| | Event type

1,500 metres Freestyle, Men

Date	5 – 7 December 1956
Status	Olympic
Location	Olympic Park Swimming and Diving Stadium, Melbourne, Victoria
Participants	20 from 11 countries

The world record fell twice in 1956 before the Olympic Games began. Firstly George Breen broke the record at the US Olympic trials, then Murray Rose furthered lowered it at the Australian trials a few months later. Rose and Tsuyoshi Yamanaka posted the 2nd and 3rd fastest times in history in the first qualifying heat only to see Breen respond by taking 6.6 seconds off the world record in heat 3.

Not unexpectedly the final quickly turned into a three-way battle between Rose, Breen and Yamanaka. At halfway the three men were still together until Rose began to pull away from the other two and into a lead of more than five metres. Breen, unable to match his heroics from the heats, slipped further back but Yamanaka made a final effort over the last two lengths of the pool to pull back on the leader. As the increasingly anxious home crowd roared their support for the Australian, Rose mustered a sprint that kept him clear of the Japanese swimmer. Breen was 16 seconds slower than in his heat but was still able to win the bronze medal.

Rose returned to collect silver in this event at the Rome Games but, despite being in world record breaking form in 1964, he was not selected for Tokyo when acting commitments meant that he was not able to return to Australia for the trials.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	R1	Final
1	–	Murray Rose	AUS	18:04.1 (1 h1)	17:58.9 (1)	Gold
2	48	Tsuyoshi Yamanaka	JPN	18:04.3 (2 h1)	18:00.3 (2)	Silver
3	53	George Breen	USA	17:52.9 (1 h3)	18:08.2 (3)	Bronze
4	55	Murray Garretty	AUS	18:27.4 (1 h4)	18:26.5 (4)
5	38	Bill Slater	CAN	18:51.6 (3 h1)	18:38.1 (5)
6	41	Jean Boiteux	FRA	18:46.6 (2 h4)	18:38.3 (6)
7	59	Yukiyoshi Aoki	JPN	18:36.0 (2 h2)	18:38.3 (7)
8	33	Gary Winram	AUS	18:35.7 (1 h2)	19:06.2 (8)
9	58	Seizaburo Yagi	JPN	18:57.3 (3 h4)	–
10	67	Sándor Záborszky	HUN	19:01.2 (2 h3)	–
11	60	Dave Radcliff	USA	19:09.6 (4 h4)	–
12	46	Jacques Collignon	FRA	19:10.8 (3 h3)	–
13	54	George Onekea	USA	19:13.8 (3 h2)	–
14	36	Bana Sailani	PHI	19:16.8 (4 h3)	–
15	42	Guy Montserret	FRA	19:17.4 (4 h1)	–
16	–	Gennady Androsov	URS	19:22.6 (5 h3)	–
17	57	Hans-Joachim Reich	GER	19:28.6 (6 h3)	–
18	66	György Csordás	HUN	19:44.2 (5 h1)	–
19	–	Peter Duncan	RSA	19:58.5 (4 h2)	–
20	40	Raúl Martín	CUB	19:59.9 (5 h2)	–
DNS	37	Ulpiano Babol	PHI	– (DNS h1)	–
DNS	26	Billy Steuart	RSA	– (DNS h1)	–
DNS	39	Sylvio dos Santos	BRA	– (DNS h2)	–
DNS	132	Gilberto Martínez	COL	– (DNS h2)	–
DNS	52	Tony Briscoe	RSA	– (DNS h3)	–
DNS	69	Árpád Domján	HUN	– (DNS h4)	–
DNS	49	Muhammad Ramzan	PAK	– (DNS h4)	–
DNS	51	Per-Olof Östrand	SWE	– (DNS h4)	–

Round One

Date	5 December 1956 — 14:00
Format	Fastest eight advanced to the final.

