# 1956 International Cross Country Championships

The 1956 International Cross Country Championships was held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, at the Royal Ulster Showground on 17 March 1956. In addition, an unofficial women's championship was held the same day at Upminster, England on 17 March 1956. A report on the men's event as well as the women's event was given in the Glasgow Herald.
Complete results for men, and for women (unofficial), medallists, and the results of British athletes were published.

## Medallists

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| Individual |||||||
| Men 9 mi (14.5 km) | Alain Mimoun France | 45:18 | Frank Sando England | 45:28 | Ken Norris England | 45:28 |
| Women 1.9 mi (3.0 km) | Roma Ashby England | 13:05 | June Bridgland England | 13:11 | Diane Leather England | 13:12 |
| Team |||||||
| Men | France | 42 | England | 59 | Belgium | 131 |
| Women | England | 10 | Scotland | 34 | | |

## Individual Race Results
### Men's (9 mi / 14.5 km)

| Rank | Athlete | Nationality | Time |
| | Alain Mimoun | France | 45:18 |
| | Frank Sando | England | 45:28 |
| | Ken Norris | England | 45:28 |
| 4 | Fred Norris | England | 45:36 |
| 5 | Hamoud Ameur | France | 45:42 |
| 6 | Lahcen Ben Allal | France | 45:44 |
| 7 | Frans Herman | Belgium | 45:46 |
| 8 | Antonio Amoros | Spain | 45:57 |
| 9 | Bakir Benaissa | France | 46:00 |
| 10 | Said Benmaguini | France | 46:10 |
| 11 | Amar Khallouf | France | 46:11 |
| 12 | John McLaren | Scotland | 46:12 |
| 13 | Ken Gates | England | 46:13 |
| 14 | Pat Moy | Scotland | 46:14 |
| 15 | Luis García | Spain | 46:27 |
| 16 | Marcel Vandewattyne | Belgium | 46:38 |
| 17 | Peter Driver | England | 46:41 |
| 18 | Maurits van Laere | Belgium | 46:45 |
| 19 | Frans van der Hoeven | Belgium | 46:49 |
| 20 | Albert Chorlton | England | 46:50 |
| 21 | Paul Genève | France | 46:52 |
| 22 | Chris Suddaby | Wales | 46:53 |
| 23 | Manuel Faria | Portugal | 46:57 |
| 24 | António Ventura | Portugal | 47:04 |
| 25 | Hélio Duarte | Portugal | 47:05 |
| 26 | Abdallah Ould Lamine | France | 47:14 |
| 27 | Francisco Irizar | Spain | 47:15 |
| 28 | Charlie Owens | Ireland | 47:28 |
| 29 | João Silva | Portugal | 47:30 |
| 30 | José Araújo | Portugal | 47:33 |
| 31 | Ken Huckle | Wales | 47:34 |
| 32 | Don Appleby | Ireland | 47:34 |
| 33 | Eddie Bannon | Scotland | 47:38 |
| 34 | Pierre de Pauw | Belgium | 47:44 |
| 35 | David Richards Jun. | Wales | 47:46 |
| 36 | Davy Harrison | Ireland | 47:47 |
| 37 | Denis Jouret | Belgium | 47:47 |
| 38 | Joe Stevenson | Scotland | 47:55 |
| 39 | Tom Stevenson | Scotland | 47:56 |
| 40 | Bertie Messitt | Ireland | 48:03 |
| 41 | Bobby Calderwood | Scotland | 48:06 |
| 42 | Sergio Bueno | Spain | 48:09 |
| 43 | Tommy Dunne | Ireland | 48:11 |
| 44 | Lucas Larraza | Spain | 48:15 |
| 45 | Jim McCormack | Scotland | 48:19 |
| 46 | Derek Ibbotson | England | 48:20 |
| 47 | Filipe Luis | Portugal | 48:31 |
| 48 | John Disley | Wales | 48:32 |
| 49 | Jose Castro Ruibal | Spain | 48:41 |
| 50 | Andy Brown | Scotland | 48:43 |
| 51 | Alan Perkins | England | 48:48 |
| 52 | Jesús Hurtado | Spain | 48:50 |
| 53 | Jack Dougan | Ireland | 48:53 |
| 54 | Julien Vandevelde | Belgium | 49:07 |
| 55 | Augusto Silva | Portugal | 49:15 |
| 56 | Jim Mahood | Ireland | 49:26 |
| 57 | Terry Keegan | Ireland | 49:31 |
| 58 | Jimmy Todd | Ireland | 49:37 |
| 59 | Peter Bowden | Wales | 49:42 |
| 60 | Gordon Dunn | Scotland | 49:47 |
| 61 | Dyfrigg Rees | Wales | 50:24 |
| 62 | Mariano Martin | Spain | 50:53 |
| 63 | Ken Flowers | Wales | 51:06 |
| 64 | William Butcher | Wales | 51:19 |
| 65 | Richard Morgan | Wales | 51:21 |
| — | Hamida Addéche | France | DNF |
| — | Lucien Theys | Belgium | DNF |
| — | Félix Bidegui | Spain | DNF |
| — | Derek Walker | England | DNF |
| — | Joaquim Santos | Portugal | DNF |

