Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's 110 metres hurdles
Men's 110 metres hurdles at the Games of the XVI Olympiad | ||||||||||
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Venue | Melbourne Cricket Ground | |||||||||
Dates | November 27 (heats and quarterfinals) November 28 (semifinals and final) | |||||||||
Competitors | 24 from 15 nations | |||||||||
Winning time | 13.5 OR | |||||||||
Medalists | ||||||||||
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Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics | ||
---|---|---|
Track events | ||
100 m | men | women |
200 m | men | women |
400 m | men | |
800 m | men | |
1500 m | men | |
5000 m | men | |
10,000 m | men | |
80 m hurdles | women | |
110 m hurdles | men | |
400 m hurdles | men | |
3000 m steeplechase | men | |
4 × 100 m relay | men | women |
4 × 400 m relay | men | |
Road events | ||
Marathon | men | |
20 km walk | men | |
50 km walk | men | |
Field events | ||
Long jump | men | women |
Triple jump | men | |
High jump | men | women |
Pole vault | men | |
Shot put | men | women |
Discus throw | men | women |
Javelin throw | men | women |
Hammer throw | men | |
Combined events | ||
Decathlon | men | |
The men's
Summary
In the final, Lee Calhoun in lane 2 got the edge, leading by half a meter by the third hurdle. Davis, across the track in lane 5, could only keep pace but couldn't make up the gap. He gave his best effort to lean at the tape but was clearly beaten by Calhoun. Four metres back, Joel Shankle completed the American sweep, three metres ahead of Martin Lauer. Almost three years later, Lauer would get Davis' world record. Calhoun would equal it a year after that, in the season leading up to his repeating as Olympic Champion in 1960 leading another American sweep over Lauer.
Background
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 1952 returned: silver medalist Jack Davis of the United States and fifth-place finisher Ken Doubleday of Australia. Davis, having also won the 1956 AAU championship with a new world record, was a "slight favorite" over countryman Lee Calhoun, who had tied Davis for first at the U.S. Olympic trials. The third American, Joel Shankle, was not quite at the level of Davis and Calhoun but was still good enough to give the United States a good chance at another medal sweep.[2]
Colombia made its 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 110 metres hurdles in each Games to that point.
Competition format
The competition used the basic three-round format introduced in 1908. The first round consisted of four heats, with 6 or 7 hurdlers each (before withdrawals; there ultimately were 6 starters in each heat). The top three hurdlers in each heat advanced to the semifinals. The 12 semifinalists were divided into two semifinals of 6 hurdlers each; the top three hurdlers in each advanced to the 6-man final.[2][3]
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1956 Summer Olympics.
World record | Jack Davis (USA) | 13.4 | Bakersfield, United States | 22 June 1956 |
Olympic record | Harrison Dillard (USA) | 13.7 | Helsinki, Finland | 24 July 1952 |
Schedule
All times are
Date | Time | Round |
---|---|---|
Tuesday, 27 November 1956 | 15:20 | Round 1 |
Wednesday, 28 November 1956 | 14:30 16:05 |
Semifinals Final |
Results
Round 1
Heat 1
Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time (hand) | Time (auto) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 | Jack Davis |
United States | 14.0 | 14.17 | Q |
2 | 3 | Edmond Roudnitska | France | 14.3 | 14.49 | Q |
3 | 6 | Ghulam Raziq | Pakistan | 14.5 | 14.65 | Q |
4 | 4 | Eamonn Kinsella | Ireland | 14.6 | 14.66 | |
5 | 1 | Kenneth Doubleday |
Australia | 14.8 | 14.98 | |
6 | 2 | Guillermo Zapata | Colombia | 15.3 | 15.58 | |
— | 7 | Amadeo Francis | Puerto Rico | DNS | ||
Wind: +0.0 m/s |
Heat 2
Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time (hand) | Time (auto) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 | Lee Calhoun | United States | 14.1 | 14.36 | Q |