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time
1	4	George Breen	USA	17:52.9	QWR
2	6	Murray Rose	AUS	18:04.1	QOR
3	4	Tsuyoshi Yamanaka	JPN	18:04.3	Q
4	4	Murray Garretty	AUS	18:27.4	Q
5	6	Gary Winram	AUS	18:35.7	Q
6	3	Yukiyoshi Aoki	JPN	18:36.0	Q
7	5	Jean Boiteux	FRA	18:46.6	Q
8	7	Bill Slater	CAN	18:51.6	Q
9	3	Seizaburo Yagi	JPN	18:57.3
10	3	Sándor Záborszky	HUN	19:01.2
11	2	Dave Radcliff	USA	19:09.6
12	2	Jacques Collignon	FRA	19:10.8
13	5	George Onekea	USA	19:13.8
14	7	Bana Sailani	PHI	19:16.8
15	5	Guy Montserret	FRA	19:17.4
16	5	Gennady Androsov	URS	19:22.6
17	6	Hans-Joachim Reich	GER	19:28.6
18	3	György Csordás	HUN	19:44.2		1
19	2	Peter Duncan	RSA	19:58.5
20	7	Raúl Martín	CUB	19:59.9		2
DNS	2	Ulpiano Babol	PHI	–
DNS	1	Billy Steuart	RSA	–
DNS	4	Sylvio dos Santos	BRA	–
DNS	1	Gilberto Martínez	COL	–
DNS	1	Tony Briscoe	RSA	–
DNS	7	Árpád Domján	HUN	–
DNS	1	Muhammad Ramzan	PAK	–
DNS	6	Per-Olof Östrand	SWE	–

Heat #1

Time	14:00

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	800 m	900 m	1,000 m	1,100 m	1,200 m
1	6	Murray Rose	AUS	18:04.1	1:05.7 (2)	2:17.6 (2)	3:30.2 (2)	4:43.3 (2)	5:56.3 (2)	7:09.4 (2)	8:22.6 (2)	9:35.2 (2)	10:48.1 (2)	12:00.5 (2)	13:13.4 (2)	14:26.2 (2)	QOR
2	4	Tsuyoshi Yamanaka	JPN	18:04.3	1:04.9 (1)	2:16.8 (1)	3:29.4 (1)	4:41.5 (1)	5:54.0 (1)	7:06.5 (1)	8:19.0 (1)	9:32.0 (1)	10:45.3 (1)	11:59.2 (1)	13:12.4 (1)	14:26.1 (1)	Q
3	7	Bill Slater	CAN	18:51.6	1:08.2 (4)	2:22.8 (3)	3:37.2 (3)	4:52.0 (3)	6:06.8 (3)	7:22.6 (3)	8:38.4 (3)	9:54.3 (3)	11:10.4 (3)	12:26.3 (3)	13:42.2 (3)	14:59.6 (3)	Q
4	5	Guy Montserret	FRA	19:17.4	1:08.4 (5)	2:24.3 (4)	3:40.7 (5)	4:58.6 (5)	6:16.0 (4)	7:33.7 (4)	8:51.1 (4)	10:08.6 (4)	11:26.5 (4)	12:44.6 (4)	14:02.7 (4)	15:20.3 (4)
5	3	György Csordás	HUN	19:44.2	1:08.0 (3)	2:24.7 (5)	3:40.2 (4)	4:57.9 (4)	6:17.2 (5)	7:36.0 (5)	8:55.5 (5)	10:16.3 (5)	11:37.3 (5)	12:59.3 (5)	14:19.1 (5)	15:40.0 (5)		3
DNS	2	Ulpiano Babol	PHI	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)
DNS	1	Billy Steuart	RSA	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)

