Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's marathon

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 three since the 1930 Olympic Congress.

Background

This was the 13th appearance of the Olympic marathon, one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Returning runners from the 1952 marathon included defending champion Emil Zátopek of Czechoslovakia and fifth-place finisher Veikko Karvonen of Finland. Zátopek's primary challenger was Alain Mimoun of France, who had won three silver medals in the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres track events in 1948 and 1952—all behind Zátopek. Mimoun was making his marathon debut. Zátopek, however, 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 every Olympic marathon to that point.

Course and Format

As with all Olympic marathons, the competition was a single race. The marathon distance of 26 miles, 385 yards (42.195 km) was run over an out-and-back course, starting and finishing at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (Olympic Stadium). Its eastern turning point was at the site of the Oakleigh Motel—Victoria's first motel, which was under construction at the time of the event.

Records

Prior to the competition, the world record was held by Jim Peters of Great Britain (2:17:39.4, set on 26 June 1954 in London). The Olympic record was held by Emil Zátopek of Czechoslovakia (2:23:03.2, set on 27 July 1952 in Helsinki). No new world or Olympic bests were set during the competition.

Results

The event was won by 1 minute 32 seconds by Alain Mimoun of France, with a time of 2:25:00. This was France's first Olympic marathon victory since 1928 and third overall. Franjo Mihalić of Yugoslavia took the silver medal (2:26:32), giving Yugoslavia its first Olympic marathon medal. Veikko Karvonen of Finland took bronze (2:27:47), returning Finland to the podium in the event for the first time since 1932.

Defending champion Emil Zátopek finished in 6th place with a time of 2:29:34.

Thirteen runners did not finish (DNF), including notable competitors such as Giuseppe Lavelli (Italy), Ron Clark (Great Britain), and Les Perry (Australia). Two athletes—Demissie Gamatcho (Ethiopia) and Rudy Méndez (Puerto Rico)—did not start (DNS).