|
|
 |
| |
|
Home > Olympics > Summer Olympics > Melbourne 1956
Melbourne 1956
The Olympic Games, or Olympics, are an international multi-sport event taking place every four years which comprises of summer and winter games. Though the first ancient games were held in 776 B.C., the modern games started from 1896. The unity of the 5 continents is shown on the Olympic flag by five colorful intertwined rings of red, blue, green, yellow, and black, created by Baron Pierre de Coubertin to represent at least one color of the participating country’s national flag. Melbourne 1956 is also one of that Olympic. It is
The 1956 Olympics event was held at Melbourne and was a summer Olympic XVI game. Melbourne won the right to host the 1956 Olympics by one vote over Buenos Aires. Such an event was the first to be held in the southern hemisphere. The event included 14 nations, 43 events and 241 men. The opening ceremony was held on 22 November, 1956. The official opening of the games was done by the Duke of Edinburgh by lighting the Olympic flame.
Melbourne 1956 included 17 sports including aquatics, athletics, basketball, boxing, kayak, cycling, equestrian, fencing, football, gymnastics, hockey, modern pentathlon, rowing, sailing, shooting, weightlifting and wrestling. Laszlo Papp of Hungary became the first boxer to win three gold medals. American Pat McCormick won both diving events, just as she had in 1952.
The United States basketball team, led by Bill Russell and K.C. Jones, put on the most dominant performance in Olympic history, scoring more than twice as much as their opponents and winning each of their games by at least 30 points. The USSR URS achieved 37 gold medals, 29 silver medals and 32 bronze medals and became the first leading nation that year. The event concluded with a closing ceremony that was held on 8 December, 1956.
Back to Summer Olympics
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|