| | Event type
200 metres, Men
| Date | 26 – 27 November 1956 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Participants | 67 from 32 countries |
The defending champion Andy Stanfield was back, but Bobby Joe Morrow had already won the 100 and was felt to be the class of the field. Morrow had shared the early season limelight with Dave Sime, but Sime was injured at the NCAAs and did not make the American team. In the final, Morrow was running with a thigh wrap, but was even with Stanfield off the turn. He then turned on the power and won by a metre over Stanfield, with the 1952 silver medalist, Thane Baker, completing a second consecutive American sweep. In 1956 Morrow won the 100/200 double at the NCAAs, Olympic Trials, and Olympic Games, and also won the AAU 100.
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | R1 | QF | SF | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 55 | Bobby Joe Morrow |  USA | 21.8 (1 h9) | 21.9 (1 h4) | 21.3 (2 h1) | 20.6 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 88 | Andy Stanfield | USA | 21.5 (1 h4) | 21.1 (1 h2) | 21.2 (1 h2) | 20.7 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 54 | Thane Baker | USA | 21.8 (1 h7) | 21.2 (1 h3) | 21.1 (1 h1) | 20.9 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 50 | Mike Agostini |  TTO | 21.6 (1 h3) | 21.1 (2 h1) | 21.3 (2 h2) | 21.1 (4) | |||
| 5 | 59 | Boris Tokarev |  URS | 21.6 (1 h10) | 21.2 (2 h2) | 21.3 (3 h2) | 21.2 (5) | |||
| 6 | 62 | José da Conceição |  BRA | 21.5 (1 h1) | 21.3 (3 h2) | 21.4 (3 h1) | 21.3 (6) | |||
| 4 h1 r3/4 | 36 | Abdul Khaliq |  PAK | 21.1 (1 h5) | 21.1 (1 h1) | 21.5 (4 h1) | – | |||
| 4 h2 r3/4 | 69 | Leo Pohl |  GER | 21.6 (1 h12) | 21.3 (3 h1) | 21.5 (4 h2) | – | |||
| 5 h1 r3/4 | 68 | Karl-Friedrich Haas | GER | 21.4 (1 h2) | 21.5 (3 h3) | 21.5 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 5 h2 r3/4 | 622 | Vilém Mandlík |  TCH | 21.6 (1 h8) | 21.3 (2 h3) | 21.6 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 6 h1 r3/4 | 30 | Morrie Rae |  NZL | 21.4 (2 h5) | 22.0 (2 h4) | 21.5 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 6 h2 r3/4 | 70 | Brian Shenton |  GBR | 21.7 (2 h10) | 22.1 (3 h4) | 21.9 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 4 h1 r2/4 | 57 | Leonid Bartenev | URS | 21.8 (2 h12) | 21.4 (4 h1) | – | – | |||
| 4 h2 r2/4 | 75 | Vincenzo Lombardo |  ITA | 21.8 (2 h3) | 21.4 (4 h2) | – | – | |||
| 4 h3 r2/4 | 2 | Hec Hogan |  AUS | 21.8 (2 h8) | 21.7 (4 h3) | – | – | |||
| 4 h4 r2/4 | 623 | Václav Janeček | TCH | 21.7 (2 h2) | 22.2 (4 h4) | – | – | |||
| 5 h1 r2/4 | 683 | Béla Goldoványi |  HUN | 21.9 (2 h7) | 21.5 (5 h1) | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r2/4 | 79 | Kanji Akagi |  JPN | 22.1 (1 h6) | 21.9 (5 h2) | – | – | |||
| 5 h3 r2/4 | 83 | Iván Rodríguez |  PUR | 21.9 (2 h11) | 21.9 (5 h3) | – | – | |||
| 5 h4 r2/4 | 5 | Jorge de Barros | BRA | 22.2 (2 h6) | 23.7 (5 h4) | – | – | |||
| 6 h1 r2/4 | 40 | Edward Szmidt |  POL | 21.9 (2 h9) | 21.6 (6 h1) | – | – | |||
| 6 h3 r2/4 | 73 | Sergio D'Asnasch | ITA | 22.2 (2 h4) | 22.6 (6 h3) | – | – | |||
| AC h2 r2/4 | 67 | Konstantin Lissenko |  FRA | 21.8 (1 h11) | – (DNF h2) | – | – | |||
| 2 h1 r1/4 | 14 | Manfred Germar | GER | 21.8 (2 h1) | – (DNS h4) | – | – | |||
