Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres
The men's 100 metres sprint event at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 23 and 24 November. Sixty-five athletes from 31 nations competed; each nation was limited to three athletes. The final was won by American Bobby Morrow, marking the fifth consecutive victory by a different American. Hec Hogan of Australia won that country's first medal in the event since 1900. The competition took place in strong winds, with the final run into a headwind.
Background
This was the thirteenth time the event was held, having appeared at every Olympics since the first in 1896. None of the finalists from 1952 returned. Notable entrants were Americans Bobby Morrow and Ira Murchison ; Dave Sime was injured and did not make the American team.The Bahamas, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Liberia, Malay, Singapore, and Ethiopia were represented in the event for the first time. In addition, German athletes competed as the "United Team" for the first time, though pre-World War II Germany had competed many times and West Germany had competed as "Germany" in 19252. The United States was the only nation to have appeared at each of the first thirteen Olympic men's 100 metres events.
Competition format
The event retained the four round format from 1920–1952: heats, quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. There were 12 heats, of 4–6 athletes each, with the top 2 in each heat advancing to the quarterfinals. The 24 quarterfinalists were placed into 4 heats of 6 athletes. The top 3 in each quarterfinal advanced to the semifinals. There were 2 heats of 6 semifinalists, once again with the top 3 advancing to the 6-man final.Records
Prior to the competition, the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.| World record | 10.1 |  Willie Williams | Berlin, Germany | 3 August 1956 |
| World record | 10.1 | Ira Murchison | Berlin, Germany | 4 August 1956 |
| World record | 10.1 | Leamon King | Ontario, United States | 20 October 1956 |
| World record | 10.1 | Leamon King | Santa Ana, United States | 27 October 1956 |
| Olympic record | 10.3 | Eddie Tolan | Los Angeles, USA | 1 August 1932 |
| Olympic record | 10.3 | Ralph Metcalfe | Los Angeles, USA | 1 August 1932 |
| Olympic record | 10.3 | Jesse Owens | Berlin, Germany | 2 August 1936 |
| Olympic record | 10.3 | Harrison Dillard | London, United Kingdom | 31 July, 1948 |
Despite headwinds, Ira Murchison and Bobby Morrow each equalled the Olympic record of 10.3 seconds in the quarterfinals. Morrow did it again in the semifinals.
Results
Heats
The fastest two runners in each of the twelve heats advanced to the quarterfinal round.Heat one
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Ira Murchison | 10.67 | ||
| 2 | Jan Jarzembowski | 10.95 | ||
| 3 | Hilmar Þorbjörnsson | 11.12 | ||
| 4 | Mario Colarossi | 11.14 | ||
| 5 | René Ahumada | 11.26 | ||
| 6 | Raja bin Ngah Ali | 11.41 |
Heat two
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Mike Agostini | 10.98 | ||
| 2 | Luigi Gnocchi | 11.01 | ||
| 3 | Titus Erinle | 11.09 | ||
| 4 | Jorge de Barros | 11.15 | ||
| 5 | Vanchak Voradilok | 11.78 | ||
| 6 | Roba Negousse | 12.07 |
Heat three
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Maurice Rae | 10.84 | ||
| 2 | Abdul Khaliq | 10.97 | ||
| 3 | Manfred Steinbach | 10.99 | ||
| 4 | Rafael Romero | 11.14 | ||
| 5 | Evaristo Iglesias | 11.50 |
Heat four
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Ben Nduga | 10.88 | ||
| 2 | Ken Box | 10.96 | ||
| 3 | Kyohei Ushio | 11.09 | ||
| 4 | Kesavan Soon | 11.35 | ||
| 5 | Jack Parrington | 11.62 |
Heat five
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Marian Foik | 10.88 | ||
| 2 | Boris Tokarev | 11.09 | ||
| 3 | Franco Galbiati | 11.13 | ||
| 4 | Tom Robinson | 11.30 | ||
| 5 | Jalal Gozal | 11.45 | ||
| 6 | James Roberts | 11.45 |
Heat six
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Manfred Germar | 10.91 | ||
| 2 | Ray Land | 11.05 | ||
