# 1956 South American Championships in Athletics

The 1956 South American Championships in Athletics were held in the Chilean capital, Santiago, between 14 and 22 April.

## Medal summary
### Men's events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres | Paulo de Fonseca Brazil | 10.6 | Gerardo Bönnhoff Argentina | 10.7 | João Pires Sobrinho Brazil | 10.7 |
| 200 metres | João Pires Sobrinho Brazil | 21.5 | Jaime Aparicio Colombia | 21.7 | Gerardo Bönnhoff Argentina | 21.8 |
| 400 metres | Jaime Aparicio Colombia | 47.7 CR | Zados Guardiola Colombia | 48.2 | Argemiro Roque Brazil | 49.0 |
| 800 metres | Ramón Sandoval Chile | 1:49.0 CR | Eduardo Balducci Argentina | 1:51.5 | Argemiro Roque Brazil | 1:52.4 |
| 1500 metres | Ramón Sandoval Chile | 3:48.4 CR | Eduardo Balducci Argentina | 3:53.4 | Waldo Sandoval Chile | 3:54.5 |
| 5000 metres | Osvaldo Suárez Argentina | 14:30.8 CR | Jaime Correa Chile | 14:47.8 | Walter Lemos Argentina | 14:51.7 |
| 10,000 metres | Osvaldo Suárez Argentina | 30:12.2 CR | Walter Lemos Argentina | 30:27.4 | Alfredo de Oliveira Brazil | 31:41.0 |
| Half marathon | Osvaldo Suárez Argentina | 1:08:54 CR | Walter Lemos Argentina | 1:09:00 | Juan Silva Chile | 1:10:31 |
| 3000 metres steeplechase | Santiago Novas Chile | 9:09.0 CR | Sebastião Mendes Brazil | 9:17.4 | Guillermo Solá Chile | 9:25.8 |
| 110 metres hurdles | Ijoel da Silva Brazil | 14.7 | Estanislao Kocourek Argentina | 14.9 | Francisco Bergonzoni Brazil | 15.1 |
| 400 metres hurdles | Jaime Aparicio Colombia | 52.0 CR | Zados Guardiola Colombia | 53.1 | Anubes da Silva Brazil | 54.2 |
| 4 × 100 metres relay | Brazil João Pires Sobrinho Jorge de Barros Paulo da Fonseca Anubes da Silva | 41.4 | Argentina Luis Vienna Roberto Ferrairo Gerardo Bönnhoff Mariano Acosta | 41.5 | Colombia Gilberto Truque Constantino Fascie Antonio Vanegas Aristipo Lerma | 42.6 |
| 4 × 400 metres relay | Colombia Jaime Aparicio Zados Guardiola Carlos Sierra Antonio Vanegas | 3:14.6 CR | Brazil Argemiro Roque Mário do Nascimento Adhemar da Silva Agenor da Silva | 3:16.1 | Argentina Rodolfo Beltrán Mariano Acosta Gerardo Bönnhoff Eduardo Balducci | 3:16.8 |
| High jump | Oscar Bártoli Argentina | 1.93 | Ernesto Lagos Chile | 1.90 | Alberto Bacán Brazil Juan Ruiz Chile | 1.85 |
| Pole vault | José Infante Chile | 3.90 | José Rojas Chile | 3.90 | Fausto de Souza Brazil | 3.90 |
| Long jump | Fermín Donazar Uruguay | 7.23 | Ary de Sá Brazil | 7.14 | Luís Akuta Brazil | 7.10 |
| Triple jump | Jorgely Figueira Brazil | 15.14 | Luis Huarcaya Peru | 14.59 | Carlos Vera Chile | 14.63 |
| Shot put | Alcides Dambrós Brazil | 14.97 | Rubén Scaraffia Argentina | 14.72 | Günther Kruse Argentina | 13.97 |
| Discus throw | Günther Kruse Argentina | 48.57 CR | Hernán Haddad Chile | 47.24 | Pedro Ucke Argentina | 46.56 |
| Hammer throw | Alejandro Díaz Chile | 52.88 | Edmundo Zúñiga Chile | 51.71 | Elvio Porta Argentina | 51.55 |
| Javelin throw | Ricardo Héber Argentina | 64.45 | Néstor Matteucci Argentina | 61.51 | Carlos Monge Peru | 59.20 |
| Decathlon | Héctor Menacho Peru | 5670 | Leonardo Kittsteiner Chile | 5499 | Aldo Ribeiro Brazil | 5401 |

### Women's events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres | Gladys Erbetta Argentina | 12.2 =CR | Beatriz Kretschmer Chile | 12.4 | Eliana Gaete Chile | 12.4 |
| 200 metres | Beatriz Kretschmer Chile | 25.5 =CR | Gladys Erbetta Argentina | 25.8 | Martha Huby Peru | 26.1 |
| 80 metres hurdles | Wanda dos Santos Brazil | 11.5 | Eliana Gaete Chile | 11.6 | Ada Brener Argentina | 11.9 |
| 4 × 100 metres relay | Argentina Gladys Erbetta Lilian Buglia Edith Berg Olga Bianchi | 48.6 | Chile Marlene Hyslop Eliana Gaete Carmen Venegas Patricia Rodoni | 49.3 | Brazil Wanda dos Santos María José de Lima Marlene Porto Hannelore Poetscher | 49.4 |
| High jump | Nelly Gómez Chile | 1.50 | Elizabeth Müller Brazil | 1.50 | María Cañas Chile Cleide Eloy Brazil | 1.50 |
| Long jump | Gladys Erbetta Argentina | 5.88 CR | Ada Brener Argentina | 5.41 | Olga Bianchi Argentina | 5.39 |
| Shot put | Eliana Bahamondes Chile | 11.95 CR | Pradelia Delgado Chile | 11.84 | Elizabeth Müller Brazil | 11.31 |
| Discus throw | Isabel Avellán Argentina | 44.08 CR | Rosa Riveros Chile | 38.22 | Ingeborg Mello Argentina | 38.08 |
| Javelin throw | Marlene Ahrens Chile | 48.73 CR | Carmen Venegas Chile | 40.70 | Adriana Silva Chile | 38.91 |

## Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Argentina (ARG) | 10 | 11 | 9 | 30 |
| 2 | Chile (CHI) | 9 | 12 | 8 | 29 |
| 3 | Brazil (BRA) | 7 | 4 | 13 | 24 |
| 4 | Colombia (COL) | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| 5 | Peru (PER) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 6 | Uruguay (URU) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals (6 entries) | Totals (6 entries) | 31 | 31 | 33 | 95 |