Pole Vault, Men
| Date | 24 – 26 November 1956 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Participants | 19 from 12 countries |
The defending champion, Bob Richards, was back and was the favorite again. He had been AAU Champion every year since 1948, save for 1953, and was also Pan-American champion in 1951 and 1955. In the qualifying he missed twice at his opening height of 4.00 (13-1½), but got over on his third attempt and eventually qualified easily. There were expected to be two Europeans contending, Ragnar Lundberg (SWE), 1952 bronze medalist and 1950 European Champion, and 1954 European Champion, Eeles Landström of Finland. They would finish fifth and seventh respectively. The best European turned out to be the surprising Georgios Roubanis (GRE), who was the first vaulter to use a fiberglass pole in a major international competition. He used it to good effect, clearing a PR 4.50 (14-9) and winning the bronze medal. Richards won the competition for gold fairly easily. He jumped every height from 4.15 (13-7¼) to 4.53 (14-10¼) and had no misses. He then cleared 4.56 (14-11½) on his third attempt for the gold medal. Still with him at that height was American Bob Gutowski, who had missed four times at earlier heights, and failed to clear 4.56 (14-11½), earning the silver medal. In April 1957, Gutowski vaulted 4.78 (15-8¼) in a collegiate dual meet for a world record, finally breaking the vaunted world record of 4.77 (15-7¾) set by Cornelius “Dutch” Warmerdam in 1942. Richards predicted that Gutowski would become the first 16-foot vaulter but he was killed in a car crash in August 1960.
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Qualifying Round | Final Round | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 296 | Bob Richards |  USA | 4.15 (11) | 4.56 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 396 | Bob Gutowski | USA | 4.15 (7) | 4.53 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 291 | Georgios Roumpanis |  GRE | 4.15 (=5) | 4.50 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 397 | George Mattos | USA | 4.15 (1) | 4.35 (4) | |||
| 5 | 395 | Ragnar Lundberg |  SWE | 4.15 (=5) | 4.25 (5) | |||
| 6 | 393 | Zenon Ważny |  POL | 4.15 (=8) | 4.25 (6) | |||
| 7 | 386 | Eeles Landström |  FIN | 4.15 (=12) | 4.25 (7) | |||
| 8 | 387 | Manfred Preußger |  GER | 4.15 (=12) | 4.25 (8) | |||
| =9 | 390 | Giulio Chiesa |  ITA | 4.15 (=2) | 4.15 (=9) | |||
| =9 | 398 | Vladimir Bulatov |  URS | 4.15 (=2) | 4.15 (=9) | |||
| 11 | 399 | Anatoly Petrov | URS | 4.15 (=8) | 4.15 (11) | |||
| 12 | 392 | Zbigniew Janiszewski | POL | 4.15 (=2) | 4.15 (12) | |||
| 13 | 400 | Vitaly Chernobay | URS | 4.15 (=8) | 4.00 (13) | |||
| AC r2/2 | 387 | Matti Sutinen | FIN | 4.15 (=12) | – ( | |||
| 15 r1/2 | 391 | Allah Ditta |  PAK | 4.00 (15) | – | |||
| 16 r1/2 | 394 | Rolando Cruz |  PUR | 4.00 (16) | – | |||
| 17 r1/2 | 385 | Bruce Peever |  AUS | 3.85 (17) | – | |||
| 18 r1/2 | 384 | Peter Denton | AUS | 3.85 (18) | – | |||
| AC r1/2 | 388 | Victor Sillon |  FRA | – ( | – |
Qualifying Round (26 November 1956 — 10:00)
All those clearing 4.15 metres advanced to the final.
