# Swimming at the 1956 Summer Olympics

At the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, 13 swimming events were contested, seven for men and six for women. There was a total of 235 participants from 33 countries competing. For the first time, the butterfly stroke was contested as a separate event. Australia dominated the medal standings with a total of 8 out of a possible 13 gold medals, eventually finishing with 14 medals overall.

## Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Australia (AUS) | 8 | 4 | 2 | 14 |
| 2 | United States (USA) | 2 | 4 | 5 | 11 |
| 3 | Japan (JPN) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | Great Britain (GBR) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | United Team of Germany (EUA) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | Hungary (HUN) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 7 | Soviet Union (URS) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 8 | South Africa (RSA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (8 entries) | Totals (8 entries) | 13 | 13 | 13 | 39 |

## Medalists
### Men's events

| Games | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 m freestyle details | Jon Henricks Australia | 55.4 (WR) | John Devitt Australia | 55.8 | Gary Chapman Australia | 56.7 |
| 400 m freestyle details | Murray Rose Australia | 4:27.3 (WR) | Tsuyoshi Yamanaka Japan | 4:30.4 | George Breen United States | 4:32.5 |
| 1500 m freestyle details | Murray Rose Australia | 17:58.9 | Tsuyoshi Yamanaka Japan | 18:00.3 | George Breen United States | 18:08.2 |
| 100 m backstroke details | David Theile Australia | 1:02.2 (WR) | John Monckton Australia | 1:03.2 | Frank McKinney United States | 1:04.5 |
| 200 m breaststroke details | Masaru Furukawa Japan | 2:34.7 | Masahiro Yoshimura Japan | 2:36.7 | Kharis Yunichev Soviet Union | 2:36.8 |
| 200 m butterfly details | William Yorzyk United States | 2:19.3 | Takashi Ishimoto Japan | 2:23.8 | György Tumpek Hungary | 2:23.9 |
| 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay details | Australia (AUS) Kevin O'Halloran John Devitt Murray Rose Jon Henricks | 8:23.6 (WR) | United States (USA) Dick Hanley George Breen Bill Woolsey Ford Konno | 8:31.5 | Soviet Union (URS) Vitaly Sorokin Vladimir Struzhanov Gennady Nikolayev Boris Nikitin | 8:34.7 |

### Women's events

| Games | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 m freestyle details | Dawn Fraser Australia | 1:02.0 (WR) | Lorraine Crapp Australia | 1:02.3 | Faith Leech Australia | 1:05.1 |
| 400 m freestyle details | Lorraine Crapp Australia | 4:54.6 (OR) | Dawn Fraser Australia | 5:02.5 | Sylvia Ruuska United States | 5:07.1 |
| 100 m backstroke details | Judy Grinham Great Britain | 1:12.9 (WR) | Carin Cone United States | 1:12.9 (WR) | Margaret Edwards Great Britain | 1:13.1 |
| 200 m breaststroke details | Ursula Happe United Team of Germany | 2:53.1 (OR) | Éva Székely Hungary | 2:54.8 | Eva-Maria Elsen United Team of Germany | 2:55.1 |
| 100 m butterfly details | Shelley Mann United States | 1:11.0 (OR) | Nancy Ramey United States | 1:11.9 | Mary Sears United States | 1:14.4 |
| 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay details | Australia (AUS) Dawn Fraser Faith Leech Sandra Morgan Lorraine Crapp | 4:17.1 (WR) | United States (USA) Sylvia Ruuska Shelley Mann Nancy Simons Joan Rosazza | 4:19.2 | South Africa (RSA) Natalie Myburgh Susan Roberts Moira Abernethy Jeanette Myburgh | 4:25.7 |

## Participating nations

235 swimmers from 33 nations competed.
* Australia (26)
* Belgium (6)
* Brazil (4)
* Canada (8)
* Colombia (3)
* Cuba (2)
* Czechoslovakia (2)
* Denmark (2)
* Finland (1)
* France (16)
* United Team of Germany (18)
* Great Britain (18)
* Hong Kong (2)
* Hungary (16)
* India (2)
* Indonesia (3)
* Israel (1)
* Italy (7)
* Japan (19)
* Kenya (1)
* Luxembourg (1)
* Malaya (2)
* Mexico (4)
* New Zealand (5)
* Pakistan (3)
* Philippines (8)
* Poland (1)
* Romania (2)
* South Africa (8)
* Sweden (5)
* Soviet Union (10)
* United States (28)
* Yugoslavia (1)