| 3 h1 r1/4 | 29 | René Ahumada |  MEX | 21.9 (3 h1) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h2 r1/4 | 61 | Douglas Winston | AUS | 22.0 (3 h2) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h3 r1/4 | 58 | Yury Konovalov | URS | 22.0 (3 h3) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h4 r1/4 | 81 | Sharif Butt | PAK | 22.2 (3 h4) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h5 r1/4 | 6 | João Pires Sobrinho | BRA | 21.6 (3 h5) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h7 r1/4 | 34 | Bjørn Nilsen |  NOR | 22.2 (3 h7) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h8 r1/4 | 18 | David Segal | GBR | 22.1 (3 h8) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h9 r1/4 | 60 | Graham Gipson | AUS | 22.0 (3 h9) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h10 r1/4 | 632 | Rafael Romero |  VEN | 21.8 (3 h10) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h11 r1/4 | 17 | Roy Sandstrom | GBR | 22.1 (3 h11) | – | – | – | |||
| 3 h12 r1/4 | 66 | Yves Camus | FRA | 22.2 (3 h12) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h1 r1/4 | 78 | Mel Spence |  JAM | 21.9 (4 h1) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h2 r1/4 | 71 | Milkha Singh |  IND | 22.3 (4 h2) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h3 r1/4 | 624 | Josef Trousil | TCH | 22.3 (4 h3) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h4 r1/4 | 80 | Fred Hammer |  LUX | 22.7 (4 h4) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h5 r1/4 | 4 | Tom Robinson |  BAH | 21.6 (4 h5) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h7 r1/4 | 306 | Oliver Hunter |  GUY | 22.4 (4 h7) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h8 r1/4 | 63 | Joe Foreman |  CAN | 22.2 (4 h8) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h9 r1/4 | 24 | Akira Kiyofuji | JPN | 22.5 (4 h9) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h10 r1/4 | 39 | Jan Jarzembowski | POL | 21.9 (4 h10) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h11 r1/4 | 65 | Pentti Rekola |  FIN | 22.1 (4 h11) | – | – | – | |||
| 4 h12 r1/4 | 47 | Paiboon Vacharapan |  THA | 23.8 (4 h12) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h1 r1/4 | 665 | Jean-Pierre Goudeau | FRA | 22.0 (5 h1) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h2 r1/4 | 25 | Kyohei Ushio | JPN | 22.4 (5 h2) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h3 r1/4 | 302 | Beyene Legesse |  ETH | 23.4 (5 h3) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h4 r1/4 | 300 | Roba Negousse | ETH | 23.7 (5 h4) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h5 r1/4 | 684 | Sándor Jakabfy | HUN | 21.6 (5 h5) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h7 r1/4 | 74 | Giovanni Ghiselli | ITA | 22.5 (5 h7) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h8 r1/4 | 42 | Kesevan Soon |  SGP | 23.0 (5 h8) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h9 r1/4 | 35 | Abdul Aziz | PAK | 22.9 (5 h9) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h10 r1/4 | 51 | Joe Goddard | TTO | 22.3 (5 h10) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h11 r1/4 | 9 | Jack Parrington | CAN | 22.4 (5 h11) | – | – | – | |||
| 5 h12 r1/4 | 76 | Richard Estick | JAM | 25.5 (5 h12) | – | – | – | |||
| 6 h3 r1/4 | 86 | Manut Bumrungphuk | THA | 23.4 (6 h3) | – | – | – | |||
| 6 h5 r1/4 | 77 | Mal Spence | JAM | 21.7 (6 h5) | – | – | – | |||
| 6 h7 r1/4 | 301 | Abebe Hailou | ETH | 23.0 (6 h7) | – | – | – | |||
| 6 h8 r1/4 | 25 | Lee Kah Fook |  MAL | 23.7 (6 h8) | – | – | – | |||
| 6 h10 r1/4 | 64 | Eero Kivelä | FIN | 22.5 (6 h10) | – | – | – | |||
