1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...
in
Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...
. The event was also known at the time as putting the weight. The qualifying round and the final both were held on Wednesday November 28, 1956. Fourteen
shot put
The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...
ters from ten nations competed. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress.
Parry O'Brien
William Patrick "Parry" O'Brien (January 28, 1932 – April 21, 2007) was an American shot put champion. He competed in four consecutive Summer Olympics where he won two gold medals (1952, 1956) and one silver medal ( 1960). In his last Olympic ...
had held the
world record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...
for three years. In that time he had added a meter and a quarter to the previous record, including the current world record he had set just two months earlier. He was also the defending champion. On his first throw of the competition, he improved upon his own Olympic record with a 17.92m.
Jiří Skobla
Jiří Skobla (6 April 1930 – 18 November 1978) was a Czechoslovak athlete who competed mainly in the shot put. Born in Prague, he was the son of former Olympic heavyweight weightlifting champion Jaroslav Skobla.Bill Nieder
William Henry Nieder (August 10, 1933 – October 7, 2022) was an American athlete who mainly competed in the shot put.
Nieder was born in Hempstead, New York, and grew up in Lawrence, Kansas.Ken Bantum briefly moved into bronze medal position with a 17.48m putting the American team in a position to sweep the event for the second time in a row, before Skobla threw three additional cm past him. On his final throw Skobla threw his best of 17.65m.Mens Shot Put Final Round at Sports Reference /ref> O'Brien's victory was the third consecutive and 11th overall victory for an American shot putter; O'Brien was the fourth man to win two shot put medals and the second man to win two gold medals. It was the third straight Games in which the United States took the first two places, with Skobla's bronze (Czechoslovakia's first shot put medal since 1932) blocking a third straight medal sweep for the Americans.
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 finalists from the 1952 Games were gold medalist
Parry O'Brien
William Patrick "Parry" O'Brien (January 28, 1932 – April 21, 2007) was an American shot put champion. He competed in four consecutive Summer Olympics where he won two gold medals (1952, 1956) and one silver medal ( 1960). In his last Olympic ...
Parry O'Brien
William Patrick "Parry" O'Brien (January 28, 1932 – April 21, 2007) was an American shot put champion. He competed in four consecutive Summer Olympics where he won two gold medals (1952, 1956) and one silver medal ( 1960). In his last Olympic ...
's first throw of the final, 17.92 metres, broke the Olympic record. He extended his new record on his second throw (18.47 metres) and fifth throw (18.57 metres), though all six of his throws were beyond the old record. Three of four legal throws by
Bill Nieder
William Henry Nieder (August 10, 1933 – October 7, 2022) was an American athlete who mainly competed in the shot put.
Nieder was born in Hempstead, New York, and grew up in Lawrence, Kansas.Jiří Skobla
Jiří Skobla (6 April 1930 – 18 November 1978) was a Czechoslovak athlete who competed mainly in the shot put. Born in Prague, he was the son of former Olympic heavyweight weightlifting champion Jaroslav Skobla.Ken Bantum had one throw beyond the 17.41 metres mark.
Schedule
All times are
Australian Eastern Standard Time
Australia uses three main time zones: Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST; UTC+10:00), Australian Central Standard Time (ACST; UTC+09:30) and Australian Western Standard Time (AWST; UTC+08:00).
Time is regulated by the individual states a ...
(
UTC+10
UTC+10:00 is an identifier for a UTC offset, time offset from UTC of +10:00. This time is used in:
As standard time (year-round)
Principal cities: Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Saipan, Dededo, Port Moresby, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold C ...
)
Results
Qualifying
The qualifying round was held despite there being only 14 athletes with at least 12 guaranteed to move to the final. All 14 men who started the competition reached the qualifying mark of 15.00 metres, so no athlete was eliminated in the qualifying round.