| Date | 3 – 5 December 1956 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Olympic Park Swimming and Diving Stadium, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Participants | 12 from 8 countries |
The butterfly stroke had débuted at the Olympic Games in 1936 in Berlin as a new variant of breaststroke and by the Helsinki Games had proved to be so superior as to render the original technique worthless. The decision was then made to tighten the breaststroke rules and split butterfly into a new discipline.
The withdrawal of the Dutch team robbed the games of two of the outstanding swimmers in the event. Mary Kok was a previous world record holder whilst the most recent of Atie Voorbij’s five records was set just 10 days before the Games began – a week after the announcement of the Dutch boycott in protest against the Soviet invasion of Hungary Without the Dutch challenge the race became a procession for the Americans. Shelley Mann proved unbeatable and was followed home by teammates Nancy Ramey and Mary Sears for a US clean sweep. After a wait of 32 years between medal sweeps in women’s swimming events, this was the 2nd in 4 days.
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | R1 | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 71 | Shelley Mann |  USA | 1:11.2 (1 h1) | 1:11.0 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 72 | Nancy Ramey | USA | 1:13.4 (2 h1) | 1:11.9 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 60 | Mary Sears | USA | 1:15.1 (2 h2) | 1:14.4 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 101 | Mária Littomeritzky |  HUN | 1:15.2 (3 h2) | 1:14.9 (4) | |||
| 5 | – | Beverly Bainbridge |  AUS | 1:14.4 (1 h2) | 1:15.2 (5) | |||
| 6 | 67 | Jutta Langenau |  GER | 1:17.4 (5 h2) | 1:17.4 (6) | |||
| 7 | 35 | Beth Whittall |  CAN | 1:16.9 (4 h2) | 1:17.9 (7) | |||
| 8 | 64 | Sara Barber | CAN | 1:16.2 (3 h1) | 1:18.4 (8) | |||
| =9 | 65 | Marta Skupilová |  TCH | 1:17.7 (4 h1) | – | |||
| =9 | 68 | Anne Morton |  GBR | 1:17.7 (6 h2) | – | |||
| 11 | 63 | Maureen Giles | AUS | 1:19.4 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 12 | 66 | Odette Lusien |  FRA | 1:19.8 (7 h2) | – | |||
| 24 | Gertrudes Lozada |  PHI | – (DNS h1) | – | ||||
| 70 | Moira Abernethy |  RSA | – (DNS h1) | – |
| Date | 3 December 1956 — 19:30 |
|---|---|
| Format | Fastest eight advanced to the final. |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Shelley Mann | USA | 1:11.2 | ||
| 2 | – | Nancy Ramey | USA | 1:13.4 | ||
| 3 | – | Beverly Bainbridge | AUS | 1:14.4 | ||
| 4 | – | Mary Sears | USA | 1:15.1 | ||
| 5 | – | Mária Littomeritzky | HUN | 1:15.2 | ||
| 6 | – | Sara Barber | CAN | 1:16.2 | ||
| 7 | – | Beth Whittall | CAN | 1:16.9 | ||
| 8 | – | Jutta Langenau | GER | 1:17.4 | ||
| =9 | – | Marta Skupilová | TCH | 1:17.7 | ||
| =9 | – | Anne Morton | GBR | 1:17.7 | ||
| 11 | – | Maureen Giles | AUS | 1:19.4 | ||
| 12 | – | Odette Lusien | FRA | 1:19.8 | ||
| – | Gertrudes Lozada | PHI | – | |||
| – | Moira Abernethy | RSA | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Shelley Mann | USA | 1:11.2 | ||
| 2 | – | Nancy Ramey | USA | 1:13.4 | ||
| 3 | – | Sara Barber | CAN | 1:16.2 | ||
| 4 | – | Marta Skupilová | TCH | 1:17.7 | ||
| 5 | – | Maureen Giles | AUS | 1:19.4 | ||
| – | Gertrudes Lozada | PHI | – | |||
| – | Moira Abernethy | RSA | – |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Beverly Bainbridge | AUS | 1:14.4 | ||
| 2 | – | Mary Sears | USA | 1:15.1 | ||
| 3 | – | Mária Littomeritzky | HUN | 1:15.2 | ||
| 4 | – | Beth Whittall | CAN | 1:16.9 | ||
| 5 | – | Jutta Langenau | GER | 1:17.4 | ||
| 6 | – | Anne Morton | GBR | 1:17.7 | ||
| 7 | – | Odette Lusien | FRA | 1:19.8 |
| Date | 5 December 1956 — 21:15 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Shelley Mann | USA | 1:11.0 | ||
| 2 | – | Nancy Ramey | USA | 1:11.9 | ||
| 3 | – | Mary Sears | USA | 1:14.4 | ||
| 4 | – | Mária Littomeritzky | HUN | 1:14.9 | ||
| 5 | – | Beverly Bainbridge | AUS | 1:15.2 | ||
| 6 | – | Jutta Langenau | GER | 1:17.4 | ||
| 7 | – | Beth Whittall | CAN | 1:17.9 | ||
| 8 | – | Sara Barber | CAN | 1:18.4 |
