AOC Media Centre - 1956 Melbourne

From Athens With Pride pagesBetty Cuthbert flying at the Melbourne 1956 Games is a feature of Chapter 15 of the book From Athens With Pride, written by Harry Gordon and launched in Sydney on 9 May 2014.

Opening Ceremony Melbourne 1956 Led by flag bearer Mervyn Wood, 314 Australian athletes march into the Olympic stadium. The Games are declared open by His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, Ron Clarke completes the Olympic torch relay and John Landy recites the athletes' oath. Copyright IOC.

Murray Rose Tribute Dinner Greats of the Olympic family gather for the Murray Rose Tribute Dinner at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney on 26 November, 2013.

Murray Rose Tribute DinnerThe Murray Rose Tribute Dinner at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney on 26 November, 2013.

Henricks wins 100m goldJon Henricks after winning gold in the men's 100m freestyle at the Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games

Athletics: 1500m Melbourne 1956John Landy competes in the Men's 1500 metres final and finishes third. Mervyn Lincoln also competed in the race and finished twelfth. Footage shows the sprint to the finish. Copyright IOC.

Demonstration Sport: Baseball Australia versus the United StatesBaseball was a demonstration sport at the Melbourne 1956 Games. The Australian team was selected by the Australian Baseball Council and was defeated by the USA eleven runs to five. Copyright IOC.

Demonstration Sport: Australian Rules Football (AFL)The competitors were all Australian and the game was played between representative teams made up of amateur players from the Victorian Amateur Football Association (in white) and a combined team from the Victorian Football Association and League (in green). Players include Denis Cordner, Dick Fenton-Smith and Laurie Dwyer. Copyright IOC.

Cycling: Men's Road RaceNo Australian featured. But John O'Sullivan, Jim Nevin, John Nestor and Jack Trickey competed in the event. An Australian athlete and officials can be seen as the camera pans pre-race. Footage includes highlights from the race. Copyright IOC.

Cycling: Men's 2000m TandemThe Australian pair Ian Browne and Tony Marchant defeat Czechoslovakia in the final of the Men's 2000 metre Tandem to win the Gold medal. Footage includes the start of the race and the sprint to the finish line. Copyright IOC.

Closing Ceremony Melbourne 1956IOC President, Avery Brundage declares the games closed. Footage includes a montage of the crowd, cannon fire, the Olympic flag being marched out of the stadium and the song "Goodbye Olympians" sung to the tune of Waltzing Matilda. Copyright IOC.

Athletics: Women's 100m Final Melbourne 1956Betty Cuthbert and Marlene Mathews compete in the Women's 100 metres final. Cuthbert wins Gold and Mathews wins Bronze. Footage includes medal ceremony. Copyright IOC.

Athletics: Women's 200m Melbourne 1956Betty Cuthbert wins the Women's 200 metres at the Melbourne 1956 Games, setting a new World and Olympic record. Marlene Mathews finished third and Norma Croker (Fleming) came fourth. Footage includes slow motion replay, results displayed on scoreboard, medal ceremony and Cuthbert kissing her Gold medal. Copyright IOC.

Athletics Women's 80m Hurdles Melbourne 1956Three Australians competed in the 80 metres hurdles final. Shirley Strickland wins Gold, setting a new Olympic and World record time of 10.7 seconds and becomes the first woman to retain an Olympic title. Norma Thrower wins the bronze medal and Gloria Cooke-Wigney finished in sixth place. Footage includes a slowmotion replay, the medal ceremony and Strickland waving to the crowd from the podium. Copyright IOC.

Athletics: Women's 4x100m Relay Melbourne 1956Australia wins the Gold medal in a photo finish with Great Britain, setting a new World record. Betty Cuthbert came from behind on the final leg to secure the victory. The Australian team included Shirley Strickland, Norma Croker (Fleming), Fleur Wenham (Mellor) and Betty Cuthbert. Includes footage of the photo finish technology, the Australian team celebrating their World Record and the medal ceremony. Copyright IOC.

Athletics Men's High Jump Melbourne 1956Charles "Chilla" Porter was only one of two competitors to clear the heigh of 2.10m. After fouling out at 2.12m, the Australian won a silver medal. Footage includes jumps from Porter and the American gold medalist Charles Dumas and a congratulatory handshake between the two competitors. Copright IOC.

Athletics: Men's 10,000m Melbourne 1956Alan Lawrence competes in the men's 10,000 metres and wins a bronze medal. Copyright IOC.

Athletics: Men's 5000m Melbourne 1956Albert Thomas competes in the 5000m and finishes fifth. Copyright IOC.

Athletics: Men's 100m Final Melbourne 1956Hector Hogan competes in the 100m Final and wins a bronze medal. Copyright IOC.

Athletics: Men's Steeplechase Melbourne 1956No Australian featured, however, Neil Robbins competed in the race and finished seventh in a time of 8:50. Footage includes pictures of the "barging" indicent which saw the eventual gold medalist Brasher (GBR) initially disqualified, before the decision was overturned upon review. Copyright IOC.

Athletics: Men's Marathon Melbourne 1956No Australian featured, however three Australians competed in the event. John Russel came eighteenth, Keith Ollerenshaw came twenty-fifth and Leslie Perry did not finish. Footage includes highlights from the race and medal ceremony. Copyright IOC.

Athletics: Men's 1500m Melbourne 1956An injured John Landy comeptes in the 1500 metres and finishes third, winning the bronze medal. Fellow Australian Mervyn Lincoln also competed in the final and placed twelfth. Footage includes result displayd on scoreboard and the medal ceremony where gold medalist Ronnie Delaney (IRE) shakes Landy's hand. Copyright IOC.

Athletics: Men's 800m Melbourne 1956Bill Butchart competes in the Men's 800 metres at the Melbourne 1956 Olympics. He finishes in eighth place. Copyright IOC.

Athletics: Men's 400m Hurdles Melbourne 1956No Australian featured. David Lean competes in the 400 metres hurdles and places fifth. Copyright IOC.

Athletics: Men's 20km Walk Melbourne 1956No Australians featured. Brief highlights from the Men's 20km Walk in the Melbourne 1956 Olympics. Australia's Donald Keane came sixth, Edward Allsopp came tenth and Ronald Crawford came thirteenth. Copyright IOC.