| 6 h11 r1/4 | 87 | Montri Srinaka | THA | – (6 h11) | – | – | – | |||
| 7 h10 r1/4 | 53 | Ben Nduga |  UGA | – (7 h10) | – | – | – | |||
| 7 h11 r1/4 | 670 | Emmanuel Putu |  LBR | – (7 h11) | – | – | – | |||
| AC h3 r1/4 | 671 | James Roberts | LBR | [23.1] (DQ h3) | – | – | – | |||
| AC h4 r1/4 | 634 | Apolinar Solórzano | VEN | [22.6] (DQ h4) | – | – | – | |||
| 45 | René Farine |  SUI | – (DNS h5) | – | – | – | ||||
| 84 | Bruno Urben | SUI | – (DNS h6) | – | – | – | ||||
| 8 | Stan Levenson | CAN | – (DNS h6) | – | – | – | ||||
| 674 | Carlos Sierra |  COL | – (DNS h2) | – | – | – | ||||
| 93 | Voitto Hellstén | FIN | – (DNS h1) | – | – | – | ||||
| 682 | Géza Varasdi | HUN | – (DNS h6) | – | – | – | ||||
| 72 | Ghanim Mahmoud |  IRQ | – (DNS h9) | – | – | – | ||||
| 637 | Hilmar Þorbjörnsson |  ISL | – (DNS h6) | – | – | – | ||||
| 27 | Sinnayah Karuppiah Jarabalan | MAL | – (DNS h6) | – | – | – | ||||
| 82 | Zenon Baranowski | POL | – (DNS h2) | – | – | – | ||||
| 41 | Norberto Cruz | PUR | – (DNS h4) | – | – | – | ||||
| 52 | Edmund Turton | TTO | – (DNS h12) | – | – | – | ||||
| 635 | Alfonso Bruno | VEN | – (DNS h7) | – | – | – |
Round One (26 November 1956 — 14:30)
Top two in each heat advanced to the quarter-finals.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | José da Conceição | BRA | 21.5 | 21.61 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Manfred Germar | GER | 21.8 | 21.88 | |||
| 3 | 6 | René Ahumada | MEX | 21.9 | 21.96 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Mel Spence | JAM | 21.9 | 22.13 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Jean-Pierre Goudeau | FRA | 22.0 | 22.13 | |||
| 2 | Voitto Hellstén | FIN | – | – |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Karl-Friedrich Haas | GER | 21.4 | 21.56 | |||
| 2 | 5 | Václav Janeček | TCH | 21.7 | 21.85 | |||
| 3 | 7 | Douglas Winston | AUS | 22.0 | 22.20 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Milkha Singh | IND | 22.3 | 22.47 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Kyohei Ushio | JPN | 22.4 | 22.64 | |||
| 6 | Carlos Sierra | COL | – | – | ||||
| 1 | Zenon Baranowski | POL | – | – |
Heat Three
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Mike Agostini | TTO | 21.6 | 21.80 | |||
| 2 | 3 | Vincenzo Lombardo | ITA | 21.8 | 21.94 | |||
| 3 | 1 | Yury Konovalov | URS | 22.0 | 22.09 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Josef Trousil | TCH | 22.3 | 22.54 | |||
| 5 | 6 | Beyene Legesse | ETH | 23.4 | 23.63 | |||
| 6 | 4 | Manut Bumrungphuk | THA | 23.4 | 24.59 | |||
| 5 | James Roberts | LBR | [23.1] | [23.17] |
Heat Four
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Andy Stanfield | USA | 21.5 | 21.69 | |||
| 2 | 7 | Sergio D'Asnasch | ITA | 22.2 | 22.35 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Sharif Butt | PAK | 22.2 | 22.38 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Fred Hammer | LUX | 22.7 | 22.73 | |||
| 5 | 4 | Roba Negousse | ETH | 23.7 | 23.89 | |||
| 5 | Apolinar Solórzano | VEN | [22.6] | [22.73] | ||||
| 6 | Norberto Cruz | PUR | – | – |
Heat Five
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Abdul Khaliq | PAK | 21.1 | 21.32 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Morrie Rae | NZL | 21.4 | 21.57 | |||
| 3 | 1 | João Pires Sobrinho | BRA | 21.6 | 21.67 | |||
| 4 | 5 | Tom Robinson | BAH | 21.6 | 21.76 | |||