### Women's (1.9 mi / 3.0 km, unofficial)

| Rank | Athlete | Nationality | Time |
| | Roma Ashby | England | 13:05 |
| | June Bridgland | England | 13:11 |
| | Diane Leather | England | 13:12 |
| 4 | Phyllis Perkins | England | 13:23 |
| 5 | Madeline Wooller | England | 13:25 |
| 6 | Maureen Bonnano | England | 13:51 |
| 7 | Anne Drummond | Scotland | 14:35 |
| 8 | Anne Herman | Scotland | 15:11 |
| 9 | Doreen Fulton | Scotland | 15:17 |
| 10 | Mollie Ferguson | Scotland | 15:18 |
| 11 | Elizabeth Steedman | Scotland | 15:19 |
| 12 | Mary Campbell | Scotland | 16:05 |

## Team Results
### Men's

| Rank | Country | Team | Points |
| 1 | France | Alain Mimoun Hamoud Ameur Lahcen Ben Allal Bakir Benaissa Said Benmaguini Amar Khallouf | 42 |
| 2 | England | Frank Sando Ken Norris Fred Norris Ken Gates Peter Driver Albert Chorlton | 59 |
| 3 | Belgium | Frans Herman Marcel Vandewattyne Maurits van Laere Frans van der Hoeven Pierre de Pauw Denis Jouret | 131 |
| 4 | Scotland | John McLaren Pat Moy Eddie Bannon Joe Stevenson Tom Stevenson Bobby Calderwood | 177 |
| 5 | Portugal | Manuel Faria António Ventura Hélio Duarte João Silva José Araújo Filipe Luis | 178 |
| 6 | Spain | Antonio Amoros Luis García Francisco Irizar Sergio Bueno Lucas Larraza Jose Castro Ruibal | 185 |
| 7 | Ireland | Charlie Owens Don Appleby Davy Harrison Bertie Messitt Tommy Dunne Jack Dougan | 232 |
| 8 | Wales | Chris Suddaby Ken Huckle David Richards Jun. John Disley Peter Bowden Dyfrigg Rees | 256 |

### Women's (unofficial)

| Rank | Country | Team | Points |
| 1 | England | Roma Ashby June Bridgland Diane Leather Phyllis Perkins | 10 |
| 2 | Scotland | Anne Drummond Anne Herman Doreen Fulton Mollie Ferguson | 34 |

## Participation
### Men's

An unofficial count yields the participation of 70 male athletes from 8 countries.
* Belgium (8)
* England (9)
* France (9)
* Ireland (9)
* Portugal (8)
* Scotland (9)
* Spain (9)
* Wales (9)

### Women's

An unofficial count yields the participation of 12 female athletes from 2 countries.
* England (6)
* Scotland (6)