| | Event type

800 metres, Men

Date	23 – 26 November 1956
Status	Olympic
Location	Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Victoria
Participants	38 from 24 countries

At an international meet is Oslo in August 1955, Roger Moens (BEL) won, defeating Norway’s Audun Boysen, in a time of 1:45.7, with Boysen posting 1:45.9, both runners surpassing the world record of Rudolf Harbig, set in 1939. The other great race that year came at the Pan-American Games when Arnie Sowell (USA) defeated his countryman, Lon Spurrier. Sowell was AAU Champion in 1955-56, but American Tom Courtney was probably a slight favorite in Melbourne, having won the US Olympic Trials. Moens could not compete, having injured his knee a few months before the Olympics. In the Olympic final, Courtney led at the start but Sowell soon took over. He led thru 600 metres, the first lap done in 52.8. At 600, four were in contention for medals – Courtney, Sowell, Boysen and Britain’s Derek Johnson. At the top of the stretch, Johnson and Courtney took a slight lead and battled together to the line, with Courtney winning in the lean.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	R1	SF	Final
1	153	Tom Courtney	USA	1:52.7 (1 h2)	1:53.6 (1 h1)	1:47.7 (1)	Gold	OR
2	137	Derek Johnson	GBR	1:50.8 (1 h5)	1:50.2 (3 h2)	1:47.8 (2)	Silver
3	148	Audun Boysen	NOR	1:52.0 (1 h1)	1:50.0 (2 h2)	1:48.1 (3)	Bronze
4	154	Arnie Sowell	USA	1:51.3 (2 h3)	1:50.0 (1 h2)	1:48.3 (4)
5	136	Mike Farrell	GBR	1:52.8 (2 h2)	1:53.7 (3 h1)	1:49.2 (5)
6	155	Lon Spurrier	USA	1:51.5 (2 h4)	1:53.6 (2 h1)	1:49.3 (6)
7	126	Émile Leva	BEL	1:52.0 (3 h3)	1:50.4 (4 h2)	1:51.8 (7)
8	124	Bill Butchart	AUS	1:51.6 (3 h4)	1:53.8 (4 h1)	1:52.0 (8)
5 h1 r2/3	688	Lajos Szentgáli	HUN	1:51.8 (3 h5)	1:53.9 (5 h1)	–
5 h2 r2/3	138	Mike Rawson	GBR	1:52.1 (2 h1)	1:50.4 (5 h2)	–
6 h1 r2/3	143	Yoshitaka Muroya	JPN	1:52.3 (3 h1)	1:54.5 (6 h1)	–
6 h2 r2/3	132	René Djian	FRA	1:51.1 (2 h5)	1:50.7 (6 h2)	–
7 h2 r2/3	123	Jim Bailey	AUS	1:51.1 (1 h3)	1:51.4 (7 h2)	–
8 h2 r2/3	140	Evangelos Depastas	GRE	1:53.1 (3 h2)	1:52.0 (8 h2)	–
1 h4 r1/3	130	Gunnar Nielsen	DEN	1:51.2 (1 h4)	– (DNS h1)	–
4 h1 r1/3	106	Gérard Rasquin	LUX	1:52.7 (4 h1)	–	–
4 h2 r1/3	125	Don MacMillan	AUS	1:53.4 (4 h2)	–	–
4 h3 r1/3	141	Sohan Singh	IND	1:52.4 (4 h3)	–	–
4 h4 r1/3	142	Gianfranco Baraldi	ITA	1:51.9 (4 h4)	–	–
4 h5 r1/3	129	Ramón Sandoval	CHI	1:51.9 (4 h5)	–	–
5 h1 r1/3	139	Dimitrios Konstantinidis	GRE	1:52.7 (5 h1)	–	–
5 h2 r1/3	144	Shigeharu Suzuki	JPN	1:54.1 (5 h2)	–	–
5 h3 r1/3	128	Eduardo Fontecilla	CHI	1:52.8 (5 h3)	–	–
5 h4 r1/3	111	Abdullah Khan	PAK	1:52.6 (5 h4)	–	–
5 h5 r1/3	134	Klaus Richtzenhain	GER	1:53.3 (5 h5)	–	–
6 h1 r1/3	150	Frank Rivera	PUR	1:56.4 (6 h1)	–	–
6 h2 r1/3	135	Paul Schmidt	GER	1:55.6 (6 h2)	–	–
6 h3 r1/3	133	Günter Dohrow	GER	1:53.7 (6 h3)	–	–
6 h4 r1/3	146	Sim Sang-Ok	KOR	1:55.5 (6 h4)	–	–
6 h5 r1/3	149	Mahmoud Jan	PAK	1:59.5 (6 h5)	–	–
7 h1 r1/3	304	Mamo Wolde	ETH	1:58.0 (7 h1)	–	–
7 h2 r1/3	108	M. Hari Chandra	MAL	– (7 h2)	–	–
7 h3 r1/3	143	Kiptalam Keter	KEN	– (7 h3)	–	–
7 h4 r1/3	668	George Johnson	LBR	– (7 h4)	–	–
8 h2 r1/3	127	Doug Clement	CAN	– (8 h2)	–	–
8 h3 r1/3	303	Ajanew Bayene	ETH	– (8 h3)	–	–
9 h2 r1/3	152	Phol Jaiswang	THA	– (9 h2)	–	–
9 h3 r1/3	109	Kenneth Perera	MAL	– (9 h3)	–	–
DNS	669	Joseph Narmah	LBR	– (DNS h5)	–	–
DNS	90	Murray Cockburn	CAN	– (DNS h1)	–	–
DNS	131	Olavi Salsola	FIN	– (DNS h1)	–	–
DNS	689	István Rózsavölgyi	HUN	– (DNS h2)	–	–
DNS	102	Ronnie Delany	IRL	– (DNS h4)	–	–
DNS	103	George Kerr	JAM	– (DNS h5)	–	–
DNS	147	Josy Barthel	LUX	– (DNS h5)	–	–
DNS	151	Dan Waern	SWE	– (DNS h1)	–	–
DNS	626	Stanislav Jungwirth	TCH	– (DNS h4)	–	–

