Lightweight (≤60 kilograms), Men

The revelation of the 1956 Olympic boxing tournament was a 21-year-old Scotsman who was doing his compulsory military service in the Royal Air Force. Dick McTaggart had a reputation at home for being a skillful and elusive boxer but before leaving for Melbourne he had not transferred this to the international stage. After three relatively easy victories McTaggart found himself facing European champion, Harry Kurschat of Germany, in the Olympic final. Kurschat was perhaps a little lucky to have progressed from the semi-final by winning an unpopular split decision victory over Ireland’s Tony Byrne but his luck ran out against McTaggart and it was the Briton who had his hand raised in victory at the end of the three rounds.

McTaggart’s performance earned him the Val Barker Trophy as the most stylish boxer of the Games and a hero’s welcome in his hometown of Dundee. An eye defect robbed him of the opportunity to turn professional and he would twice return to the Olympic arena, winning bronze in 1960 and going out early in 1964. One notable boxer to miss these Games was Darweesh Mustafa Nassim who had won a silver medal for Egypt at the 1955 European Championships. The Suez crisis made his participation impossible.