The men's 100 metre backstroke event at the 1956 Olympic Games

1956 Summer Olympics

The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...

 took place between December 4 and 6. This swimming

Swimming (sport)

Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

 event used backstroke

Backstroke

The backstroke, also sometimes called the back crawl, is one of the four swimming styles regulated by FINA, and the only regulated style swum on the back. This has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimmers not being able to see where they are going. It is also the only...

. Because an Olympic size swimming pool is 50 metres long, this race consisted of two lengths of the pool.

Medalists

Heats

Four heats were held; the swimmers with the sixteen fastest times advanced to the Semifinals. The athletes that advanced are highlighted.

Heat One

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time
1	Robert Christophe	France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	1:04.2
2	John Hayres	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	1:04.4
3	László Magyar	Hungary Hungary Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...	1:06.1
4	Albert Wiggins	United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...	1:06.2
5	Haydn Rigby Haydn Rigby Haydn Rigby is a retired backstroke swimmer from the United Kingdom, who represented his native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1956....	Great Britain Great Britain Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...	1:06.9
6	Ahmed Nazir	Pakistan Pakistan Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...	1:10.7

Heat Two

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time
1	Graham Sykes	Great Britain Great Britain Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...	1:06.2
2	Kazuo Tomita	Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...	1:06.4
3	Gilbert Bozon	France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	1:06.4
4	Ekkehard Miersch	Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...	1:07.5
5	Lincoln Hurring	New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...	1:07.5
6	Pedro Cayco	Philippines Philippines The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...	1:11.6

Heat Three

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time
1	David Theile	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	1:04.3
2	Yoshi Oyakawa	United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...	1:05.2
3	Keiji Hase	Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...	1:06.3
4	John Brockway	Great Britain Great Britain Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...	1:07.7
5	Joo Gonalves Filho	Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...	1:07.9
6	Cheung Kin Man	Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...	1:14.0

Heat Four

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time
1	John Monckton	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	1:03.4
2	Frank McKinney	United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...	1:06.0
3	Dieter Pfeifer	Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...	1:06.7
4	Ladislav Bak	Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...	1:06.9
5	Grard Coignot	France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	1:07.5
6	Hideo Ninomiya	Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...	1:09.2
7	Lim Heng Chek	Malaya Federation of Malaya The Federation of Malaya is the name given to a federation of 11 states that existed from 31 January 1948 until 16 September 1963. The Federation became independent on 31 August 1957...	1:12.4

Semifinals

Two heats were held; the swimmers with the eight fastest times advanced to the Finals. The swimmers that advanced are highlighted.

Semifinal One

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time
1	John Monckton	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	1:04.1
2	David Theile	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	1:04.8
3	Yoshi Oyakawa	United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...	1:05.0
4	Graham Sykes	Great Britain Great Britain Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...	1:06.5
5	Kazuo Tomita	Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...	1:06.5
6	Dieter Pfeifer	Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...	1:07.6
7	László Magyar	Hungary Hungary Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...	1:07.6
8	Ladislav Bak	Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...	1:07.9

Semifinal Two

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time
1	Robert Christophe	France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	1:04.6
2	John Hayres	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	1:05.0
3	Frank McKinney	United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...	1:05.3
4	Albert Wiggins	United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...	1:06.4
5	Gilbert Bozon	France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...	1:06.5
6	Keiji Hase	Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...	1:06.5
7	Ekkehard Miersch	Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...	1:06.6
8	Haydn Rigby Haydn Rigby Haydn Rigby is a retired backstroke swimmer from the United Kingdom, who represented his native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1956....	Great Britain Great Britain Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...	1:07.6

Final

Rank	Athlete	Country	Time	Notes
	David Theile David Theile David Egmont Theile , was an Australian backstroke swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won consecutive gold medals in the 100 m backstroke at the 1956 and 1960 Summer Olympics, the only Australian to do so...		1:02.2	WR
	John Monckton John Monckton (swimmer) John James Monckton was an Australian backstroke swimmer of the 1950s, who won a silver medal in the 100m backstroke at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Although he set multiple world records, he never won an Olympic gold medal....		1:03.2
	Frank McKinney Frank McKinney Frank McKinney was a backstroke swimmer from the United States. He was later a bank executive.The son of Frank E...		1:04.5
4	Robert Christophe		1:04.9
5	John Hayres		1:05.0
6	Graham Sykes		1:05.6
7	Albert Wiggins		1:05.8
8	Yoshi Oyakawa		1:06.9

Key: WR = World record