The women's 200 metres competition at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

was held at the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

on November 29–30.

Summary

At home, Australia got three athletes into the final, led by already

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

champion

Betty Cuthbert Elizabeth Alyse Cuthbert, (20 April 1938 – 6 August 2017) was an Australian athlete and a four-time Olympic champion. She was nicknamed Australia's "Golden Girl". During her career, she set world records for 60 metres, 100 yards, 200 metres ...

. Running in lane 5, with 100 metres silver medalist

Christa Stubnick Christa Stubnick (; née Seliger on 12 December 1933 – 13 May 2021) was an East German sprinter who competed for the United Team of Germany in the 1956 Summer Olympics. She won silver medals in the 100 m and 200 m events, splitting the Au ...

to her outside in lane 6, Cuthbert took an early lead making up the stagger on Stubnick more than 20 metres before the end of the turn. By the time they were all on the straightaway, she had a meter lead on Stubnick with no competition coming from the inside. She widened it to three metres by the finish. The race for bronze was more competitive as the other semi-final winner,

June Foulds June Florence Paul (née Foulds; 13 June 1934 – 6 November 2020) was a British track and field sprint runner. Personal life Born June Florence Foulds in Shepherd's Bush in 1934, she was brought up by her grandparents. She married British ...

had opened up a metre lead over the other two Australians through the turn, but both were gaining. 50 metres out,

Norma Croker Norma Croker Fleming (11 September 1934 – 21 August 2019) was an Australian sprinter. Croker was educated at Brisbane State High School. At the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, she placed 4th in the individual 200 metres race ...

caught Foulds marginally ahead, but Marlene Mathews-Willard continued to gain, opening up a meter on her compatriot by the finish, to take bronze. It was the same finish order as the 100 metres.

Competition format

The women's

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

competition started with six heats, where the fastest two from each heat qualified to one of the two semifinals groups. The three fastest runners from each semifinals group advanced to the final.

Records

Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.

Results

Heats

Heat 1 Heat 2 Heat 3 Heat 4 Heat 5 Heat 6

Semifinals

Group 1 Group 2

Final

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics - Women's 200 metres Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics 200 metres at the Olympics 1956 in women's athletics

Ath Ath (; nl, Aat, ; pcd, Ât; wa, Ate) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Arbre, Ath, Bouvignies, Ghislenghien, Gibecq, Houtaing, ...