200 metres Butterfly, Men
| Date | 30 November – 1 December 1956 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Olympic Park Swimming and Diving Stadium, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Participants | 19 from 14 countries |
The butterfly stroke had débuted at the Olympic Games in 1936 in Berlin as a new variant of breaststroke and by the Helsinki Games had proved to be so superior as to render the original technique worthless. The decision was then made to tighten the breaststroke rules and split butterfly into a new discipline.
American Bill Yorzyk proved himself to be a class above the rest and set world records in both heat and final. Yorzyk’s achievement is made more remarkable if you consider that he had not swum competitively until his first year of college. His coach at Springfield College, Red Silva, encouraged him to experiment with a “double-dolphin kick” which in only four years took him from novice to Olympic champion. Yorzyk retired prior to the 1960 Games but returned to the Olympic Games in 1964 as associate physician to the US delegation.
The silver medal went to 100 metre specialist Takashi Ishimoto of Japan with Hungary’s György Tumpek a very close third.
| Pos | Number | Competitor | NOC | R1 | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 86 | Bill Yorzyk |  USA | 2:18.6 (1 h1) | 2:19.3 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 98 | Takashi Ishimoto |  JPN | 2:24.2 (1 h2) | 2:23.8 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 94 | György Tumpek |  HUN | 2:23.3 (1 h3) | 2:23.9 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 88 | Jack Nelson | USA | 2:29.4 (4 h2) | 2:26.6 (4) | |||
| 5 | 93 | John Marshall |  AUS | 2:26.8 (2 h1) | 2:27.2 (5) | |||
| 6 | – | Eulalio Ríos |  MEX | 2:28.1 (3 h2) | 2:27.3 (6) | |||
| 7 | – | Brian Wilkinson | AUS | 2:27.2 (2 h2) | 2:29.7 (7) | |||
| 8 | – | Alexandru Popescu |  ROU | 2:29.9 (3 h1) | 2:31.0 (8) | |||
| 9 | 95 | René Pirolley |  FRA | 2:30.1 (4 h1) | – | |||
| 10 | 65 | Jenő Áts | HUN | 2:31.1 (5 h1) | – | |||
| 11 | 96 | Horst Weber |  GER | 2:34.4 (2 h3) | – | |||
| 12 | 97 | Graham Symonds |  GBR | 2:35.7 (3 h3) | – | |||
| 13 | 100 | Walter Ocampo | MEX | 2:41.4 (6 h1) | – | |||
| 14 | 130 | Agapito Lozada |  PHI | 2:43.5 (4 h3) | – | |||
| 15 | – | George Park |  CAN | 2:47.2 (5 h3) | – | |||
| 16 | 102 | Shah Ghazi |  PAK | 2:48.0 (6 h3) | – | |||
| 17 | 99 | Fong Seow Hor |  MAL | 2:56.0 (7 h3) | – | |||
| 18 | 85 | Parsons Nabiula | PHI | 3:03.2 (5 h2) | – | |||
| 19 | – | Shamsher Khan |  IND | 3:06.3 (6 h2) | – |
Round One
| Date | 30 November 1956 — 14:00 |
|---|---|
| Format | Fastest eight advanced to the final. |
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Bill Yorzyk | USA | 2:18.6 | ||
| 2 | – | György Tumpek | HUN | 2:23.3 | ||
| 3 | – | Takashi Ishimoto | JPN | 2:24.2 | ||
| 4 | – | John Marshall | AUS | 2:26.8 | ||
| 5 | – | Brian Wilkinson | AUS | 2:27.2 | ||
| 6 | – | Eulalio Ríos | MEX | 2:28.1 | ||
| 7 | – | Jack Nelson | USA | 2:29.4 | ||
| 8 | – | Alexandru Popescu | ROU | 2:29.9 | ||
| 9 | – | René Pirolley | FRA | 2:30.1 | ||
| 10 | – | Jenő Áts | HUN | 2:31.1 | ||
| 11 | – | Horst Weber | GER | 2:34.4 | ||
| 12 | – | Graham Symonds | GBR | 2:35.7 | ||
| 13 | – | Walter Ocampo | MEX | 2:41.4 | ||
| 14 | – | Agapito Lozada | PHI | 2:43.5 | ||
| 15 | – | George Park | CAN | 2:47.2 | ||
| 16 | – | Shah Ghazi | PAK | 2:48.0 | ||
| 17 | – | Fong Seow Hor | MAL | 2:56.0 | ||
| 18 | – | Parsons Nabiula | PHI | 3:03.2 | ||
| 19 | – | Shamsher Khan | IND | 3:06.3 |
Heat #1
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Bill Yorzyk | USA | 2:18.6 | ||
| 2 | – | John Marshall | AUS | 2:26.8 | ||
| 3 | – | Alexandru Popescu | ROU | 2:29.9 | ||
| 4 | – | René Pirolley | FRA | 2:30.1 | ||
| 5 | – | Jenő Áts | HUN | 2:31.1 | ||
| 6 | – | Walter Ocampo | MEX | 2:41.4 |
Heat #2
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Takashi Ishimoto | JPN | 2:24.2 | ||
| 2 | – | Brian Wilkinson | AUS | 2:27.2 | ||
| 3 | – | Eulalio Ríos | MEX | 2:28.1 | ||
| 4 | – | Jack Nelson | USA | 2:29.4 | ||
| 5 | – | Parsons Nabiula | PHI | 3:03.2 | ||
| 6 | – | Shamsher Khan | IND | 3:06.3 |
Heat #3
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | György Tumpek | HUN | 2:23.3 | ||
| 2 | – | Horst Weber | GER | 2:34.4 | ||
| 3 | – | Graham Symonds | GBR | 2:35.7 | ||
| 4 | – | Agapito Lozada | PHI | 2:43.5 | ||
| 5 | – | George Park | CAN | 2:47.2 | ||
| 6 | – | Shah Ghazi | PAK | 2:48.0 | ||
| 7 | – | Fong Seow Hor | MAL | 2:56.0 |
Final Round
| Date | 1 December 1956 — 20:55 |
|---|
| Pos | Lane | Competitor | NOC | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | Bill Yorzyk | USA | 2:19.3 | ||
| 2 | – | Takashi Ishimoto | JPN | 2:23.8 | ||
| 3 | – | György Tumpek | HUN | 2:23.9 | ||
| 4 | – | Jack Nelson | USA | 2:26.6 | ||
| 5 | – | John Marshall | AUS | 2:27.2 | ||
| 6 | – | Eulalio Ríos | MEX | 2:27.3 | ||
| 7 | – | Brian Wilkinson | AUS | 2:29.7 | ||
| 8 | – | Alexandru Popescu | ROU | 2:31.0 |