Host City: Melbourne, Australia |
Format: All those reaching 15.00 metres advanced to the final. |
Date Started: November 28, 1956 |
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Date Finished: November 28, 1956 |
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(Competitors: 14; Countries: 10; Finalists: 14) |
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Venue(s): Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Victoria
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Overview by IAAF |
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By 1956 O’Brien had fully developed the technique which would be the model for all throwers in following decades. Using the circle to its full diameter O’Brien effectively increased the arc that the shot had to travel before leaving the athlete, and distances increased as a result. This, together with intense weight training and every possible psychological stimulus, made O’Brien the most formidable athlete of his generation. In 20 competitions in 1956 before Melbourne O’Brien averaged 18.49, a distance no other putter had ever reached. O’Brien contented himself with 16.63 in qualifying, behind Skobla (17.09), and Nieder (16.76), as 14 men reached the weak qualifying standard of 14.00. In the final, O’Brien led the field with what would turn out to be his worst throw – 17.92, with Skobla in second (17.39) ahead of the athletic giant (1.98/107Kg) Bantum. O’Brien went over 60 feet in the next round with 18.47, as Nieder got a fair throw of 17.61, which he improved upon in the next round to 17.81. Bantum moved up to 17.48 in round 4, but Skobla countered with 17.51. The Czech, son of Jaroslav, who had won the heavyweight title in weightlifting in 1932, secured third place with 17.65 in the final round. Earlier, Nieder had taken off the bandage on his injured knee for freer movement and pushed the shot out to 18.18. O’Brien also reached his best of the day in the fifth round with 18.57. |
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Summary by Sports-reference.com |
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By 1956 defending champion Parry O'Brien had established himself as the greatest putter in the world. Between Olympics he had broken the world record 15 times, though not all were ratified. In May 1964 he had become the first putter over 60 feet when he threw 18.42 (60-5¼) in a UCLA-USC dual meet. He did it with a revolutionary new technique in which he began with his back to the front of the cirlc and did a 180° turn before releasing the shot. His 1956 gold medal was quite easy, as he had the five longest puts of the competition. American Bill Nieder won the silver medal over Czechoslovakia's Jiří Škobla. Škobla's father, Jaroslav, had also won an Olympic medal – a gold in 1932 heavyweight weightlifting. |
Records
These were the standing world and Olympic records (in metres) prior to the 1956 Summer Olympics.
World Record |
19.25 |
Parry O'Brien |
Los Angeles (USA) |
November 1, 1956 |
Olympic Record |
17.41 |
Parry O'Brien |
Helsinki (FIN) |
July 21, 1952 |
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Results |
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Shot Put |
Men |
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Final |
28 November |
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Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Age |
Records |
Notes |
1 |
18.57 |
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Parry O'Brien |
United States |
USA |
24 |
OR |
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2 |
18.18 |
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Bill Nieder |
United States |
USA |
23 |
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3 |
17.65 |
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Jiří Skobla |
Czechoslovakia |
TCH |
26 |
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4 |
17.48 |
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Ken Bantum |
United States |
USA |
21 |
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5 |
16.96 |
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Boris Belyayev |
Soviet Union |
URS |
23 |
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6 |
16.65 |
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Erik Uddebom |
Sweden |
SWE |
22 |
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7 |
16.63 |
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Karl-Heinz Wegmann |
Germany |
GER |
22 |
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8 |
16.56 |
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Georgios Tsakanikas |
Greece |
GRE |
22 |
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9 |
16.52 |
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Barry Donath |
Australia |
AUS |
23 |
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10 |
16.28 |
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Silvano Meconi |
Italy |
ITA |
25 |
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11 |
16.08 |
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Peter Hanlin |
Australia |
AUS |
25 |
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12 |
15.81 |
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Barclay Palmer |
Great Britain |
GBR |
24 |
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13 |
15.62 |
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Vladimir Loshchilov |
Soviet Union |
URS |
24 |
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14 |
15.31 |
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Raymond Thomas |
France |
FRA |
25 |
