# 1956 United States Olympic trials (track and field)

The men's 1956 United States Olympic trials for track and field for men were held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, on June 28 and 29. The 20 kilometer walk trials were held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on August 26, and the 50 kilometer walk trials were held on September 16 in Baltimore, Maryland. Two marathon trials were held between two races, the AAU National Championships in Yonkers, New York, on September 30 and the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, on April 19. As it turned out, the three selectees were the top 3 Americans at both events. The 10,000 meters was held in Bakersfield, California, on June 23.
The decathlon was held two weeks after the trials on July 13-4 in Crawfordsville, Indiana, allowing athletes to make attempts in individual events. Rafer Johnson qualified in the long jump but didn't jump in Melbourne. Bob Richards qualified in the Decathlon after winning the pole vault in his attempt to repeat as Olympic pole vault champion. He did compete in both events in Melbourne, successfully winning the pole vault, but after scoring in 11th place through nine events, he chose not to suffer through a 1500 and did not finish. The process was organized by the AAU.
The women's Olympic trials were held separately at American University (Reeves Field) in Washington, D.C., on August 25.

## Men's results

Key: ≠ Athlete without "A" standard, not selected.

### Men track events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 meters | Bobby Morrow | 10.3 (10.28) | Ira Murchison | 10.4 (10.32) | Thane Baker | 10.4 (10.36) |
| 200 meters | Bobby Morrow | 20.6 =WR | Thane Baker | 20.7 | Andy Stanfield | 20.9 |
| 400 meters | Lou Jones | 45.2 WR | Jim Lea | 45.7 | Charlie Jenkins | 46.1 |
| 800 meters | Tom Courtney | 1:46.4 NR | Arnie Sowell | 1:46.9 | Lon Spurrier | 1:47.6 |
| 1500 meters | Jerome Walters | 3:47.6 | Ted Wheeler | 3:48.0 | Don Bowden | 3:48.6 |
| 5000 meters | Bill Dellinger | 14:26.0 NR | Curtis Stone | 14:29.0 | Max Truex | 14:30.8 |
| 10,000 meters | Max Truex | 30:52.0 | Dick Hart | 31:06.3 | Gordon McKenzie | 31:06.8 |
| 110 m hurdles | Jack Davis | 13.8 | Lee Calhoun | 13.9 | Joel Shankle | 14.1 |
| 400 m hurdles | Glenn Davis | 49.5 WR | Eddie Southern | 49.7 | Josh Culbreath | 49.9 |
| 3000 m s'chase | Phil Coleman | 9:00.3 | Charles Jones | 9:00.6 | Horace Ashenfelter | 9:02.4 |
| 20K racewalk | Alex Oakley Canada James Hewson | 1:39:06 1:39:16 | Henry Laskau | 1:39:45 | Bruce MacDonald | 1:39:56 |
| 50K racewalk | Adolf Weinacker | 4:38:58 | Leo Sjogren | 4:44:18 | James Hewson | 4:51:03 |
| Boston Marathon | Antti Viskari Finland John J. Kelley | 2:14:14 2:14:33 | Eino Oskanen Finland Nick Costes | 2:17:56 2:18:01 | Dean Thackeray | 2:20:24 |
| Yonkers Marathon | John J. Kelley | 2:24:52.2 | Dean Thackeray | 2:31:14 | Nick Costes | 2:31:52 |

### Men field events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| High jump | Charles Dumas | 2.15 m (7 ft 1⁄2 in)WR | Vernon Wilson | 2.07 m (6 ft 9+1⁄4 in) | Phil Reavis | 2.07 m (6 ft 9+1⁄4 in) |
| Pole vault | Bob Richards | 4.60 m (15 ft 1 in) | George Mattos | 4.53 m (14 ft 10+1⁄4 in) | Jim Graham | 4.48 m (14 ft 8+1⁄4 in) |
| Long jump | John Bennett Greg Bell | 7.83 m (25 ft 8+1⁄4 in) 7.83 m (25 ft 8+1⁄4 in) | | | Rafer Johnson | 7.70 m (25 ft 3 in) |
| Triple jump | Ira Davis | 15.66 m (51 ft 4+1⁄2 in) NR | George Shaw | 15.23 m (49 ft 11+1⁄2 in) | Bill Sharpe | 15.16 m (49 ft 8+3⁄4 in) |
| Shot put | Parry O'Brien | 18.54 m (60 ft 9+3⁄4 in) | Ken Bantum | 18.15 m (59 ft 6+1⁄2 in) | Bill Nieder | 17.71 m (58 ft 1 in) |
| Discus throw | Fortune Gordien | 57.21 m (187 ft 8 in) | Al Oerter | 54.44 m (178 ft 7 in) | Ron Drummond | 54.06 m (177 ft 4 in) |
| Hammer throw | Al Hall | 60.24 m (197 ft 7 in) | Hal Connolly | 60.03 m (196 ft 11 in) | Cliff Blair | 59.91 m (196 ft 6 in) |
| Javelin throw | Cy Young | 74.65 m (244 ft 10 in) | Phil Conley | 74.40 m (244 ft 1 in) | Ben Garcia | 71.45 m (234 ft 4 in) |
| Decathlon | Rafer Johnson | 7755 | Milt Campbell | 7559 | Bob Richards | 7054 |

## Women's results
### Women track events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 meters | Isabelle Daniels | 11.5 =NR | Mae Faggs | 11.6 | Lucinda Williams | 11.7 |
| 200 meters | Mae Faggs | 24.2 | Wilma Rudolph | 24.2 | Meredith Ellis | 25.2 |
| 80 m hurdles | Barbara Mueller | 11.9 | Constance Darnowski | 12.0 | Irene Robertson | 12.1 |

### Women field events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| High jump | Mildred McDaniel | 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) | Anne Flynn | 1.55 m (5 ft 1 in) | Veneda Thomas | 1.53 m (5 ft 0 in) |
| Long jump | Margaret Matthews | 6.02 m (19 ft 9 in)NR | Willye White | 5.88 m (19 ft 3+1⁄4 in) | Joan Wolski | 5.49 m (18 ft 0 in) |
| Shot put | Earlene Brown | 14.26 m (46 ft 9+1⁄4 in)NR | Lois Testa | 13.88 m (45 ft 6+1⁄4 in) | Paula Deubel | 12.75 m (41 ft 9+3⁄4 in) |
| Discus throw | Earlene Brown | 44.31 m (145 ft 4 in) NR | Pamela Kurrell | 43.78 m (143 ft 7 in) | Marjorie Larney | 43.40 m (142 ft 4 in) |
| Javelin throw | Karen Anderson | 46.75 m (153 ft 4 in) | Marjorie Larney | 43.78 m (143 ft 7 in) | Amelia Wershoven | 43.79 m (143 ft 8 in) |