2 | 1 | Stanko Lorger | Yugoslavia | 14.6 | 14.75 | Q |
3 | 2 | Jean-Claude Bernard | France | 14.7 | 14.88 | Q |
4 | 3 | Jack Parker | Great Britain | 14.8 | 15.00 | |
5 | 5 | John Chittick | Australia | 14.9 | 15.18 | |
6 | 4 | Kalim Khawaja Ghani | Pakistan | 16.1 | 16.32 | |
Wind: -3.0 m/s |
Heat 3
Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time (hand) | Time (auto) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | Joel Shankle | United States | 14.0 | 14.20 | Q |
2 | 5 | Bert Steines | United Team of Germany | 14.3 | 14.59 | Q |
3 | 4 | Danie Burger | South Africa | 14.4 | 14.59 | Q |
4 | 3 | Anatoly Mikhailov |
Soviet Union | 14.5 | 14.63 | |
5 | 6 | Keith Gardner | Jamaica | 14.6 | 14.65 | |
6 | 1 | Bob Joyce | Australia | 14.7 | 15.02 | |
Wind: -0.7 m/s |
Heat 4
Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time (hand) | Time (auto) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 | Martin Lauer | United Team of Germany | 14.2 | 14.41 | Q |
2 | 4 | Evaristo Iglesias | Cuba | 14.3 | 14.52 | Q |
3 | 2 | Boris Stolyarov | Soviet Union | 14.3 | 14.54 | Q |
4 | 5 | Peter Hildreth | Great Britain | 14.5 | 14.68 | |
5 | 3 | Ioannis Kambadelis | Greece | 15.1 | 15.28 | |
6 | 1 | Sri Chand Ram | India | 15.2 | 15.40 | |
Wind: -0.5 m/s |
Overall results for round 1
Semifinals
Semifinal 1
Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time (hand) | Time (auto) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 | Jack Davis |
United States | 14.0 | 14.28 | Q |
2 | 3 | Martin Lauer | United Team of Germany | 14.4 | 14.57 | Q |
3 | 5 | Stanko Lorger | Yugoslavia | 14.6 | 14.73 | Q |
4 | 1 | Evaristo Iglesias | Cuba | 14.6 | 14.73 | |
5 | 2 | Edmond Roudnitska | France | 14.9 | 14.87 | |
6 | 4 | Danie Burger | South Africa | 15.0 | 14.95 | |
Wind: -2.5 m/s |
Semifinal 2
Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time (hand) | Time (auto) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 | Lee Calhoun | United States | 14.0 | 14.18 | Q |
2 | 4 | Joel Shankle | United States | 14.0 | 14.23 | Q |
3 | 2 | Boris Stolyarov | Soviet Union | 14.5 | 14.64 | Q |
4 | 6 | Bert Steines | United Team of Germany | 14.5 | 14.70 | |
5 | 3 | Ghulam Raziq | Pakistan | 14.6 | 14.74 | |
6 | 1 | Jean-Claude Bernard | France | 14.6 | 14.78 | |
Wind: -1.9 m/s |
Overall results for semifinals
Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time (hand) | Time (auto) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lee Calhoun | United States | 14.0 | 14.18 | Q |
2 | Joel Shankle | United States | 14.0 | 14.23 | Q |
3 | Jack Davis |
United States | 14.0 | 14.28 | Q |
4 | Martin Lauer | United Team of Germany | 14.4 | 14.57 | Q |
5 | Boris Stolyarov | Soviet Union | 14.5 | 14.64 | Q |
6 | Bert Steines | United Team of Germany | 14.5 | 14.70 | |
7 | Stanko Lorger | Yugoslavia | 14.6 | 14.73 | Q |
Evaristo Iglesias | Cuba | 14.6 | 14.73 | ||
9 | Ghulam Raziq | Pakistan | 14.6 | 14.74 | |
10 | Jean-Claude Bernard | France | 14.6 | 14.78 | |
11 | Edmond Roudnitska | France | 14.9 | 14.87 | |
12 | Danie Burger | South Africa | 15.0 | 14.95 |
Final
Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time (hand) | Time (auto) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | Lee Calhoun | United States | 13.5 | 13.70 | OR | |
5 | Jack Davis |
United States | 13.5 | 13.73 | OR | |
1 | Joel Shankle | United States | 14.1 | 14.25 | ||
4 | 6 | Martin Lauer | United Team of Germany | 14.5 | 14.67 | |
5 | 3 | Stanko Lorger | Yugoslavia | 14.5 | 14.68 | |
6 | 4 | Boris Stolyarov | Soviet Union | 14.6 | 14.71 |
References
- ^ "Athletics at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Games: Men's 110 metres Hurdles". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
- ^ a b "110 metres Hurdles, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
- ^ Official Report, p. 308.