Heat #2

Time	14:40

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	800 m	900 m	1,000 m	1,100 m	1,200 m
1	6	Gary Winram	AUS	18:35.7	1:08.0 (3)	2:21.3 (3)	3:35.3 (2)	4:49.9 (2)	6:05.0 (2)	7:20.2 (2)	8:35.2 (1)	9:50.4 (1)	11:05.7 (1)	12:20.7 (1)	13:36.5 (1)	14:52.2 (1)	Q
2	3	Yukiyoshi Aoki	JPN	18:36.0	1:06.1 (1)	2:18.8 (1)	3:33.4 (1)	4:48.4 (1)	6:03.8 (1)	7:19.6 (1)	8:35.3 (2)	9:51.1 (2)	11:06.5 (2)	12:22.6 (2)	13:38.2 (2)	14:53.8 (2)	Q
3	5	George Onekea	USA	19:13.8	1:08.5 (5)	2:23.3 (4)	3:39.0 (4)	4:55.8 (4)	6:13.5 (3)	7:31.2 (3)	8:49.3 (3)	10:07.4 (3)	11:25.8 (3)	12:44.9 (3)	14:03.3 (3)	15:21.4 (3)
4	2	Peter Duncan	RSA	19:58.5	1:06.7 (2)	2:19.6 (2)	3:36.2 (3)	4:54.6 (3)	6:14.4 (4)	7:36.3 (4)	8:59.6 (4)	10:22.6 (4)	11:46.4 (4)	13:09.3 (4)	14:32.2 (4)	15:55.0 (4)
5	7	Raúl Martín	CUB	19:59.9	1:08.4 (4)	2:24.2 (5)	3:43.4 (5)	5:04.1 (5)	6:25.3 (5)	7:47.0 (5)	9:08.3 (5)	10:30.6 (5)	11:53.0 (5)	13:13.3 (5)	14:36.2 (5)	15:57.6 (5)		4
DNS	4	Sylvio dos Santos	BRA	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)
DNS	1	Gilberto Martínez	COL	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)

Heat #3

Time	19:30

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	800 m	900 m	1,000 m	1,100 m	1,200 m
1	4	George Breen	USA	17:52.9	1:02.4 (1)	2:13.4 (1)	3:25.6 (1)	4:38.6 (1)	5:51.9 (1)	7:04.6 (1)	8:17.7 (1)	9:29.9 (1)	10:41.6 (1)	11:53.2 (1)	13:05.1 (1)	14:16.8 (1)	QWR
2	3	Sándor Záborszky	HUN	19:01.2	1:10.2 (4)	2:26.2 (5)	3:43.2 (4)	5:00.0 (4)	6:16.4 (4)	7:32.1 (4)	8:47.6 (3)	10:02.8 (2)	11:19.1 (2)	12:35.6 (2)	13:52.5 (2)	15:10.3 (2)
3	2	Jacques Collignon	FRA	19:10.8	1:09.9 (3)	2:24.7 (4)	3:39.7 (3)	4:55.8 (3)	6:12.7 (3)	7:29.5 (3)	8:47.7 (4)	10:04.2 (3)	11:22.1 (3)	12:39.6 (3)	13:58.0 (3)	15:16.6 (3)
4	7	Bana Sailani	PHI	19:16.8	1:07.0 (2)	2:20.4 (2)	3:35.6 (2)	4:53.0 (2)	6:09.8 (2)	7:27.8 (2)	8:46.4 (2)	10:05.0 (4)	11:24.0 (4)	12:43.4 (4)	14:02.5 (4)	15:21.7 (4)
5	5	Gennady Androsov	URS	19:22.6	1:10.6 (6)	2:26.8 (6)	3:43.4 (5)	5:00.4 (5)	6:17.4 (5)	7:34.3 (5)	8:51.2 (5)	10:09.6 (5)	11:28.2 (5)	12:48.4 (5)	14:07.4 (5)	15:27.1 (5)
6	6	Hans-Joachim Reich	GER	19:28.6	1:10.5 (5)	2:22.2 (3)	3:44.2 (6)	5:02.7 (6)	6:21.0 (6)	7:40.8 (6)	9:00.2 (6)	10:19.0 (6)	11:37.9 (6)	12:57.2 (6)	14:16.0 (6)	15:34.7 (6)
DNS	1	Tony Briscoe	RSA	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)