| Pos | Athlete | NOC | Height | Misses | Total Misses | Total Attempts | 3.70 m | 3.85 m | 4.00 m | 4.15 m | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Mattos | USA | 4.15 | 0 | 0 | 2 | - | o | - | o | |||
| =2 | Giulio Chiesa | ITA | 4.15 | 0 | 0 | 3 | - | o | o | o | |||
| =2 | Zbigniew Janiszewski | POL | 4.15 | 0 | 0 | 3 | - | o | o | o | |||
| =2 | Vladimir Bulatov | URS | 4.15 | 0 | 0 | 3 | - | o | o | o | |||
| =5 | Georgios Roumpanis | GRE | 4.15 | 0 | 0 | 4 | o | o | o | o | |||
| =5 | Ragnar Lundberg | SWE | 4.15 | 0 | 0 | 4 | o | o | o | o | |||
| 7 | Bob Gutowski | USA | 4.15 | 0 | 1 | 3 | xo | - | - | o | |||
| =8 | Zenon Ważny | POL | 4.15 | 0 | 1 | 4 | - | xo | o | o | |||
| =8 | Vitaly Chernobay | URS | 4.15 | 0 | 1 | 4 | - | xo | o | o | |||
| =8 | Anatoly Petrov | URS | 4.15 | 0 | 1 | 4 | - | o | xo | o | |||
| 11 | Bob Richards | USA | 4.15 | 0 | 2 | 5 | - | o | xxo | o | |||
| =12 | Eeles Landström | FIN | 4.15 | 1 | 1 | 5 | o | o | o | xo | |||
| =12 | Matti Sutinen | FIN | 4.15 | 1 | 1 | 5 | o | o | o | xo | |||
| =12 | Manfred Preußger | GER | 4.15 | 1 | 1 | 5 | o | o | o | xo | |||
| 15 | Allah Ditta | PAK | 4.00 | 1 | 3 | 5 | - | xxo | xo | xxx | |||
| 16 | Rolando Cruz | PUR | 4.00 | 2 | 2 | 5 | o | o | xxo | xxx | |||
| 17 | Bruce Peever | AUS | 3.85 | 0 | 0 | 2 | o | o | xxx | – | |||
| 18 | Peter Denton | AUS | 3.85 | 0 | 1 | 3 | xo | o | xxx | – | |||
| Victor Sillon | FRA | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Final Round (26 November 1956 — 13:30)
| Pos | Athlete | NOC | Height | Misses | Total Misses | Total Attempts | 4.00 m | 4.15 m | 4.25 m | 4.35 m | 4.40 m | 4.45 m | 4.50 m | 4.53 m | 4.56 m | 4.59 m | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bob Richards | USA | 4.56 | 1 | 1 | 10 | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | o | xo | xxx | |||
| 2 | Bob Gutowski | USA | 4.53 | 0 | 4 | 12 | o | o | o | xo | xo | xxo | o | o | xxx | – | |||
| 3 | Georgios Roumpanis | GRE | 4.50 | 0 | 2 | 9 | o | o | xo | xo | o | o | o | xxx | – | – | |||
| 4 | George Mattos | USA | 4.35 | 0 | 0 | 3 | o | - | o | o | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 5 | Ragnar Lundberg | SWE | 4.25 | 0 | 0 | 2 | o | - | o | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 6 | Zenon Ważny | POL | 4.25 | 0 | 0 | 3 | o | o | o | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 7 | Eeles Landström | FIN | 4.25 | 1 | 1 | 3 | o | - | xo | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 8 | Manfred Preußger | GER | 4.25 | 1 | 2 | 5 | o | xo | xo | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| =9 | Giulio Chiesa | ITA | 4.15 | 0 | 1 | 3 | xo | o | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| =9 | Vladimir Bulatov | URS | 4.15 | 0 | 1 | 3 | xo | o | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 11 | Anatoly Petrov | URS | 4.15 | 1 | 1 | 3 | o | xo | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 12 | Zbigniew Janiszewski | POL | 4.15 | 1 | 2 | 4 | xo | xo | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 13 | Vitaly Chernobay | URS | 4.00 | 0 | 0 | 1 | o | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| Matti Sutinen | FIN | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |