History

Many members of the IOC had doubts about Melbourne from the beginning. Its location in the Southern Hemisphere, where the seasons are reversed, was a big strike against it, since it would require that the Olympics be held in the Northern Hemisphere's off-season, so to speak, when many athletes were accustomed to resting from the rigors of one year and gathering themselves for the rigors of the next.

But Melbourne was selected, in 1949, to host the 1956 Olympics by a one-vote margin. The first sign of trouble was the revelation that Australian equine quarantine would prevent the country from hosting the equestrian events. Stockholm was selected as the alternate site, so equestrian competition began on June 10, five and a half months before the rest of the Olympic games were to open, half the world away.

Then bickering over financing broke out among Australian politicians. Faced with a housing shortage, the premier of Victoria, in which Melbourne is located, refused to allocate money for the Olympic village, and the country's prime minister barred the used of federal funds.

IOC President Avery Brundage, suggested that Rome, which was to host the 1960 games, was so far ahead of Melbourne in preparations that it might be ready as a replacement site in 1956.

As late as April of 1955, Brundage was still doubtful about Melbourne, and an inspection trip didn't satisfy him. Construction was well underway by then, thanks to a $4.5 million federal loan to Victoria, but it was behind schedule. He still held out the possibility that Rome might have to step in.

By the beginning of 1956, though, it was obvious that Melbourne would be ready for the Olympics. The question then arose: Would the rest of the world be ready?

Great Britain and France took over the Suez Canal after Israel attacked Egypt. In protest, Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon announced they wouldn't participate in the Olympics. The Soviet Union invaded a rebellious Hungary, leading to the withdrawal of the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland.

Less than two weeks before the Nov. 22 opening ceremony, the People's Republic of China also pulled out because the Republic of China (Taiwan) had been allowed to compete.

Although the number of countries participating was almost the same--67, compared to 69 in 1952--the number of athletes dropped sharply, from 4,925 to 3,342. (Another 158 athletes, from 29 countries, took part in the Stockholm equestrian competition.)

Once the games were underway, though, they certainly went well. The Aussies were excellent hosts, both friendly and efficient. They were also well represented in competition. Betty Cuthbert, an 18-year-old from Sydney, won the 100- and 200-meter dashes and ran a great final leg in the 4 x 100-meter relay to overcome Great Britain's lead and claim her third gold medal. The veteran Shirley Strickland repeated in the 80-meter hurdles and also ran on the relay team, running her career total to seven, three golds, a silver, and three bronze medals.

But it was in swimming that the Australians really shone. They won all of the freestyle races, men's and women's, and collected a total of eight gold, four silver and two bronze medals. Murray Rose became the first male swimmer to win two freestyle events since Johnny Weissmuller in 1924, while Dawn Fraser won gold medals in the 100-meter freestyle and as the leadoff swimmer on the 4 x 100-meter relay team.

Controversial judging prevented the United States from winning all four diving events, which had become almost customary. Pat McCormick again took gold medals in both the springboard and the platform, and Bob Clotworthy won the men's springboard. However, Gary Tobian was given unusually low scores by the Russian and Hungarian judges, and he finished second by just .03 to Mexico Joaquim Capilla in the platform event.

United States men dominated track and field. They not only won 15 of 24 events, they swept four of them and finished first and second in five others. Bobby Joe Morrow led the way with gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and the 4 x 100-meter relay. Tom Courtney barely overtook Great Britain's Derek Johnson in the 800-meter run, then collapsed from the exertion and needed medical attention.

Vladimir Kuts of the Soviet Union ran away from his competition in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter runs, while Ireland's Ron Delaney ran a brilliant 53.8 over the last 400 meters to win the 1,500-meter run, in which favorite John Landy of Australia finished third.

There was a major upset, marred briefly by controversy, in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Little-known Chris Brasher of Great Britain finished well ahead of the field, but judges announced that he was disqualified for interfering with Norway's Ernst Larsen, and they anointed Sandor Rozsnyoi of Hungary as the winner. Brasher's appeal, remarkably, was supported by Larsen, Rozsnyoi, and fourth-place finisher Heinz Laufer of Germany. The decision was reversed and Brasher became the first Briton to win a gold medal in track and field since 1932.

Only two world records were set in track and field. Mildred McDaniel, the only American woman to win gold in the sport, set a high jump record of 5 feet, 9 1/4 inches, and Egil Danielsen of Norway overcame a troublesome wind with a remarkable javelin throw of 281 feet, 2 1/2 inches.

Throughout the Olympics, Hungarian athletes were cheered by fans from Australia and other countries. Many of them gathered in the boxing arena when thirty-year-old Laszlo Papp of Hungary won his third gold medal by beating Jose Torres for the light-middleweight championship.

A few days later, the crowd was with the Hungarian water polo team in its match against the Soviet Union. The game became rough and, when a Hungarian was forced to leave the pool with blood streaming from a cut over his eye, a riot almost broke out. But police restored order and the game was called early, with Hungary leading 4-0. The Hungarians went on to win the gold medal.

Despite the international tensions of 1956--or perhaps because of them--the Australian organizers came up with a new idea for the closing ceremony. Instead of marching as teams, behind their national flags, the athletes mingled with one another as they paraded into and around the arena for a final appearance before the spectators. That began an Olympic tradition that has been followed ever since.

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