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1956 Summer Olympics.
During the final, Ron Delany set a new Olympic record at 3:41.2. The top ten men in the final all surpassed the old Olympic record; the eleventh man matched it.
"Official Report" (PDF). 1958. p. 296. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
November 24, 2023
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The men s 1500 metres was an event at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne Australia with the final held on Saturday December 1 1956 1 There were a total number of 37 participants from 22 nations The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress The event was won by Ron Delany of Ireland the nation s first 1500 metres medal The silver medalist was Klaus Richtzenhain the only medalist in the event for the United Team of Germany John Landy took bronze Australia s first medal in the event since 1896 Men s 1500 metresat the Games of the XVI OlympiadOlympic AthleticsVenueMelbourne Cricket GroundDatesNovember 29 semifinals December 1 final Competitors37 from 22 nationsWinning time3 41 2 ORMedalistsRon Delany IrelandKlaus Richtzenhain United Team of GermanyJohn Landy Australia 19521960 Video on YouTube Official Video 13 13 Contents 1 Summary 2 Background 3 Competition format 4 Records 5 Schedule 6 Results 6 1 Semifinals 6 1 1 Semifinal 1 6 1 2 Semifinal 2 6 1 3 Semifinal 3 6 1 4 Overall results for semifinals 6 2 Final 7 References 8 External linksSummary editAmong the non qualifiers for the final were defending champion Josy Barthel future silver medalist Michel Jazy and eventual marathon champion Mamo The final had twelve men toe the line Uniquely Murray Halberg used a sprinter s crouched start in lane 1 and sprinted into the lead from the gun In future years this kind of start would become forbidden in a long race Halberg held that lead until there were two laps to go where he was passed in a rush by Mervyn Lincoln running in front of a home crowd Lincoln held the lead until just after the bell when he was swallowed up by a rush led by Brian Hewson Ten men went around Lincoln and he was cooked Klaus Richtzenhain was the next to follow with Halberg making one more rush down the backstretch before he too was cooked From tenth place Ron Delany began picking off runners on the backstretch as Halberg slowed Delany used the traffic to step into fifth place at the start of the final turn Passing in lane 2 Delany ran around the field catching Hewson at the head of the straightaway Hewson looked helplessly at Delany as he passed Fighting out of the group Delany passed at the start of the turn another home town favorite John Landy chased from behind still in sixth at the head of the straight With a stiff upright sprinting style Delany pulled away from the field Hewson struggled down the final straight watching Richtzenhain run past on the outside Landy made a late final charge in lane 3 but just came up short in trying to catch Richtzenhain for silver Background editThis was the 13th appearance of the event which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics Two finalists from the 1952 Games returned gold medalist Josy Barthel of Luxembourg and eighth place finisher Ingvar Ericsson of Sweden The world record had changed hands six times since the 1952 Games three of the men who had had it but were surpassed Laszlo Tabori of Hungary John Landy of Australia and Gunnar Nielsen of Denmark competed in Melbourne along with the man who still held it Istvan Rozsavolgyi of Hungary Five men had run a sub four minute mile the first to do so Roger Bannister of Great Britain who had finished fourth in this event in 1952 had retired but three of those men Tabori Landy and Brian Hewson also of Great Britain competed 2 Ethiopia and Pakistan each made their first appearance in the event Germany competed as the United Team of Germany for the first time The United States made its 13th appearance the only nation to have competed in the men s 1500 metres at each Games to that point Competition format editAfter a one Games stint at three rounds in 1952 the 1956 competition returned to two rounds There were three heats with 15 runners each before withdrawals with the top four runners in each advancing to the typical 12 man final race 2 3 Records editThese were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1956 Summer Olympics World record nbsp Istvan Rozsavolgyi HUN 3 40 6 Tata Hungary 3 August 1956Olympic record nbsp Josy Barthel LUX 3 45 2 Helsinki Finland 26 July 1952During the final Ron Delany set a new Olympic record at 3 41 2 The top ten men in the final all surpassed the old Olympic record the eleventh man matched it Schedule editAll times are Australian Eastern Standard Time UTC 10 Date Time RoundThursday 29 November 1956 16 