Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metres

These are the official results of the Men's 200 metres event at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. There were a total number of 66 competitors from 32 countries. The first and second rounds were held on Monday 26 November and the semifinals and final on Tuesday 27 November.[1]

Men's 200 metres at the Games of the XVI Olympiad
Venue	Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Date	26 November 1956 & 27 November 1956
Competitors	42 from 23 nations
Medalists
Bobby Morrow  United States Andy Stanfield  United States Thane Baker  United States

Video on YouTube Official Video @20:55

Athletics at the 1956 Summer Olympics
Track events
100 m	men	women
200 m	men	women
400 m	men
800 m	men
1500 m	men
5000 m	men
10,000 m	men
80 m hurdles		women
110 m hurdles	men
400 m hurdles	men
3000 m steeplechase	men
4×100 m relay	men	women
4×400 m relay	men
Road events
Marathon	men
20 km walk	men
50 km walk	men
Field events
Long jump	men	women
Triple jump	men
High jump	men	women
Pole vault	men
Shot put	men	women
Discus throw	men	women
Javelin throw	men	women
Hammer throw	men
Combined events
Decathlon	men

Even though it had been a part of the Olympics, the IAAF had only certified world records for the 200 meters around the bend since 1951. Both claimants to the record Andy Stanfield and Thane Baker were in this final. Stanfield took a slight lead from the gun, making up the stagger on Jose Telles da Conceicao to his outside just past halfway through the turn. Inside of him, 100 meter champion Bobby Morrow slowly accelerated and caught Stanfield. Coming off the turn, Morrow had almost a meter advantage. Two meters back, Baker was in a battle with Michael Agostini. Down the final straight, Morrow opened up another meter to take the win. Baker separated from Agostini and made a late run at Stanfield, coming up a couple of feet short. Morrow's hand time of 20.6 equalled the world record.