Heat #4

Time	20:10

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	800 m	900 m	1,000 m	1,100 m	1,200 m
1	4	Murray Garretty	AUS	18:27.4	1:05.6 (1)	2:17.7 (1)	3:30.4 (1)	4:43.8 (1)	5:57.8 (1)	7:12.2 (1)	8:26.3 (1)	9:40.4 (1)	10:54.9 (1)	12:10.2 (1)	13:25.6 (1)	14:41.4 (1)	Q
2	5	Jean Boiteux	FRA	18:46.6	1:07.0 (2)	2:20.0 (2)	3:34.4 (2)	4:48.6 (2)	6:02.8 (2)	7:16.6 (2)	8:32.5 (2)	9:49.0 (2)	11:06.3 (2)	12:23.0 (2)	13:39.0 (2)	14:56.1 (2)	Q
3	3	Seizaburo Yagi	JPN	18:57.3	1:07.9 (=3)	2:21.5 (3)	3:36.5 (3)	4:51.7 (3)	6:06.2 (3)	7:21.4 (3)	8:36.7 (3)	9:52.8 (3)	11:09.9 (3)	12:27.7 (3)	13:45.5 (3)	15:03.5 (3)
4	2	Dave Radcliff	USA	19:09.6	1:07.9 (=3)	2:22.0 (4)	3:37.4 (4)	4:52.5 (4)	6:07.3 (4)	7:23.2 (4)	8:39.6 (4)	9:57.7 (4)	11:15.4 (4)	12:34.2 (4)	13:53.8 (4)	15:13.7 (4)
DNS	7	Árpád Domján	HUN	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)
DNS	1	Muhammad Ramzan	PAK	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)
DNS	6	Per-Olof Östrand	SWE	–	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)	– (–)

Final Round

Date	7 December 1956 — 19:55

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time	100 m	200 m	300 m	400 m	500 m	600 m	700 m	800 m	900 m	1,000 m	1,100 m	1,200 m
1	5	Murray Rose	AUS	17:58.9	1:04.8 (2)	2:14.7 (2)	3:27.3 (2)	4:39.6 (=1)	5:52.2 (1)	7:05.8 (3)	8:18.8 (=2)	9:31.8 (=2)	10:43.7 (1)	11:55.8 (1)	13:08.0 (1)	14:20.7 (1)
2	3	Tsuyoshi Yamanaka	JPN	18:00.3	1:05.1 (3)	2:15.4 (3)	3:27.5 (3)	4:39.9 (3)	5:52.8 (3)	7:05.3 (2)	8:18.8 (=2)	9:31.6 (1)	10:45.0 (3)	11:57.8 (3)	13:10.8 (2)	14:24.8 (3)
3	4	George Breen	USA	18:08.2	1:04.5 (1)	2:14.6 (1)	3:27.1 (1)	4:39.6 (=1)	5:52.4 (2)	7:05.2 (1)	8:18.3 (1)	9:31.8 (=2)	10:44.6 (2)	11:57.1 (2)	13:10.9 (3)	14:24.6 (2)
4	6	Murray Garretty	AUS	18:26.5	1:06.9 (=4)	2:19.4 (5)	3:31.8 (4)	4:45.3 (4)	5:59.1 (4)	7:12.6 (4)	8:26.7 (4)	9:40.9 (4)	10:55.7 (4)	12:11.4 (4)	13:26.9 (4)	14:41.9 (4)
5	8	Bill Slater	CAN	18:38.1	1:09.9 (8)	2:25.4 (8)	3:40.7 (8)	4:55.5 (8)	6:10.6 (8)	7:25.9 (8)	8:40.6 (8)	9:55.2 (8)	11:10.2 (8)	12:25.3 (7)	13:40.4 (6)	14:56.5 (7)
6	1	Jean Boiteux	FRA	18:38.3	1:06.9 (=4)	2:22.9 (7)	3:33.9 (7)	4:48.5 (6)	6:04.1 (6)	7:20.0 (6)	8:35.8 (5)	9:51.4 (5)	11:06.8 (5)	12:22.2 (5)	13:38.4 (5)	14:54.5 (5)
7	7	Yukiyoshi Aoki	JPN	18:38.3	1:07.1 (7)	2:19.9 (6)	3:33.6 (=5)	4:48.8 (7)	6:04.6 (7)	7:20.4 (7)	8:36.4 (7)	9:52.5 (7)	11:08.9 (7)	12:25.1 (6)	13:40.8 (7)	14:55.8 (6)
8	2	Gary Winram	AUS	19:06.2	1:07.0 (6)	2:18.6 (4)	3:33.6 (=5)	4:47.6 (5)	6:03.8 (5)	7:19.9 (5)	8:36.2 (6)	9:52.2 (6)	11:08.7 (6)	12:26.4 (8)	13:44.8 (8)	15:04.0 (8)