Olympic gymnastics event
Men's artistic individual all-aroundat the Games of the XVI Olympiad
Venue Festival Hall Dates 3–7 December 1956 Competitors 63 from 18 nations Winning score 114.25
The men's artistic individual all-around competition at the 1956 Summer Olympics was held at the West Melbourne Stadium from 3 to 7 December. It was the twelfth appearance of the event.[ 1] There were 63 competitors from 18 nations, with each nation entering up to 6 gymnasts.[ 2] The event was won by Viktor Chukarin of the Soviet Union, the second man to successfully defend an all-around title (after Alberto Braglia in 1908 and 1912) and fourth to earn multiple medals of any color. His countryman Yury Titov took bronze. Takashi Ono of Japan earned silver. It was the first medal in the event for Japan, beginning that nation's nearly four-decade battle with the Soviet Union for dominance. Every men's all-around medal from 1956 to 1976 was won by a gymnast from one of those two nations; from 1952 to 1988, the Soviets won six of the ten gold medals while Japan won the other four.
Background
This was the 12th appearance of the men's individual all-around. The first individual all-around competition had been held in 1900, after the 1896 competitions featured only individual apparatus events. A men's individual all-around has been held every Games since 1900.[ 2]
Three of the top 10 gymnasts from the 1952 Games returned: gold medalist Viktor Chukarin of the Soviet Union, fourth-place finisher Valentin Muratov of the Soviet Union, and ninth-place finisher Helmut Bantz of Germany. Chukarin and Muratov had tied for the World Championship in 1954.[ 2]
Australia made its debut in the event. East and West Germany competed together as the United Team of Germany for the first time. France made its 10th appearance, tying the absent Italy for most among nations.
The gymnastics format continued to use the aggregation format, mostly following the scoring tweaks made in 1952. Each nation entered either a team of six gymnasts or up to three individual gymnasts. All entrants in the gymnastics competitions performed both a compulsory exercise and a voluntary exercise for each apparatus. The 12 exercise scores were summed to give an individual all-around total.
No separate finals were contested.
Exercise scores ranged from 0 to 10, apparatus scores from 0 to 20, and individual totals from 0 to 120.
Schedule
All times are Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC+10 )
Date
Time
Round
Monday, 3 December 1956 Tuesday, 4 December 1956 Wednesday, 5 December 1956 Thursday, 6 December 1956 Friday, 7 December 1956
8:00
Final
Results
The results of the competition are shown below.[ 3]
Rank
Gymnast
Nation
Exercise results
Total
C
V
