| Date | 26 November 1956 — 15:30 |
|---|---|
| Location | Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Olympic Record | 1:49.2 / Mal Whitfield  USA / 22 July 1952 / Details1:49.2 / Mal Whitfield USA / 2 August 1948 / Details |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time (Hand) | Time (Automatic) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Tom Courtney | USA | 1:47.7 | 1:47.75 | |||
| 2 | 6 | Derek Johnson |  GBR | 1:47.8 | 1:47.88 | |||
| 3 | 4 | Audun Boysen |  NOR | 1:48.1 | 1:48.25 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Arnie Sowell | USA | 1:48.3 | 1:48.41 | |||
| 5 | 5 | Mike Farrell | GBR | 1:49.2 | 1:49.29 | |||
| 6 | 8 | Lon Spurrier | USA | 1:49.3 | 1:49.38 | |||
| 7 | 1 | Émile Leva |  BEL | 1:51.8 | 1:51.75 | |||
| 8 | 7 | Bill Butchart |  AUS | 1:52.0 | – |
| Time | Athlete(s) | NOC | Result | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 m | Arnie Sowell | | 25.1 | ||
| 400 m | Arnie Sowell | | 52.8 | ||
| 600 m | – | | 1:20.4 |
