The men's marathon at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia was held on Saturday December 1, 1956. There were 46 participants from 23 nations, with 13 runners not completing the race. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Alain Mimoun of France, the nation's first Olympic marathon victory since 1928 and third overall. Yugoslavia took its first Olympic marathon medal with

Franjo Mihalić Franjo Mihalić (; 9 March 1920 – 14 February 2015) was a Yugoslav and Croatian long-distance runner best known for his 1958 win at the Boston Marathon and his marathon silver medal in the 1956 Summer Olympics. Mihalić competed mostly in marath ...

's silver. Finland returned to the podium in the event for the first time since 1932 (the end of a four-Games medal streak for the nation) as

Veikko Karvonen Veikko Leo Karvonen (5 January 1926 – 1 August 2007) was a Finnish long-distance runner who mainly competed in the marathon. He won the bronze medal in the marathon at the 1956 Summer Olympics. At the 1954 European Championships he won the go ...

took bronze.

Background

This was the 13th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Returning runners from the 1952 marathon included defending champion

Emil Zátopek Emil Zátopek (; 19 September 1922 – 21 November 2000) was a Czech long-distance runner best known for winning three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He won gold in the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres runs, but his final me ...

of Czechoslovakia and fifth-place finisher

of Finland. Zátopek's primary challenger was Alain Mimoun of France, who had won three silver medals in the 5000 metres and 10000 metres track events in 1948 and 1952—all behind Zátopek. Mimoun was making his marathon debut. Zátopek, on the other hand, was still recovering from hernia surgery. Burma, Ethiopia, Iran, Kenya, and New Zealand each made their first appearance in Olympic marathons; Germany appeared for the first time as the "United Team of Germany". The United States made its 13th appearance, the only nation to have competed in each Olympic marathon to that point.

Competition format and course

As all Olympic marathons, the competition was a single race. The marathon distance of 26 miles, 385 yards) was run over an out-and-back course, starting and finishing at the Olympic Stadium.

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records prior to the 1956 Summer Olympics. No new world or Olympic bests were set during the competition.

Schedule

All times are Australian Eastern Standard Time (

UTC+10 UTC+10:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +10:00. This time is used in: As standard time (year-round) ''Principal cities: Brisbane, Gold Coast, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Port Moresby, Dededo, Saipan'' North Asia *Russia – ...

)

Results

References

External links

Official Report

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics - Men's marathon M Marathons at the Olympics Men's marathons

Oly Oly may refer to: * Oly, informal name for Olympia, Washington, United States * OLY (: ), postnominals granted to participants in the Olympics People with the name * Oly (born 1992), American singer-songwriter and musician * Oly Hicks (born 1968 ...

Men's events at the 1956 Summer Olympics