T
C
V
T
C
V
T
C
V
T
C
V
T
C
V
T
Viktor Chukarin
Soviet Union
9.55
9.55
19.10
9.40
9.60
19.00
9.50
9.60
19.10
9.25
9.35
18.60
9.55
9.65
19.20
9.55
9.70
19.25
114.25
Takashi Ono
Japan
9.40
9.35
18.75
9.50
9.55
19.05
9.50
9.70
19.20
9.20
9.30
18.50
9.60
9.50
19.10
9.75
9.85
19.60
114.20
Yury Titov
Soviet Union
9.50
9.45
18.95
9.40
9.45
18.85
9.45
9.55
19.00
9.35
9.40
18.75
9.40
9.45
18.85
9.70
9.70
19.40
113.80
4
Masao Takemoto
Japan
9.00
9.50
18.50
9.60
9.50
19.10
9.45
9.45
18.90
9.20
9.45
18.65
9.40
9.70
19.10
9.70
9.60
19.30
113.55
5
Valentin Muratov
Soviet Union
9.60
9.60
19.20
9.60
9.55
19.15
9.45
9.35
18.80
9.40
9.45
18.85
9.30
9.40
18.70
9.55
9.05
18.60
113.30
6
Helmut Bantz
United Team of Germany
9.35
9.40
18.75
9.25
9.35
18.60
9.35
9.40
18.75
9.40
9.45
18.85
9.45
9.35
18.80
9.50
9.65
19.15
112.90
7
Albert Azaryan
Soviet Union
8.90
9.05
17.95
9.55
9.80
19.35
9.25
9.50
18.75
9.15
9.40
18.55
9.30
9.70
19.00
9.40
9.55
18.95
112.55
8
Masami Kubota
Japan
9.30
9.40
18.70
9.60
9.50
19.10
9.35
9.30
18.65
9.25
9.05
18.30
9.55
9.60
19.15
9.20
9.40
18.60
112.50
Boris Shakhlin
Soviet Union
8.95
9.30
18.25
9.35
9.35
18.70
9.50
9.75
19.25
9.35
9.35
18.70
9.30
9.55
18.85
9.30
9.45
18.75
112.50
10
Nobuyuki Aihara
Japan
9.50
9.60
19.10
9.55
9.50
19.05
9.35
9.40
18.75
9.20
8.90
18.10
9.35
9.55
18.90
9.30
9.25
18.55
112.45
11
Kalevi Suoniemi
Finland
9.35
9.35
18.70
9.30
9.50
18.80
9.35
9.45
18.80
9.15
9.40
18.55
9.25
9.55
18.80
9.25
9.45
18.70
112.35
12
Shinsaku Tsukawaki
Japan
9.30
9.40
18.70
9.50
9.50
19.00
9.20
9.25
18.45
9.20
9.25
18.45
9.45
9.40
18.85
9.30
9.45
18.75
112.20
13
Ferdinand Daniš
Czechoslovakia
9.40
9.40
18.80
9.45
9.45
18.90
9.40
8.85
18.25
9.30
9.10
18.40
9.40
9.30
18.70
9.45
9.40
18.85
111.90
14
Pavel Stolbov
Soviet Union
9.15
9.35
18.50
9.40
9.40
18.80
9.40
9.50
18.90
9.10
9.25
18.35
8.55
9.40
17.95
9.55
9.70
19.25
111.75
15
Berndt Lindfors
Finland
9.05
9.45
18.50
9.45
9.40
18.85
9.45
9.35
18.80
8.80
9.10
17.90
9.45
9.45
18.90
9.20
9.45
18.65
111.60
16
Akira Kono
Japan
9.40
9.10
18.50
9.40
9.30
18.70
9.00
9.60
18.60
9.00
9.30
18.30
9.40
9.30
18.70
9.30
9.45
18.75
111.55
17
Jack Beckner
United States
9.25
9.25
18.50
8.70
9.05
17.75
9.30
9.10
18.40
9.25
9.35
18.60
9.40
9.35
18.75
9.40
9.60
19.00
111.00
18
Josef Škvor
Czechoslovakia
8.90
9.10
18.00
9.15
9.05
18.20
9.45
9.60
19.05
9.20
9.25
18.45
9.20
9.25
18.45
9.20
9.50
18.70
110.85
19
Velik Kapsazov
Bulgaria
9.00
9.15
18.15
9.20
9.25
18.45
9.30
9.35
18.65
9.10
9.15
18.25
9.20
9.30
18.50
9.40
9.35
18.75
110.75
20
Robert Klein
United Team of Germany
9.30
9.20
18.50
9.40
9.35
18.75
8.95
9.05
18.00
9.30
9.30
18.60
9.20
9.10
18.30
9.25
9.20
18.45
110.60
Martti Mansikka
Finland
9.30
9.40
18.70
9.15
9.05
18.20
9.30
9.35
18.65
9.20
9.35
18.55
9.15
