The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 1956 Olympic Games took place between 29 and 30 November.[1] There were 34 competitors from 19 nations.[2] Nations had been limited to three swimmers each since the 1924 Games. The event was won by Jon Henricks of Australia, the nation's first medal in the event. Australia would win a second 0.4 seconds later (John Devitt's silver) and a third 0.9 seconds after that (Gary Chapman's bronze), sweeping the podium—the first sweep in the men's 100 metre freestyle since the United States did it in 1920 and 1924, and the first sweep of any event by Australian competitors.[2] This year, the Americans finished fourth through sixth. It was the first time since 1924 that Japan had competed (that is, excluding 1948) but not medaled.
This was the 12th appearance of the men's 100 metre freestyle. The event has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1900 (when the shortest freestyle was the 200 metres), though the 1904 version was measured in yards rather than metres.[2]
Two of the eight finalists from the 1952 Games returned: silver medalist Hiroshi Suzuki of Japan and seventh-place finisher Aldo Eminente of France. The favorite in 1956 was Jon Henricks of Australia, a converted distance swimmer who had begun racing sprints in 1953.[2]
Colombia and Indonesia each made their debut in the event; East and West Germany competed together as the United Team of Germany for the first time. The United States made its 12th appearance, having competed at each edition of the event to date.
Competition formatedit
The competition used a three-round (heats, semifinals, final) format. The advancement rule followed the format introduced in 1952 (though with only 2 semifinals instead of 3). A swimmer's place in the heat was not used to determine advancement; instead, the fastest times from across all heats in a round were used. There were 5 heats of 6 or 7 swimmers each. The top 16 swimmers advanced to the semifinals. There were 2 semifinals of 8 swimmers each. The top 8 swimmers advanced to the final. Swim-offs were used as necessary to break ties.
This swimming event used freestyle swimming, which means that the method of the stroke is not regulated (unlike backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly events). Nearly all swimmers use the front crawl or a variant of that stroke. Because an Olympic size swimming pool is 50 metres long, this race consisted of two lengths of the pool.
Recordsedit
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1956 Summer Olympics.
Reid Patterson broke the Olympic record in the fourth heat with a time of 56.8 seconds; in the same heat, Atsushi Tani tied the old record. In the first semifinal, Jon Henricks broke Patterson's new record with a 55.7 second time. Dick Hanley came in under the old record time; in the second semifinal, Patterson matched the pre-1956 record, Gary Chapman, beat the pre-1956 record, and John Devitt beat Patterson's mark from the heats. Henrick's final time of 55.4 was another new Olympic record as well as the world competitive (non-time trial) record.
Scheduleedit
Date
Time
Round
Thursday, 29 November 1956
14:00 20:35
Heats Semifinals
Friday, 30 November 1956
19:55
Final
Resultsedit
Heatsedit
Five heats were held; the fastest sixteen swimmers advanced to the semifinal round.
^. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
^ abcd"100 metres Freestyle, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
Official Report, pp. 593–94.
December 20, 2023
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This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations February 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message The men s 100 metre freestyle event at the 1956 Olympic Games took place between 29 and 30 November 1 There were 34 competitors from 19 nations 2 Nations had been limited to three swimmers each since the 1924 Games The event was won by Jon Henricks of Australia the nation s first medal in the event Australia would win a second 0 4 seconds later John Devitt s silver and a third 0 9 seconds after that Gary Chapman s bronze sweeping the podium the first sweep in the men s 100 metre freestyle since the United States did it in 1920 and 1924 and the first sweep of any event by Australian competitors 2 This year the Americans finished fourth through sixth It was the first time since 1924 that Japan had competed that is excluding 1948 but not medaled Men s 100 metre freestyleat the Games of the XVI OlympiadJon HenricksVenueMelbourne Sports and Entertainment CentreDates29 30 NovemberCompetitors34 from 19 nationsWinning time55 4 WRMedalistsJon Henricks AustraliaJohn Devitt AustraliaGary Chapman Australia 19521960 Contents 1 Background 2 Competition format 3 Records 4 Schedule 5 Results 5 1 Heats 5 2 Semifinals 5 3 Final 6 ReferencesBackground editThis was the 12th appearance of the men s 100 metre freestyle The event has been held at every Summer Olympics except 1900 when the shortest freestyle was the 200 metres though the 1904 version was measured in yards rather than metres 2 Two of the eight finalists from the 1952 Games returned silver medalist Hiroshi Suzuki of Japan and seventh