1956 United States Olympic trials (track and field)

1956 United States Olympic track and field trials
DatesJuly 1–2
Host cityLos Angeles, United States
VenueLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
LevelSenior
TypeOutdoor

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, on June 28 and 29. 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.

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 at American University (Reeves Field) in Washington, D.C., on August 25.[1]

Men's results

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

Men track events

Event Gold Silver Bronze
100 meters Bobby Morrow 10.3 (10.28) Ira Murchison 10.4 (10.32) Thane Baker 10.4 (10.36)
200 meters Bobby Morrow 20.6 =WR Thane Baker 20.7 Andy Stanfield 20.9
400 meters Lou Jones 45.2 WR Jim Lea 45.7 Charlie Jenkins 46.1
800 meters Tom Courtney 1:46.4 NR Arnie Sowell 1:46.9 Lon Spurrier 1:47.6
1500 meters Jerome Walters 3:47.6 Ted Wheeler 3:48.0 Don Bowden 3:48.6
5000 meters Bill Dellinger 14:26.0 NR Curtis Stone 14:29.0 Max Truex 14:30.8
10,000 meters Max Truex 30:52.0 Dick Hart 31:06.3 Gordon McKenzie 31:06.8
110 m hurdles Jack Davis 13.8 Lee Calhoun 13.9 Joel Shankle 14.1
400 m hurdles Glenn Davis 49.5 WR Eddie Southern 49.7 Josh Culbreath 49.9
3000 m s'chase Phil Coleman 9:00.3 Charles Jones 9:00.6 Horace Ashenfelter 9:02.4
20K racewalk Alex Oakley  Canada
James Hewson		 1:39:06
1:39:16 		Henry Laskau 1:39:45 Bruce MacDonald 1:39:56
50K racewalk Adolf Weinacker 4:38:58 Leo Sjogren 4:44:18 James Hewson 4:51:03
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 Thackeray 2:20:24
Yonkers Marathon John J. Kelley
2:24:52.2 Dean Thackeray 2:31:14 Nick Costes 2:31:52

Men field events

Event Gold Silver Bronze
High jump Charles Dumas 2.15 m (7 ft 1⁄2 in)WR Vernon Wilson 2.07 m (6 ft 9+1⁄4 in) Phil Reavis 2.07 m (6 ft 9+1⁄4 in)
Pole vault Bob Richards 4.60 m (15 ft 1 in) George Mattos 4.53 m (14 ft 10+1⁄4 in) Jim Graham 4.48 m (14 ft 8+1⁄4 in)
Long jump John Bennett
Greg Bell		 7.83 m (25 ft 8+1⁄4 in)
7.83 m (25 ft 8+1⁄4 in) 		Rafer Johnson 7.70 m (25 ft 3 in)
Triple jump Ira Davis 15.66 m (51 ft 4+1⁄2 in) NR George Shaw 15.23 m (49 ft 11+1⁄2 in) Bill Sharpe 15.16 m (49 ft 8+3⁄4 in)
Shot put Parry O'Brien 18.54 m (60 ft 9+3⁄4 in) Ken Bantum 18.15 m (59 ft 6+1⁄2 in) Bill Nieder 17.71 m (58 ft 1 in)
Discus throw Fortune Gordien 57.21 m (187 ft 8 in) Al Oerter 54.44 m (178 ft 7 in) Ron Drummond 54.06 m (177 ft 4 in)
Hammer throw Al Hall 60.24 m (197 ft 7 in) Hal Connolly 60.03 m (196 ft 11 in) Cliff Blair 59.91 m (196 ft 6 in)
Javelin throw Cy Young 74.65 m (244 ft 10 in) Phil Conley 74.40 m (244 ft 1 in) Ben Garcia 71.45 m (234 ft 4 in)
Decathlon Rafer Johnson 7755 Milt Campbell 7559 Bob Richards 7054

Women's results

Women track events

Event Gold Silver Bronze
100 meters Isabelle Daniels 11.5 =NR Mae Faggs 11.6 Lucinda Williams 11.7
200 meters Mae Faggs 24.2 Wilma Rudolph 24.2 Meredith Ellis 25.2
80 m hurdles Barbara Mueller 11.9 Constance Darnowski 12.0 Irene Robertson 12.1

Women field events

Event Gold Silver Bronze
High jump Mildred McDaniel 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) Anne Flynn 1.55 m (5 ft 1 in) Veneda Thomas 1.53 m (5 ft 0 in)
Long jump Margaret Matthews 6.02 m (19 ft 9 in)NR Willye White 5.88 m (19 ft 3+1⁄4 in) Joan Wolski 5.49 m (18 ft 0 in)
Shot put Earlene Brown 14.26 m (46 ft 9+1⁄4 in)NR Lois Testa 13.88 m (45 ft 6+1⁄4 in) Paula Deubel 12.75 m (41 ft 9+3⁄4 in)
Discus throw Earlene Brown 44.31 m (145 ft 4 in) NR Pamela Kurrell 43.78 m (143 ft 7 in) Marjorie Larney 43.40 m (142 ft 4 in)
Javelin throw Karen Anderson 46.75 m (153 ft 4 in) Marjorie Larney 43.78 m (143 ft 7 in) Amelia Wershoven 43.79 m (143 ft 8 in)

References

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