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United Team of Germany at the 1956 Summer Olympics

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United Team of Germany at the
1956 Summer Olympics
Flag of Germany, which was used at the time by both East Germany (until 1959) and West Germany
IOC codeEUA
NOCUnited Team of Germany
in Melbourne/Stockholm
Competitors158 in 15 sports
Flag bearersKarl-Friedrich Haas (Melbourne)
Fritz Thiedemann (Stockholm)
Medals
Ranked 7th
Gold
6
Silver
13
Bronze
7
Total
26
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
Other related appearances
 Germany (1896–1936, 1952, 1992–)
 Saar (1952)
 East Germany (1968–1988)
 West Germany (1968–1988)

Germany was represented at the 1956 Summer Olympics by a United Team of Germany of athletes from the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) (West Germany) and, for the first time at Summer Games, also from East Germany which had not joined in 1952. Also, the Saarland athletes who had to enter as a separate team in 1952 could now join in even though the accession of their state was not yet in effect. Thus, this was the only Olympic team ever to comprise athletes from three German states.

Most of the Games were held in Melbourne, Australia, but due to Australian quarantine regulations the equestrian events were held five months earlier in Stockholm, Sweden. 158 competitors, 134 men and 24 women, took part in 95 events in 15 sports.[1]

Events

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The horse Halla carried rider Hans Günter Winkler to two Gold medals, and one more in 1960 for an all-time record.

Heinz Fütterer, who had tied the 100m world record and set some European records, was a favorite for medals, but was injured before the games in an event held in East Germany.

Compared to 1952, where no Gold had been won, the Germans improved significantly, but still won more than twice as many Silver than Gold, being ranked joint 4th in total medals.

Medalists

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Nationality in brackets.

Gold

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Silver

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Bronze

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Athletics

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Men's 110m Hurdles

  • Heat — 14.2s
  • Semifinals — 14.4s
  • Final — 14.5s (→ 4th place)
  • Heat — 14.3s
  • Semifinals — 14.5s (→ did not advance)

Men's Marathon

Boxing

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Canoeing

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Cycling

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Tandem
Team pursuit
Team road race
Individual road race

Fencing

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One fencer represented Germany in 1956.

Men's foil
Men's épée
Men's sabre

Football

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Gymnastics

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Hockey

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Rowing

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The United Team of Germany had 12 male rowers participate in five of the seven rowing events in 1956.[2]

Men's single sculls
Men's double sculls – 4th place
Men's coxless pair
Men's coxed pair – 2nd place ( silver medal)
Men's coxless four

Sailing

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Shooting

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Two shooters represented Germany in 1956.

50 m rifle, three positions
50 m rifle, prone

Swimming

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Water polo

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Weightlifting

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Wrestling

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References

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  1. ^ "Germany at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Games". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2010-10-16.
  2. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Germany Rowing at the 1956 Melbourne Summer Games". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
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