30 SemifinalsSaturday 1 December 1956 16 15 FinalResults editSemifinals edit Semifinal 1 edit Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Klaus Richtzenhain nbsp United Team of Germany 3 46 6 Q2 Stanislav Jungwirth nbsp Czechoslovakia 3 46 6 Q3 Ian Boyd nbsp Great Britain 3 47 0 Q4 Murray Halberg nbsp New Zealand 3 47 2 Q5 Istvan Rozsavolgyi nbsp Hungary 3 49 46 Andre Ballieux nbsp Belgium 3 49 87 Michel Jazy nbsp France 3 50 08 Ted Wheeler nbsp United States 3 50 19 Jonas Pipyne nbsp Soviet Union 3 50 610 Josy Barthel nbsp Luxembourg 3 50 611 Mamo Wolde nbsp Ethiopia 3 51 0 Jim Bailey nbsp Australia DNSPhol Jaiswang nbsp Thailand DNSDimitrios Konstantinidis nbsp Greece DNSJoseph Narmath nbsp Liberia DNSSemifinal 2 edit Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Mervyn Lincoln nbsp Australia 3 45 4 Q2 Kenneth Wood nbsp Great Britain 3 46 6 Q3 Ron Delany nbsp Ireland 3 47 4 Q4 Laszlo Tabori nbsp Hungary 3 48 0 Q5 Ingvar Ericsson nbsp Sweden 3 49 06 Yevgeny Sokolov nbsp Soviet Union 3 49 27 Evangelos Depastas nbsp Greece 3 52 08 Olavi Salsola nbsp Finland 3 55 09 Gunther Dohrow nbsp United Team of Germany 3 58 010 Ramon Sandoval nbsp Chile 3 58 111 Donald Bowden nbsp United States 3 59 712 Emile Leva nbsp Belgium 4 06 013 Sank Ok Sim nbsp South Korea 4 09 014 Mahmoud Jan nbsp Pakistan 4 15 015 Somnuek Srisombat nbsp Thailand 4 30 0Semifinal 3 edit Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Neville Scott nbsp New Zealand 3 48 0 Q2 Brian Hewson nbsp Great Britain 3 48 0 Q3 John Landy nbsp Australia 3 48 6 Q4 Gunnar Nielsen nbsp Denmark 3 48 6 Q5 Dan Waern nbsp Sweden 3 48 86 Gianfranco Baraldi nbsp Italy 3 52 07 Sergey Soukhanov nbsp Soviet Union 3 53 08 Jerome Walters nbsp United States 3 55 79 Georgios Papavassiliou nbsp Greece 3 57 010 Eduardo Fontecilla nbsp Chile 3 58 6 Siegfried Herrmann nbsp United Team of Germany DNF Muhammad Anwar nbsp Pakistan DNSAudun Boysen nbsp Norway DNSGeorge Johnson nbsp Liberia DNSVelisa Mugosa nbsp Yugoslavia DNSOverall results for semifinals edit Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes1 Mervyn Lincoln nbsp Australia 3 45 4 Q2 Stanislav Jungwirth nbsp Czechoslovakia 3 46 6 QKlaus Richtzenhain nbsp United Team of Germany 3 46 6 QKenneth Wood nbsp Great Britain 3 46 6 Q5 Ian Boyd nbsp Great Britain 3 47 0 Q6 Murray Halberg nbsp New Zealand 3 47 2 Q7 Ron Delany nbsp Ireland 3 47 4 Q8 Brian Hewson nbsp Great Britain 3 48 0 QNeville Scott nbsp New Zealand 3 48 0 QLaszlo Tabori nbsp Hungary 3 48 0 Q11 John Landy nbsp Australia 3 48 6 QGunnar Nielsen nbsp Denmark 3 48 6 Q13 Dan Waern nbsp Sweden 3 48 814 Ingvar Ericsson nbsp Sweden 3 49 015 Yevgeny Sokolov nbsp Soviet Union 3 49 216 Istvan Rozsavolgyi nbsp Hungary 3 49 417 Andre Ballieux nbsp Belgium 3 49 818 Michel Jazy nbsp France 3 50 019 Ted Wheeler nbsp United States 3 50 120 Jonas Pipyne nbsp Soviet Union 3 50 6Josy Barthel nbsp Luxembourg 3 50 622 Mamo Wolde nbsp Ethiopia 3 51 023 Gianfranco Baraldi nbsp Italy 3 52 0Evangelos Depastas nbsp Greece 3 52 025 Sergey Soukhanov nbsp Soviet Union 3 53 026 Olavi Salsola nbsp Finland 3 55 027 Jerome Walters nbsp United States 3 55 728 Georgios Papavassiliou nbsp Greece 3 57 029 Gunther Dohrow nbsp United Team of Germany 3 58 030 Ramon Sandoval nbsp Chile 3 58 131 Eduardo Fontecilla nbsp Chile 3 58 632 Donald Bowden nbsp United States 3 59 733 Emile Leva nbsp Belgium 4 06 034 Sank Ok Sim nbsp South Korea 4 09 035 Mahmoud Jan nbsp Pakistan 4 15 036 Somnuek Srisombat nbsp Thailand 4 30 0 Siegfried Herrmann nbsp United Team of Germany DNF Muhammad Anwar nbsp Pakistan DNSJim Bailey nbsp Australia DNSAudun Boysen nbsp Norway DNSPhol Jaiswang nbsp Thailand DNSGeorge Johnson nbsp Liberia DNSDimitrios Konstantinidis nbsp Greece DNSVelisa Mugosa nbsp Yugoslavia DNSJoseph Narmath nbsp Liberia DNSFinal edit Rank Athlete Nation Time Notes nbsp Ron Delany nbsp Ireland 3 41 2 OR nbsp Klaus Richtzenhain nbsp United Team of Germany 3 42 0 nbsp John Landy nbsp Australia 3 42 04 Laszlo Tabori nbsp Hungary 3 42 45 Brian Hewson nbsp Great Britain 3 42 66 Stanislav Jungwirth nbsp Czechoslovakia 3 42 67 Neville Scott nbsp New Zealand 3 42 88 Ian Boyd nbsp Great Britain 3 43 09 Kenneth Wood nbsp Great Britain 3 44 310 Gunnar Nielsen nbsp Denmark 3 45 011 Murray Halberg nbsp New Zealand 3 45 212 Mervyn Lincoln nbsp Australia 3 51 9References edit Athletics at the 1956 Melbourne Games Men s 1500 metres sports reference com Archived from the original on 17 April 2020 Retrieved 28 October 2017 a b 1500 metres Men Olympedia Retrieved 14 August 2020 Official Report p 294 External links edit Official Report PDF 1958 p 296 Retrieved 2 April 2017 Results Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics Men 27s 1500 metres amp oldid 1117865604, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