Round One

Date	23 November 1956 — 16:15
Format	Top three in each heat advanced to the semi-finals.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Time (automatic)	Time (hand)
1	137	Derek Johnson	GBR	1:50.93	1:50.8	Q
2	123	Jim Bailey	AUS	1:51.13	1:51.1	Q
3	132	René Djian	FRA	1:51.15	1:51.1	Q
=4	154	Arnie Sowell	USA	1:51.27	1:51.3	Q
=4	130	Gunnar Nielsen	DEN	1:51.27	1:51.2	Q
6	155	Lon Spurrier	USA	1:51.52	1:51.5	Q
7	124	Bill Butchart	AUS	1:51.67	1:51.6	Q
8	688	Lajos Szentgáli	HUN	1:51.89	1:51.8	Q
9	142	Gianfranco Baraldi	ITA	1:51.90	1:51.9
10	126	Émile Leva	BEL	1:52.03	1:52.0	Q
11	148	Audun Boysen	NOR	1:52.08	1:52.0	Q
12	129	Ramón Sandoval	CHI	1:52.12	1:51.9
13	138	Mike Rawson	GBR	1:52.20	1:52.1	Q
14	143	Yoshitaka Muroya	JPN	1:52.42	1:52.3	Q
15	141	Sohan Singh	IND	1:52.57	1:52.4
16	111	Abdullah Khan	PAK	1:52.71	1:52.6
17	153	Tom Courtney	USA	1:52.83	1:52.7	Q
18	136	Mike Farrell	GBR	1:52.86	1:52.8	Q
19	106	Gérard Rasquin	LUX	1:52.88	1:52.7
20	128	Eduardo Fontecilla	CHI	1:52.94	1:52.8
21	139	Dimitrios Konstantinidis	GRE	1:53.03	1:52.7
22	140	Evangelos Depastas	GRE	1:53.23	1:53.1	Q
23	134	Klaus Richtzenhain	GER	1:53.47	1:53.3
24	125	Don MacMillan	AUS	1:53.50	1:53.4
25	133	Günter Dohrow	GER	1:53.90	1:53.7
26	144	Shigeharu Suzuki	JPN	1:54.29	1:54.1
27	146	Sim Sang-Ok	KOR	1:55.56	1:55.5
28	135	Paul Schmidt	GER	1:55.71	1:55.6
29	143	Kiptalam Keter	KEN	1:56.13	–
30	108	M. Hari Chandra	MAL	1:56.27	–
31	150	Frank Rivera	PUR	1:56.58	1:56.4
32	127	Doug Clement	CAN	1:56.92	–
33	304	Mamo Wolde	ETH	1:58.0	–
34	149	Mahmoud Jan	PAK	1:59.5	–
AC	152	Phol Jaiswang	THA	–	–		1
AC	303	Ajanew Bayene	ETH	–	–		2
AC	668	George Johnson	LBR	–	–		3
AC	109	Kenneth Perera	MAL	–	–		4
DNS	90	Murray Cockburn	CAN	–	–
DNS	131	Olavi Salsola	FIN	–	–
DNS	151	Dan Waern	SWE	–	–
DNS	689	István Rózsavölgyi	HUN	–	–
DNS	102	Ronnie Delany	IRL	–	–
DNS	626	Stanislav Jungwirth	TCH	–	–
DNS	669	Joseph Narmah	LBR	–	–
DNS	103	George Kerr	JAM	–	–
DNS	147	Josy Barthel	LUX	–	–