9.35
18.50
8.90
9.10
18.00
110.60
22
Onni Lappalainen
Finland
9.20
9.30
18.50
8.95
9.20
18.15
9.05
9.40
18.45
9.00
9.25
18.25
9.30
9.55
18.85
9.00
9.25
18.25
110.45
23
Vladimír Kejř
Czechoslovakia
9.10
9.30
18.40
9.30
9.20
18.50
9.15
9.10
18.25
9.10
9.45
18.55
9.15
9.15
18.30
9.20
9.10
18.30
110.30
24
Attila Takács
Hungary
9.15
9.25
18.40
8.95
9.25
18.20
9.10
9.35
18.45
9.20
9.35
18.55
9.40
9.25
18.65
9.45
8.45
17.90
110.15
25
Theo Wied
United Team of Germany
9.20
9.20
18.40
9.05
8.75
17.80
8.90
9.05
17.95
9.30
9.40
18.70
9.15
9.20
18.35
9.25
9.45
18.70
109.90
26
Zdeněk Růžička
Czechoslovakia
9.00
9.20
18.20
9.10
9.20
18.30
9.15
8.70
17.85
9.10
9.10
18.20
9.00
9.30
18.30
9.45
9.35
18.80
109.65
27
Olavi Leimuvirta
Finland
8.95
9.20
18.15
8.75
8.40
17.15
9.35
9.30
18.65
9.10
9.30
18.40
9.20
9.65
18.85
8.95
9.20
18.15
109.35
Jaroslav Mikoška
Czechoslovakia
9.10
9.10
18.20
8.75
8.90
17.65
9.35
8.75
18.10
9.20
9.20
18.40
9.35
9.35
18.70
9.35
8.95
18.30
109.35
29
Hans Pfann
United Team of Germany
8.85
9.30
18.15
9.10
9.10
18.20
9.25
8.95
18.20
9.05
9.25
18.30
9.30
9.25
18.55
8.55
9.20
17.75
109.15
30
Josy Stoffel
Luxembourg
9.20
9.00
18.20
8.50
8.90
17.40
9.30
9.45
18.75
9.00
9.40
18.40
9.30
8.50
17.80
9.25
9.20
18.45
109.00
31
Armando Vega
United States
9.20
9.40
18.60
9.05
9.40
18.45
8.60
8.75
17.35
9.10
9.30
18.40
8.10
9.50
17.60
9.15
8.90
18.05
108.45
32
Raymond Dot
France
8.60
9.10
17.70
8.85
8.60
17.45
8.70
9.10
17.80
9.00
9.25
18.25
9.25
9.15
18.40
9.40
9.40
18.80
108.40
William Thoresson
Sweden
9.50
9.60
19.10
8.20
8.40
16.60
8.90
8.80
17.70
9.20
9.30
18.50
9.40
9.30
18.70
9.05
8.75
17.80
108.40
Charles Simms
United States
8.55
8.70
17.25
8.70
8.80
17.50
9.35
8.80
18.15
9.15
9.30
18.45
9.10
9.30
18.40
9.20
9.45
18.65
108.40
35
Dick Beckner
United States
8.85
9.05
17.90
9.35
9.30
18.65
8.70
8.80
17.50
8.85
9.20
18.05
8.55
9.20
17.75
9.10
9.35
18.45
108.30
36
Jaroslav Bím
Czechoslovakia
7.90
8.70
16.60
8.90
9.20
18.10
9.35
9.60
18.95
9.00
9.00
18.00
9.15
9.10
18.25
9.05
9.30
18.35
108.25
37
Raimo Heinonen
Finland
8.60
9.15
17.75
7.85
8.90
16.75
8.90
9.25
18.15
9.05
9.05
18.10
9.20
9.45
18.65
9.25
9.45
18.70
108.10
38
Nik Stuart
Great Britain
9.20
9.20
18.40
9.15
7.70
16.85
9.30
9.25
18.55
8.65
8.90
17.55
9.15
9.15
18.30
9.15
9.05
18.20
107.85
39
Abie Grossfeld
United States
9.10
9.30
18.40
9.20
8.30
17.50
8.65
8.65
17.30
8.85
9.10
17.95
8.75
9.10
17.85
9.35
9.40
18.75
107.75
40
Michel Mathiot
France
9.00
9.15
18.15
8.60
8.40
17.00
9.20
9.00
18.20
8.80
9.10
17.90
9.10
9.30
18.40
9.15
8.75
17.90
107.55
41
Erich Wied
United Team of Germany
8.60
9.20
17.80
8.70
8.95
17.65
8.60
8.70
17.30
9.20
9.30
18.50
9.00
9.10
18.10
8.65
9.50
18.15
107.50
42
Jakob Kiefer
United Team of Germany
8.85
9.15
18.00
8.35
