Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics
| Athletics at the Games of the XVI Olympiad | |
|---|---|
Host stadium (shown in 2017) | |
| Dates | 23 November – 1 December |
| No. of events | 33 |
| Competitors | 720 from 61 nations |
| 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 | |
At the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, 33 athletics events were contested, 24 for men and 9 for women. There were a total number of 720 participating athletes from 61 countries.
Medal summary
Men
Women
Medal table
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 16 | 10 | 5 | 31 |
| 2 | Soviet Union | 5 | 7 | 10 | 22 |
| 3 | Australia | 4 | 2 | 6 | 12 |
| 4 | Great Britain | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| 5 | Poland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | Norway | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 | Czechoslovakia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | Brazil | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| France | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Ireland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| New Zealand | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 12 | United Team of Germany | 0 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| 13 | Hungary | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 14 | Chile | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Iceland | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Yugoslavia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 17 | Finland | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 18 | Greece | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Sweden | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (19 entries) | 33 | 34 | 33 | 100 | |
Participating nations
- Argentina (2)
- Australia (79)
- Austria (3)
- Bahamas (1)
- Belgium (6)
- Brazil (6)
- Bulgaria (1)
- Burma (1)
- Canada (18)
- Ceylon (1)
- Chile (6)
- Republic of China (4)
- Colombia (4)
- Cuba (2)
- Czechoslovakia (16)
- Denmark (2)
- Ethiopia (13)
- Fiji (1)
- Finland (19)
- France (29)
- United Team of Germany (45)
- Great Britain (56)
- Greece (6)
- Guyana (2)
- Hungary (19)
- Iceland (2)
- India (8)
- Indonesia (3)
- Iran (2)
- Iraq (1)
- Ireland (3)
- Israel (1)
- Italy (21)
- Jamaica (5)
- Japan (20)
- Kenya (9)
- South Korea (8)
- Liberia (5)
- Luxembourg (3)
- Malaya (7)
- Mexico (1)
- New Zealand (9)
- Nigeria (10)
- North Borneo (2)
- Norway (5)
- Pakistan (18)
- Philippines (4)
- Poland (25)
- Puerto Rico (8)
- Romania (5)
- Singapore (5)
- South Africa (9)
- Soviet Union (77)
- Sweden (18)
- Thailand (9)
- Trinidad and Tobago (3)
- Uganda (3)
- United States (83)
- Uruguay (1)
- Venezuela (5)
- Yugoslavia (7)