| 3 | Keith Gardner | 11.22 | ||
| 4 | Alain David | 11.24 | ||
| 5 | Emmanuel Putu | 11.44 | ||
| 6 | Beyene Legesse | 11.94 |
Heat seven
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Leonid Bartenev | 10.93 | ||
| 2 | Béla Goldoványi | 11.02 | ||
| 3 | Clive Bonas | 11.17 | ||
| 4 | Gavin Carragher | 11.36 | ||
| 5 | Thomas Obi | 11.47 | ||
| 6 | Bjørn Nilsen | 11.58 |
Heat eight
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Hec Hogan | 10.72 | ||
| 2 | René Bonino | 10.96 | ||
| 3 | Géza Varasdi | 11.00 | ||
| 4 | Akira Kiyofuji | 11.00 |
Heat nine
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Thane Baker | 10.93 | ||
| 2 | Edmund Turton | 11.38 | ||
| 3 | Sinnayah Karuppiah Jarabalan | 11.56 | ||
| 4 | Tan Eng Yoon | 11.63 |
Heat ten
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Stan Levenson | 10.94 | ||
| 2 | Heinz Fütterer | 11.10 | ||
| 3 | João Pires Sobrinho | 11.14 | ||
| 4 | Joe Goddard | 11.19 | ||
| 5 | Oliver Hunter | 11.22 | ||
| 6 | Ghulam Raziq | 11.26 |
Heat eleven
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Edward Ajado | 11.01 | ||
| 2 | Roy Sandstrom | 11.05 | ||
| 3 | Dick Harding | 11.20 | ||
| 4 | Muhammad Sharif Butt | 11.26 | ||
| 5 | Abebe Hailou | 11.54 | ||
| 6 | Sneh Wongchaoom | 11.95 |
Heat twelve
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Bobby Morrow | 10.90 | ||
| 2 | Yuriy Konovalov | 11.04 | ||
| 3 | David Segal | 11.19 | ||
| 4 | Paiboon Vacharapan | 11.27 | ||
| 5 | Lee Kah Fook | 11.84 |
Quarterfinals
The fastest three runners in each of the four heats advanced to the semifinal round.Quarterfinal one
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Bobby Morrow | 10.55 | , | |
| 2 | Mike Agostini | 10.75 | ||
| 3 | Maurice Rae | 10.78 | ||
| 4 | Béla Goldoványi | 10.95 | ||
| 5 | Heinz Fütterer | 10.99 | ||
| 6 | Ray Land | 11.15 |
Quarterfinal two
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Ira Murchison | 10.55 | , | |
| 2 | Abdul Khaliq | 10.78 | ||
| 3 | Yuriy Konovalov | 10.93 | ||
| 4 | Luigi Gnocchi | 10.96 | ||
| 5 | Edmund Turton | 11.37 | ||
| 6 | Ben Nduga | 12.95 |
Quarterfinal three
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Hec Hogan | 10.78 | ||
| 2 | Boris Tokarev | 10.87 | ||
| 3 | Stan Levenson | 10.93 | ||
| 4 | Jan Jarzembowski | 10.98 | ||
| 5 | Edward Ajado | 11.02 | ||
| 6 | Ken Box | 11.45 |
Quarterfinal four
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Thane Baker | 10.62 | ||
| 2 | Manfred Germar | 10.80 | ||
| 3 | Marian Foik | 10.83 | ||
| 4 | Leonid Bartenev | 10.84 | ||
| 5 | René Bonino | 10.96 | ||
| 6 | Roy Sandstrom | 11.03 |
Semifinals
The fastest three runners in each of the two heats advanced to the final round.Semifinal one
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Ira Murchison | 10.79 | ||
| 2 | Mike Agostini | 10.79 | ||
| 3 | Manfred Germar | 10.85 | ||
| 4 | Abdul Khaliq | 10.93 | ||
| 5 | Stan Levenson | 10.94 | ||
| 6 | Yuriy Konovalov | 11.11 |
Semifinal two
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Bobby Morrow | 10.52 | , | |
| 2 | Thane Baker | 10.61 | ||
| 3 | Hec Hogan | 10.62 | ||
| 4 | Maurice Rae | 10.68 | ||
| 5 | Marian Foik | 10.84 | ||
| 6 | Boris Tokarev | 10.91 |
Final
Wind -2.5m/sIn lane 4, Bobby Morrow was out fast, sandwiched by his teammates Thane Baker in lane 6 and Ira Murchison in lane 1. Morrow just ran away from the field. Baker edged ahead of Murchison to get silver, and running before an Australian crowd, Hec Hogan came from behind to nip Murchison at the line. While Morrow was almost two metres ahead of Baker at the finish, the hand timing of the day gave them the same time of 10.5; the electronic timing system showed the margin to be a more accurate 0.15 of a second.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Time |
| Bobby Morrow | 10.5 | 10.62 | ||
| Thane Baker | 10.5 | 10.77 | ||
| Hec Hogan | 10.6 | 10.77 | ||
| 4 | Ira Murchison | 10.6 | 10.79 | |
| 5 | Manfred Germar | 10.7 | 10.86 | |
| 6 | Mike Agostini | 10.7 | 10.88 |