place finisher Aldo Eminente of France The favorite in 1956 was Jon Henricks of Australia a converted distance swimmer who had begun racing sprints in 1953 2 Colombia and Indonesia each made their debut in the event East and West Germany competed together as the United Team of Germany for the first time The United States made its 12th appearance having competed at each edition of the event to date Competition format editThe competition used a three round heats semifinals final format The advancement rule followed the format introduced in 1952 though with only 2 semifinals instead of 3 A swimmer s place in the heat was not used to determine advancement instead the fastest times from across all heats in a round were used There were 5 heats of 6 or 7 swimmers each The top 16 swimmers advanced to the semifinals There were 2 semifinals of 8 swimmers each The top 8 swimmers advanced to the final Swim offs were used as necessary to break ties This swimming event used freestyle swimming which means that the method of the stroke is not regulated unlike backstroke breaststroke and butterfly events Nearly all swimmers use the front crawl or a variant of that stroke Because an Olympic size swimming pool is 50 metres long this race consisted of two lengths of the pool Records editThese were the standing world and Olympic records in seconds prior to the 1956 Summer Olympics World record nbsp Dick Cleveland USA 54 8 New Haven United States 1 April 1954Olympic record nbsp Clarke Scholes USA 57 1 Helsinki Finland 27 July 1952Reid Patterson broke the Olympic record in the fourth heat with a time of 56 8 seconds in the same heat Atsushi Tani tied the old record In the first semifinal Jon Henricks broke Patterson s new record with a 55 7 second time Dick Hanley came in under the old record time in the second semifinal Patterson matched the pre 1956 record Gary Chapman beat the pre 1956 record and John Devitt beat Patterson s mark from the heats Henrick s final time of 55 4 was another new Olympic record as well as the world competitive non time trial record Schedule editDate Time RoundThursday 29 November 1956 14 0020 35 HeatsSemifinalsFriday 30 November 1956 19 55 FinalResults editHeats edit Five heats were held the fastest sixteen swimmers advanced to the semifinal round Rank Heat Swimmer Nation Time Notes1 4 Reid Patterson nbsp United States 56 8 Q OR2 4 Atsushi Tani nbsp Japan 57 1 Q3 3 John Devitt nbsp Australia 57 2 Q4 1 Jon Henricks nbsp Australia 57 3 Q5 2 Manabu Koga nbsp Japan 57 7 Q6 5 Gary Chapman nbsp Australia 57 8 Q1 Dick Hanley nbsp United States 57 8 Q8 2 Aldo Eminente nbsp France 58 0 Q9 5 Bill Woolsey nbsp United States 58 2 Q10 3 Paolo Pucci nbsp Italy 58 3 Q5 Ronald Roberts nbsp Great Britain 58 3 Q12 3 Hiroshi Suzuki nbsp Japan 58 4 Q3 Paul Voell nbsp United Team of Germany 58 4 Q14 5 Gyula Dobay nbsp Hungary 58 5 Q4 Carlo Pedersoli nbsp Italy 58 5 Q16 2 Vitaly Sorokin nbsp Soviet Union 58 6 Q17 5 George Park nbsp Canada 58 818 1 Billy Steuart nbsp South Africa 59 219 3 Kenneth Williams nbsp Great Britain 59 420 3 Dennis Ford nbsp South Africa 59 521 1 Lev Balandin nbsp Soviet Union 59 622 2 Cheung Kin Man nbsp Hong Kong 59 81 Karri Kayhko nbsp Finland 59 81 Hans Kohler nbsp United Team of Germany 59 825 4 Haroldo Lara nbsp Brazil 59 926 2 Horst Bleeker nbsp United Team of Germany 1 00 14 Habib Nasution nbsp Indonesia 1 00 128 5 Dakula Arabani nbsp Philippines 1 00 24 Alex Jany nbsp France 1 00 22 Sergio Martinez nbsp Colombia 1 00 231 2 Peter Duncan nbsp South Africa 1 00 432 1 Andre Laurent nbsp Belgium 1 00 75 Wan Shiu Ming nbsp Hong Kong 1 00 734 3 Sri Chand Bajaj nbsp India 1 01 6Semifinals edit Two heats were held the swimmers with the fastest eight times advanced to the final Rank Heat Swimmer Nation Time Notes1 1 Jon Henricks nbsp Australia 55 7 Q OR2 2 John Devitt nbsp Australia 56 4 Q3 2 Gary Chapman nbsp Australia 56 9 Q1 Dick Hanley nbsp United States 56 9 Q5 2 Reid Patterson nbsp United States 57 1 Q6 1 Atsushi Tani nbsp Japan 57 4 Q7 1 Aldo Eminente nbsp France 58 0 Q2 Bill Woolsey nbsp United States 58 0 Q9 1 Hiroshi Suzuki nbsp Japan 58 010 2 Gyula Dobay nbsp Hungary 58 12 Manabu Koga nbsp Japan 58 112 1 Vitaly Sorokin nbsp Soviet Union 58 213 2 Paul Voell nbsp United Team of Germany 58 614 1 Paolo Pucci nbsp Italy 58 815 2 Ronald Roberts nbsp Great Britain 58 916 1 Carlo Pedersoli nbsp Italy 59 0Final edit Rank Swimmer Nation Time Notes nbsp Jon Henricks nbsp Australia 55 4 WR nbsp John Devitt nbsp Australia 55 8 nbsp Gary Chapman nbsp Australia 56 74 Reid Patterson nbsp United States 57 25 Dick Hanley nbsp United States 57 66 Bill Woolsey nbsp United States 57 67 Atsushi Tani nbsp Japan 58 08 Aldo Eminente nbsp France 58 1References edit Swimming at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Games Men s 100 metres Freestyle Sports Reference Archived from the original on 17 April 2020 Retrieved 17 September 2016 a b c d 100 metres Freestyle Men Olympedia Retrieved 17 December 2020 Official Report pp 593 94 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Swimming at the 1956 Summer Olympics Men 27s 100 metre freestyle amp oldid 1117441852, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