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	148	Audun Boysen	NOR	1:52.0	1:52.08	Q
2	138	Mike Rawson	GBR	1:52.1	1:52.20	Q
3	143	Yoshitaka Muroya	JPN	1:52.3	1:52.42	Q
4	106	Gérard Rasquin	LUX	1:52.7	1:52.88
5	139	Dimitrios Konstantinidis	GRE	1:52.7	1:53.03
6	150	Frank Rivera	PUR	1:56.4	1:56.58
7	304	Mamo Wolde	ETH	1:58.0	–
DNS	90	Murray Cockburn	CAN	–	–
DNS	131	Olavi Salsola	FIN	–	–
DNS	151	Dan Waern	SWE	–	–

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	153	Tom Courtney	USA	1:52.7	1:52.83	Q
2	136	Mike Farrell	GBR	1:52.8	1:52.86	Q
3	140	Evangelos Depastas	GRE	1:53.1	1:53.23	Q
4	125	Don MacMillan	AUS	1:53.4	1:53.50
5	144	Shigeharu Suzuki	JPN	1:54.1	1:54.29
6	135	Paul Schmidt	GER	1:55.6	1:55.71
7	108	M. Hari Chandra	MAL	–	1:56.27
8	127	Doug Clement	CAN	–	1:56.92
9	152	Phol Jaiswang	THA	–	–
DNS	689	István Rózsavölgyi	HUN	–	–

Heat #3

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	123	Jim Bailey	AUS	1:51.1	1:51.13	Q
2	154	Arnie Sowell	USA	1:51.3	1:51.27	Q
3	126	Émile Leva	BEL	1:52.0	1:52.03	Q
4	141	Sohan Singh	IND	1:52.4	1:52.57
5	128	Eduardo Fontecilla	CHI	1:52.8	1:52.94
6	133	Günter Dohrow	GER	1:53.7	1:53.90
7	143	Kiptalam Keter	KEN	–	1:56.13
8	303	Ajanew Bayene	ETH	–	–
9	109	Kenneth Perera	MAL	–	–

Heat #4

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	130	Gunnar Nielsen	DEN	1:51.2	1:51.27	Q
2	155	Lon Spurrier	USA	1:51.5	1:51.52	Q
3	124	Bill Butchart	AUS	1:51.6	1:51.67	Q
4	142	Gianfranco Baraldi	ITA	1:51.9	1:51.90
5	111	Abdullah Khan	PAK	1:52.6	1:52.71
6	146	Sim Sang-Ok	KOR	1:55.5	1:55.56
7	668	George Johnson	LBR	–	–
DNS	102	Ronnie Delany	IRL	–	–
DNS	626	Stanislav Jungwirth	TCH	–	–