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Shot Put |
Men |
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Qualifying Round |
28 November |
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Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Age |
Records |
Notes |
1 |
17.15 |
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Q |
Jiří Skobla |
Czechoslovakia |
TCH |
26 |
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2 |
16.76 |
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Q |
Bill Nieder |
United States |
USA |
23 |
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3 |
16.63 |
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Q |
Parry O'Brien |
United States |
USA |
24 |
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4 |
16.57 |
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Q |
Barry Donath |
Australia |
AUS |
23 |
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5 |
16.35 |
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Q |
Erik Uddebom |
Sweden |
SWE |
22 |
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6 |
16.19 |
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Q |
Silvano Meconi |
Italy |
ITA |
25 |
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7 |
15.99 |
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Q |
Georgios Tsakanikas |
Greece |
GRE |
22 |
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8 |
15.76 |
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Q |
Ken Bantum |
United States |
USA |
21 |
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9 |
15.73 |
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Q |
Karl-Heinz Wegmann |
Germany |
GER |
22 |
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10 |
15.63 |
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Q |
Vladimir Loshchilov |
Soviet Union |
URS |
24 |
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11 |
15.62 |
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Q |
Peter Hanlin |
Australia |
AUS |
25 |
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12 |
15.42 |
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Q |
Raymond Thomas |
France |
FRA |
25 |
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13 |
15.19 |
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Q |
Barclay Palmer |
Great Britain |
GBR |
24 |
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14 |
15.03 |
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Q |
Boris Belyayev |
Soviet Union |
URS |
23 |
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Detailed View
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Final 14:30 |
Team |
Dist. |
1. |
2. |
3. |
4. |
5. |
6. |
1. Parry O'Brien |
USA |
18.57m |
17.92 |
18.47 |
18.37 |
18.45 |
18.57 |
18.23 |
2. William Nieder |
USA |
18.18m |
X |
17.61 |
17.81 |
16.82 |
18.18 |
X |
3. Jiri Skobla |
TCH |
17.65m |
17.39 |
16.70 |
17.34 |
17.51 |
17.05 |
17.65 |
4. Kenneth Bantum |
USA |
17.48m |
16.99 |
X |
16.27 |
17.48 |
X |
X |
5. Boris Balyayev |
URS |
16.96m |
16.96 |
16.05 |
16.58 |
15.96 |
16.11 |
16.24 |
6. Erik Uddebom |
SWE |
16.65m |
16.54 |
X |
16.65 |
15.74 |
16.06 |
16.31 |
7. Karl-Heinz Wegmann |
GER |
16.63m |
16.43 |
16.63 |
16.37 |
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8. Georgios Tsakanikas |
GRE |
16.56m |
X |
16.56 |
15.52 |
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9. Barry Donath |
AUS |
16.52m |
X |
16.52 |
16.01 |
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10.Silvano Meconi |
ITA |
16.28m |
X |
16.28 |
15.83 |
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11.Robert Hanlin |
AUS |
16.08m |
15.76 |
16.08 |
15.50 |
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12.Barclay Palmer |
GBR |
15.81m |
15.81 |
15.17 |
15.65 |
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13.Vladimir Lochilov |
URS |
15.62m |
15.62 |
15.33 |
15.39 |
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14.Raymond Thomas |
FRA |
15.31m |
15.11 |
15.28 |
15.31 |
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Qualification Round - Wednesday 28.11 10:00 - mark 15.00m - 14 Athletes |
Group |
Team |
Dist. |
1. |
2. |
3. |
1. Jiri Skobla |
TCH |
17.15m |
17.15 |
- |
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2. William Nieder |
USA |
16.76m |
16.76 |
- |
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3. Parry O'Brien |
USA |
16.63m |
16.63 |
- |
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4. Barry Donath |
AUS |
16.57m |
16.57 |
- |
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5. Erik Uddebom |
SWE |
16.35m |
16.35 |
- |
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6. Silvano Meconi |
ITA |
16.19m |
16.19 |
- |
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7. Georgios Tsakanikas |
GRE |
14.93m |
15.99 |
- |
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8. Kenneth Bantum |
USA |
15.76m |
15.76 |
- |
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9. Karl-Heinz Wegmann |
GER |
15.73m |
15.73 |
- |
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10.Vladimir Lochilov |
URS |
15.63m |
15.63 |
- |
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11.Robert Hanlin |
AUS |
15.62m |
15.62 |
- |
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12.Raymond Thomas |
FRA |
15.42m |
15.42 |
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13.Barclay Palmer |
GBR |
15.19m |
15.19 |
- |
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14.Boris Balyayev |
URS |
15.03m |
15.03 |
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- |
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