Germany was represented at the 1956 Summer Olympics by a United Team of Germany of athletes from the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) (West Germany) and, for the first time at Summer Games, also from East Germany which had not joined in 1952. Also, the Saarland athletes who had to enter as a separate team in 1952 could now join in even though the accession of their state was not yet in effect. Thus, this was the only Olympic team ever to comprise athletes from three German states.
Most of the Games were held in Melbourne, Australia, but due to Australian quarantine regulations the equestrian events were held five months earlier in Stockholm, Sweden. 158 competitors, 134 men and 24 women, took part in 95 events in 15 sports.
Events
The horse Halla carried rider Hans Günter Winkler to two gold medals, and one more in 1960 for an all-time record.
Heinz Fütterer, who had tied the 100 m world record and set some European records, was a favorite for medals, but was injured before the games in an event held in East Germany.
Compared to 1952, where no Gold had been won, the Germans improved significantly, but still won more than twice as many Silver than Gold, being ranked joint 4th in total medals.
Medalists
Nationality in brackets.
Gold
Silver
- Karl-Friedrich Haas (West Germany) — Athletics, Men's 400 metres
- Klaus Richtzenhain (East Germany) — Athletics, Men's 1500 metres
- Christa Stubnick (East Germany) — Athletics, Women's 100 metres
- Christa Stubnick (East Germany) — Athletics, Women's 200 metres
- Gisela Köhler (East Germany) — Athletics, Women's 80 m Hurdles
- Harry Kurschat (West Germany) — Boxing, Men's Lightweight
- Fritz Briel and Theo Kleine (both from West Germany) — Canoeing, Men's K2 10.000 m Kayak Pairs
- Therese Zenz (Saarland) — Canoeing, Women's K1 500 m Kayak Singles
- August Lütke-Westhues (West Germany) — Equestrian, Three-Day Event Individual
- August Lütke-Westhues, Otto Rothe, and Klaus Wagner (all from West Germany) — Equestrian, Three-Day Event Team
- Liselott Linsenhoff, Anneliese Küppers, and Hannelore Weygand (all from West Germany) — Equestrian, Dressage Team
- Karl-Heinrich von Groddeck, Horst Arndt, and Rainer Borkowsky (all from West Germany) — Rowing, Men's Coxed Pairs
- Wilfried Dietrich (West Germany) — Wrestling, Men's Greco-Roman Heavyweight
Bronze
- Heinz Fütterer, Leonhard Pohl, Lothar Knörzer, and Manfred Germar (all from West Germany) — Athletics, Men's 4 à100 m Relay
- Marianne Werner (West Germany) — Athletics, Women's Shot Put
- Michael Scheuer (West Germany) — Canoeing, Men's K1 10.000 m Kayak Singles
- Reinhold Pommer (West Germany), Horst Tüller (East Germany) and Gustav-Adolf Schur (East Germany) — Cycling, Men's Team Road Race
- Liselott Linsenhoff (West Germany) — Equestrian, Dressage Individual
- Günther Brennecke Hugo Budinger, Werner Delmes, Hugo Dollheiser, Eberhard Ferstl, Alfred Lücker, Helmut Nonn, Wolfgang Nonn, Heinz Radzikowski, Werner Rosenbaum, and Günther Ullerich (all from West Germany) — Field Hockey, Men's Team Competition
- Eva-Maria ten Elsen (East Germany) — Swimming, Women's 200 m Breaststroke
Athletics
Men's 110 m Hurdles
* Heat â 14.2 s
* Semifinals â 14.4 s
* Final â 14.5 s (â 4th place)
* Heat â 14.3 s
* Semifinals â 14.5 s (â did not advance)
Men's Marathon
Boxing
Canoeing
Cycling
Tandem
Team pursuit
Team road race
Individual road race
Fencing
One fencer represented Germany in 1956.
Men's foil
Men's épée
Men's sabre
Football
Gymnastics
Hockey
Rowing
The United Team of Germany had 12 male rowers participate in five of the seven rowing events in 1956.
Men's single sculls
Men's double sculls â 4th place
Men's coxless pair
Men's coxed pair â 2nd place ( silver medal)
Men's coxless four
Sailing
Shooting
Two shooters represented Germany in 1956.
50 m rifle, three positions
50 m rifle, prone
Swimming
Men
Women
Water polo
Weightlifting
Wrestling
References
External links