8.15
16.50
9.20
8.85
18.05
9.30
9.30
18.60
9.20
8.45
17.65
9.25
9.40
18.65
107.45
43
Bill Tom
United States
9.00
9.20
18.20
8.10
8.75
16.85
8.60
9.15
17.75
9.10
9.25
18.35
9.05
9.30
18.35
8.80
9.05
17.85
107.35
44
János Héder
Hungary
8.40
9.00
17.40
8.90
9.20
18.10
8.80
9.05
17.85
9.00
9.20
18.20
9.20
9.10
18.30
9.20
8.25
17.45
107.30
45
Stoyan Stoyanov
Bulgaria
8.80
9.10
17.90
7.05
8.60
15.65
9.10
8.75
17.85
9.15
9.20
18.35
9.35
9.15
18.50
9.35
9.45
18.80
107.05
46
Jean Guillou
France
8.95
8.90
17.85
8.60
8.00
16.60
9.40
8.45
17.85
8.90
9.00
17.90
9.35
8.60
17.95
9.30
9.20
18.50
106.65
47
Mincho Todorov
Bulgaria
9.35
9.45
18.80
7.65
7.90
15.55
8.50
8.90
17.40
9.05
9.30
18.35
9.10
8.90
18.00
9.00
9.10
18.10
106.20
48
Kurt Wigartz
Sweden
9.25
9.40
18.65
6.90
8.40
15.30
8.85
9.00
18.85
9.25
9.20
18.45
8.80
9.05
17.85
9.20
8.85
18.05
106.15
49
Ed Gagnier
Canada
8.85
9.20
18.05
8.40
8.45
16.85
8.50
9.20
17.70
9.00
9.05
18.05
8.85
8.80
17.65
7.65
8.45
16.10
104.40
50
Frank Turner
Great Britain
8.05
8.50
16.55
8.75
8.50
17.25
8.55
7.80
16.35
8.90
8.70
17.60
8.75
8.90
17.65
8.95
8.80
17.75
103.15
51
Ronnie Lombard
South Africa
8.00
8.25
16.25
7.60
8.30
15.90
9.05
9.00
18.05
9.00
8.90
17.90
7.65
7.15
14.80
9.05
8.90
17.95
100.85
52
Rafael Lecuona
Cuba
8.30
8.05
16.35
7.70
8.30
16.00
8.90
9.15
18.05
8.95
8.90
17.85
8.50
8.95
17.45
6.75
7.80
14.55
100.25
53
Jack Wells
South Africa
8.45
8.05
16.50
7.35
8.50
15.85
8.70
8.75
17.45
8.60
8.85
17.45
7.40
7.95
15.35
8.50
8.70
17.20
99.80
54
Graham Bond
Australia
7.65
8.00
15.65
7.00
7.85
14.85
6.95
7.00
13.95
9.00
8.80
17.80
8.15
8.35
16.50
8.90
8.75
17.65
96.40
55
David Gourlay
Australia
8.25
8.00
16.25
7.55
7.90
15.45
7.50
7.20
14.70
9.00
9.05
18.05
7.80
7.65
15.45
8.10
7.90
16.00
95.90
56
John Lees
Australia
7.25
7.50
14.75
7.95
8.45
16.40
7.70
7.85
15.55
7.50
8.90
16.40
8.00
8.15
16.15
7.70
6.10
13.80
93.05
57
Bruce Sharp
Australia
8.80
8.80
17.60
8.10
7.85
15.95
5.65
4.95
10.60
9.25
9.10
18.35
8.20
8.30
16.50
7.30
6.65
13.95
92.95
58
Brian Blackburn
Australia
8.85
9.05
17.90
7.50
7.05
14.55
5.00
7.10
12.10
9.00
8.95
17.95
8.45
7.25
15.70
8.20
5.00
13.20
91.40
59
Noel Punton
Australia
8.55
8.50
17.05
6.80
7.55
14.35
5.50
7.10
12.60
9.05
8.85
17.90
7.70
7.65
15.35
4.50
4.00
8.50
85.75
60
Hans Sauter
Austria
8.50
–
8.50
8.55
8.70
17.25
9.10
–
9.10
9.00
8.95
17.95
9.05
8.80
17.85
9.20
–
9.20
79.85
61
Pritam Singh
India
7.80
7.30
15.10
6.00
4.75
10.75
4.50
5.75
10.25
8.15
8.05
16.20
7.50
6.00
13.50
5.80
5.75
11.55
77.35
62
Sham Lal
India
6.45
6.80
13.25
6.90
6.60
13.50
3.40
6.60
10.00
8.35
8.15
16.50
6.25
7.10
13.35
4.00
6.50
10.50
77.10
63
Anant Ram
India
5.00
7.50
12.50
4.75
2.00
6.75
2.00
6.25
8.25
8.45
7.20
15.65
7.20
5.50
12.70
8.20
1.50
9.70
65.55
References