Heat #5

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	137	Derek Johnson	GBR	1:50.8	1:50.93	Q
2	132	René Djian	FRA	1:51.1	1:51.15	Q
3	688	Lajos Szentgáli	HUN	1:51.8	1:51.89	Q
4	129	Ramón Sandoval	CHI	1:51.9	1:52.12
5	134	Klaus Richtzenhain	GER	1:53.3	1:53.47
6	149	Mahmoud Jan	PAK	1:59.5	–
DNS	669	Joseph Narmah	LBR	–	–
DNS	103	George Kerr	JAM	–	–
DNS	147	Josy Barthel	LUX	–	–

Semi-Finals

Date	24 November 1956 — 16:00
Format	Top four in each heat advanced to the final.

Pos	Number	Competitor	NOC	Time (automatic)	Time (hand)
1	154	Arnie Sowell	USA	1:50.08	1:50.0	Q
2	148	Audun Boysen	NOR	1:50.20	1:50.0	Q
3	137	Derek Johnson	GBR	1:50.23	1:50.2	Q
4	126	Émile Leva	BEL	1:50.44	1:50.4	Q
5	138	Mike Rawson	GBR	1:50.45	1:50.4
6	132	René Djian	FRA	1:50.47	1:50.7
7	123	Jim Bailey	AUS	1:51.40	1:51.4
8	140	Evangelos Depastas	GRE	1:52.19	1:52.0
9	153	Tom Courtney	USA	1:53.62	1:53.6	Q
10	155	Lon Spurrier	USA	1:53.71	1:53.6	Q
11	136	Mike Farrell	GBR	1:53.78	1:53.7	Q
12	124	Bill Butchart	AUS	1:53.81	1:53.8	Q
13	688	Lajos Szentgáli	HUN	1:53.94	1:53.9
14	143	Yoshitaka Muroya	JPN	1:54.68	1:54.5
DNS	130	Gunnar Nielsen	DEN	–	–

Heat #1

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	153	Tom Courtney	USA	1:53.6	1:53.62	Q
2	155	Lon Spurrier	USA	1:53.6	1:53.71	Q
3	136	Mike Farrell	GBR	1:53.7	1:53.78	Q
4	124	Bill Butchart	AUS	1:53.8	1:53.81	Q
5	688	Lajos Szentgáli	HUN	1:53.9	1:53.94
6	143	Yoshitaka Muroya	JPN	1:54.5	1:54.68
DNS	130	Gunnar Nielsen	DEN	–	–

Heat #2

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	154	Arnie Sowell	USA	1:50.0	1:50.08	Q
2	148	Audun Boysen	NOR	1:50.0	1:50.20	Q
3	137	Derek Johnson	GBR	1:50.2	1:50.23	Q
4	126	Émile Leva	BEL	1:50.4	1:50.44	Q
5	138	Mike Rawson	GBR	1:50.4	1:50.45
6	132	René Djian	FRA	1:50.7	1:50.47
7	123	Jim Bailey	AUS	1:51.4	1:51.40
8	140	Evangelos Depastas	GRE	1:52.0	1:52.19

Final Round

Date	26 November 1956 — 15:30

Pos	Lane	Competitor	NOC	Time (Hand)	Time (Automatic)
1	153	Tom Courtney	USA	1:47.7	1:47.75	OR
2	137	Derek Johnson	GBR	1:47.8	1:47.88
3	148	Audun Boysen	NOR	1:48.1	1:48.25
4	154	Arnie Sowell	USA	1:48.3	1:48.41
5	136	Mike Farrell	GBR	1:49.2	1:49.29
6	155	Lon Spurrier	USA	1:49.3	1:49.38
7	126	Émile Leva	BEL	1:51.8	1:51.75
8	124	Bill Butchart	AUS	1:52.0	–

Split Times

Time	Athlete(s)	Result
200 m	Arnie Sowell	25.1
400 m	Arnie Sowell	52.8
600 m	–	1:20.4