The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which were held in Stockholm, Sweden, in June 1956.
This is the full table of the medal table of the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden.
The modern pentathlon at the 1980 Summer Olympics was represented by two events : Individual competition and Team competition. As usual in Olympic modern pentathlon one competition was held and each competitor's score was included to the Individual competition event results table and was also added to his teammates' scores to be included to the Team competition event results table. This competition consisted of 5 disciplines which were held in 4 venues:
- Equestrian held on July 20 at the Trade Unions Equestrian Centre situated in the Bitsa forest park
- Fencing held on July 21 at the Sports Palace of the Central Sports Club of the Army
- Shooting held on July 22 at the Dynamo Shooting Range in Mytishchi
- Swimming held on July 23 at the Swimming Pool of the Olympiski Sports Complex
- Cross-country held on July 24 at the Trade Unions Equestrian Centre
National Olympic Committees that wish to host an Olympic Games select cities within their territories to put forth bids for the Olympic Games. The staging of the Paralympic Games is automatically included in the bid. Since the creation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, which successfully appropriated the name of the Ancient Greek Olympics to create a modern sporting event, interested cities have rivaled for selection as host of the Summer or Winter Olympic Games. 51 different cities have been chosen to host the modern Olympics: three in Eastern Europe, five in East Asia, one in South America, three in Oceania, nine in North America and all the others in Western Europe. No Central American, African, Central Asian, Middle Eastern, South Asian, or Southeast Asian city has ever been chosen to host an Olympics.
The equestrian events at the 1928 Summer Olympics included dressage, eventing, and show jumping. All three disciplines had both individual and team competitions. The competitions were held from 8 to 12 August 1928. Teams were now fielded by three riders, rather than four, the purpose being to reduce pressure on national federations to find that many riders in order to compete for team medals. Riders had to be considered amateurs, which was defined as either an actively serving professional officer, or as a gentleman rider as defined by the rules of that rider's national governing body. A total of 113 entries were present from 20 nations: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA. This was the first appearance for Hungary, Japan and Argentina in equestrian events at an Olympics. Additionally, after being shut out from two Olympic competitions, Germany also returned to the Games to win a few medals in the equestrian events.
The equestrian events at the 1956 Summer Olympics were held in Stockholm due to the Australian quarantine regulations and included dressage, eventing, and show jumping. All three disciplines had both individual and team competitions. The competitions were held from 11 to 17 June 1956 at Stockholm Olympic Stadium. There were 158 entries from 29 National Olympic Committees: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Soviet Union, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, USA and Venezuela. This would be the first appearance for Australia, Cambodia and Venezuela in equestrian events.
Argentina at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden was the nation's tenth appearance out of thirteen editions of the Summer Olympic Games. Argentina sent to the 1956 Summer Olympics its seventh national team, under the auspices of the Argentine Olympic Committee, 28 athletes, who competed in 27 events in 8 sports. They brought home 2 medals: 1 silver and 1 bronze. The Argentine flag bearer was Isabel Avellán, the nation's first female Olympic Games flag bearer.
Spain first participated at the Olympic Games in 1900, and has sent athletes to compete in most Summer Olympic Games since 1920. Spain has also participated in every Winter Olympic Games since 1936. Its team is organised by the Spanish Olympic Committee created in 1924.
Cambodia competed in the Olympic Games for the first time at the 1956 Summer Olympics. Because Cambodia decided to join the boycott over the participation of the Soviet Union, who invaded Hungary during the USSR's invasion of Hungary, the nation did not send any athletes to Melbourne, Australia where all but equestrian events were held in late November, and early December. To accommodate Australia's strict animal quarantine regulations, Dressage, Eventing, and Show Jumping were held in June at Stockholm Olympic Stadium. Two Cambodian riders, Isoup Ganthy, and Saing Pen, competed in the equestrian events.
Egypt boycotted the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, because of the participation of the Soviet Union, who invaded Hungary during the USSR's invasion of Hungary. The equestrian events for the 1956 Games, however, were held in Stockholm, Sweden, five months earlier, due to Australian quarantine regulations, and three Egyptian riders competed in the show jumping events. None of the athletes won individual medals and they failed to place in the team competition due to one rider's failure to finish the individual tournament.
Norway competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden. 22 competitors, 19 men and 3 women, took part in 18 events in 6 sports.
Switzerland boycotted the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia because of the participation of the Soviet Union, who had invaded Hungary to crush the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. However, the equestrian events were held in Stockholm, Sweden earlier in the year because of the Australian quarantine laws. The Swiss team competed in Stockholm, winning a bronze medal.
Hungary competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, and Stockholm, Sweden. 108 competitors, 88 men and 20 women, took part in 80 events in 12 sports.
The Netherlands boycotted the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia because of the participation of the Soviet Union, who invaded Hungary during the USSR's invasion of Hungary. However, the equestrian events for the 1956 Games were held in Stockholm, Sweden five months earlier, and one Dutch rider competed.
Egypt first participated at the Olympic Games in 1912, and has sent athletes to compete in most editions of the Summer Olympic since then. Along with Cambodia, Iraq and Lebanon, Egypt boycotted the 1956 Summer Olympics in protest of the tripartite Israeli, British, and French invasion of Egypt in the Suez War. However, the equestrian events for the 1956 Games were held in Stockholm, Sweden five months earlier, and three Egyptian riders competed there. Egypt withdrew from the 1976 Summer Olympics after three days of competition to join the broad African boycott in response to the participation of New Zealand, who still had sporting links with apartheid South Africa. Egypt also participated in the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. Egypt's lone participation at the Winter Olympic Games was a single alpine skier in 1984.
Cambodia has competed in ten Summer Olympic Games. They have never won an Olympic medal and have not appeared in the Winter Olympic Games.
For the 1956 Summer Olympics, events were staged in a total of thirteen sports venues in Melbourne, Victoria, one in Ballarat, Victoria, and three sports venues in Stockholm, Sweden. The equestrian events took place in Stockholm in June 1956, due to Australia's strict quarantine laws on equestrianism, and the other Olympic events took place in Melbourne later in the year, between late November and early December.
Alexis "Tschuli" Pantchoulidzew was a Russian-born Dutch nobleman and equestrian. He was a long-term partner of Princess Armgard of Sierstorpff-Cramm and mentor to her son, Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. As equestrian, he was the only competitor for the Netherlands at the Dutch-boycotted 1956 Summer Olympics; aged 67, he was also the eldest participant at those Olympics and the eldest Dutch Olympian ever.