| 5 | 7 | Sándor Jakabfy | HUN | 21.6 | 21.78 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Mal Spence | JAM | 21.7 | 21.86 | |||
| 3 | René Farine | SUI | – | – |
Heat Six
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Kanji Akagi | JPN | 22.1 | 22.26 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Jorge de Barros | BRA | 22.2 | 22.30 | |||
| 7 | Bruno Urben | SUI | – | – | ||||
| 3 | Stan Levenson | CAN | – | – | ||||
| 5 | Géza Varasdi | HUN | – | – | ||||
| 4 | Hilmar Þorbjörnsson | ISL | – | – | ||||
| 6 | Sinnayah Karuppiah Jarabalan | MAL | – | – |
Heat Seven
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Thane Baker | USA | 21.8 | 21.92 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Béla Goldoványi | HUN | 21.9 | 22.08 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Bjørn Nilsen | NOR | 22.2 | 22.33 | |||
| 4 | 7 | Oliver Hunter | GUY | 22.4 | 22.54 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Giovanni Ghiselli | ITA | 22.5 | 22.68 | |||
| 6 | 6 | Abebe Hailou | ETH | 23.0 | 23.25 | |||
| 5 | Alfonso Bruno | VEN | – | – |
Heat Eight
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Vilém Mandlík | TCH | 21.6 | 21.79 | |||
| 2 | 2 | Hec Hogan | AUS | 21.8 | 21.97 | |||
| 3 | 1 | David Segal | GBR | 22.1 | 22.22 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Joe Foreman | CAN | 22.2 | 22.28 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Kesevan Soon | SGP | 23.0 | 23.33 | |||
| 6 | 6 | Lee Kah Fook | MAL | 23.7 | 23.94 |
Heat Nine
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Bobby Joe Morrow | USA | 21.8 | 21.95 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Edward Szmidt | POL | 21.9 | 22.03 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Graham Gipson | AUS | 22.0 | 22.06 | |||
| 4 | 1 | Akira Kiyofuji | JPN | 22.5 | 22.56 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Abdul Aziz | PAK | 22.9 | 22.98 | |||
| 6 | Ghanim Mahmoud | IRQ | – | – |
Heat Ten
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Boris Tokarev | URS | 21.6 | 21.62 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Brian Shenton | GBR | 21.7 | 21.87 | 1 | ||
| 3 | 1 | Rafael Romero | VEN | 21.8 | 21.85 | 2 | ||
| 4 | 2 | Jan Jarzembowski | POL | 21.9 | 21.91 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Joe Goddard | TTO | 22.3 | 22.23 | |||
| 6 | 7 | Eero Kivelä | FIN | 22.5 | 22.56 | |||
| 7 | 4 | Ben Nduga | UGA | – | 22.89 |
Heat Eleven
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Konstantin Lissenko | FRA | 21.8 | 22.06 | |||
| 2 | 7 | Iván Rodríguez | PUR | 21.9 | 22.06 | |||
| 3 | 5 | Roy Sandstrom | GBR | 22.1 | 22.18 | |||
| 4 | 6 | Pentti Rekola | FIN | 22.1 | 22.22 | |||
| 5 | 4 | Jack Parrington | CAN | 22.4 | 22.61 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Montri Srinaka | THA | – | 23.88 | |||
| 7 | 3 | Emmanuel Putu | LBR | – | 24.33 |
Heat Twelve
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Leo Pohl | GER | 21.6 | 21.78 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Leonid Bartenev | URS | 21.8 | 21.94 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Yves Camus | FRA | 22.2 | 22.37 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Paiboon Vacharapan | THA | 23.8 | 23.92 | |||
| 5 | 5 | Richard Estick | JAM | 25.5 | 25.81 | |||
| 2 | Edmund Turton | TTO | – | – |
Quarter-Finals (26 November 1956 — 17:40)
Top three in each heat advanced to the semi-finals.
Heat One
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 36 | Abdul Khaliq | PAK | 21.1 | 21.34 | |||
| 2 | 50 | Mike Agostini | TTO | 21.1 | 21.35 | |||
| 3 | 69 | Leo Pohl | GER | 21.3 | 21.49 | |||
| 4 | 57 | Leonid Bartenev | URS | 21.4 | 21.53 | |||
| 5 | 683 | Béla Goldoványi | HUN | 21.5 | 21.64 | |||
| 6 | 40 | Edward Szmidt | POL | 21.6 | 21.73 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 88 | Andy Stanfield | USA | 21.1 | 21.22 | |||
| 2 | 59 | Boris Tokarev | URS | 21.2 | 21.42 | |||
| 3 | 62 | José da Conceição | BRA | 21.3 | 21.46 | |||
| 4 | 75 | Vincenzo Lombardo | ITA | 21.4 | 21.53 | |||
| 5 | 79 | Kanji Akagi | JPN | 21.9 | 22.05 | |||
| 67 | Konstantin Lissenko | FRA | – | – |
Heat Three
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 54 | Thane Baker | USA | 21.2 | 21.34 | |||
| 2 | 622 | Vilém Mandlík | TCH | 21.3 | 21.56 | |||
| 3 | 68 | Karl-Friedrich Haas | GER | 21.5 | 21.68 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Hec Hogan | AUS | 21.7 | 21.90 | |||
| 5 | 83 | Iván Rodríguez | PUR | 21.9 | 22.16 | |||
| 6 | 73 | Sergio D'Asnasch | ITA | 22.6 | 22.82 |
Heat Four
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 55 | Bobby Joe Morrow | USA | 21.9 | 22.03 | |||
| 2 | 30 | Morrie Rae | NZL | 22.0 | 22.12 | |||
| 3 | 70 | Brian Shenton | GBR | 22.1 | 22.15 | |||
| 4 | 623 | Václav Janeček | TCH | 22.2 | 22.26 | |||
| 5 | 5 | Jorge de Barros | BRA | 23.7 | 23.88 | |||
| 14 | Manfred Germar | GER | – | – |
Semi-Finals (27 November 1956 — 15:00)
Top three in each heat advanced to the final.
Heat One
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Thane Baker | USA | 21.1 | 21.21 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Bobby Joe Morrow | USA | 21.3 | 21.43 | |||
| 3 | 6 | José da Conceição | BRA | 21.4 | 21.53 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Abdul Khaliq | PAK | 21.5 | 21.58 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Karl-Friedrich Haas | GER | 21.5 | 21.74 | |||
| 6 | 2 | Morrie Rae | NZL | 21.5 | 21.75 |
Heat Two
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Andy Stanfield | USA | 21.2 | 21.35 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Mike Agostini | TTO | 21.3 | 21.48 | |||
| 3 | 3 | Boris Tokarev | URS | 21.3 | 21.50 | |||
| 4 | 2 | Leo Pohl | GER | 21.5 | 21.64 | |||
| 5 | 1 | Vilém Mandlík | TCH | 21.6 | 21.74 | |||
| 6 | 4 | Brian Shenton | GBR | 21.9 | 22.08 |
Final (27 November 1956 — 17:00)
| Pos | Lane | Athlete | NOC | Time (H) | Time (A) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Bobby Joe Morrow | USA | 20.6 | 20.75 | |||
| 2 | 4 | Andy Stanfield | USA | 20.7 | 20.97 | |||
| 3 | 6 | Thane Baker | USA | 20.9 | 21.05 | |||
| 4 | 1 | Mike Agostini | TTO | 21.1 | 21.35 | |||
| 5 | 2 | Boris Tokarev | URS | 21.2 | 21.42 | |||
| 6 | 5 | José da Conceição | BRA | 21.3 | 21.56 |