THE 1956 OLYMPICS

foreign two weeks before the 1956 Olympics a jet lands at Cairns Australia Its cargo a tiny flame kindled on the Olympian plane in Greece now begins a phenomenal journey by foot across the continent of Australia almost the distance from New York to California before the flame can burn atop the Olympic stadium in Melbourne more than 200 Runners a day will bear the torch in 13 days and nights off Lewis run [Music] 2730 miles away in Melbourne itself everything is newly green and the air is bombing since November is Springtime Down Under [Music] Street decorations provide colorful evidence of the growing excitement which grips the city and as the first of thousands of earth begin pouring in the classical theme of the Olympia reached the eye on every side finally on the day the Olympic flame arrives in Melbourne and the streets are choked with a turnout usually reserved for kings and queens from the Olympic Stadium the flags of 60 Nations fly and in the stands an international proud of more than a hundred thousand is gathered to witness the opening ceremony when the bands are in position the stage is set for the arrival of a special guest the Duke of Edinburgh a popular Man Down Under now Begins the parade of athletes the Greek contingent leading as befits the historic homeland of the Olympics the other competing Nations follow in alphabetical order a wide variety of national clothing styles adding to the pageantry [Applause] the largest group is the American team and among the more than 300 top U.S athletes the armed forces are well represented in fact 33 Army 24 air force 15 Navy and Seven Marine Corps athletes make up one-fourth of the entire team observing a traditional courtesy the host nation comes on field laps 4500 athletes gathered to open the games in the spirit of sportsmanship [Music] the whirring wings of five thousand pigeons charge the air with excitement as the Olympic flame enters the stadium foreign [Applause] the final Runner Ron Clark of Melbourne completes the long chain of nearly 3 000 such Runners who have borne the flame across the continent in the longest torch relay in Olympic history now the flame kindled in Greece will burn Atop The Stadium until the classic 15-day competition is ended with the lighting of the huge Stadium torch the 1956 Olympic games are officially opened the first day of field competition is Friday November 23rd it takes some 2 000 officials to run the events and as the first of them appear enthusiasm is hot I light it the first day is the 10 000 meter run taking the lead right at the start as Russia's running machine Vladimir Koontz during most of the Six Mile Run Coots is trailed closely by England's Gordon Perry but with a fantastic finishing Sprint he leaves Peery behind and finishes all alone it's a new olympic record of 28 minutes 45 and 6 10 seconds it's a gold medal for Coots with Kovacs of Hungary second and Australia's Lawrence third late afternoon finds high jumper Charlie Dumas trying six feet 11 and a quarter inches now Australia's Chiller Porter tries the same height as daylight wanes Dumas tries again and gains our first gold medal of the games with a record six feet 11 and a quarter inches quarter a second and kashkarov of Russia third in this climax of the opening day beginning the second day of competition the 50 kilometer walk leading in black is the man to watch He's Norman Reed an independent competitor who had to pay his own way to the games from New Zealand take it easy Tom fellas you've got 31 miles to go meantime in the hammer throw ring Lieutenant owl Hall of the army shows the form and power which go into the making of a hammer thrower Russia's Chris but the favorite of the fans is history teacher Hal Connolly who took up the hammer to strengthen a weak left arm his toss sails 207 feet three and a half inches to beat out creeponisoft and some hotspotoff of Russia nice go and teach the women's hundred meter dash a howling Aussie crowd sees 18 year old Betty Cuthbert scat down the Cinders to set a new olympic record of 11 and a half seconds thank you the pretty Australian Miss is the youngest girl ever to win a gold medal with Germany stoop Nick second in Matthews of Australia third now a new cheer goes up from the crowd as Norman Reed comes in to win the 50 kilometer hike in just over four and a half hours smiling broadly Norm takes this Advantage you might say in a walk Melbourne's modernistic swimming stadium is packed as Gary tobien opens the high diving competition here's Mexico's one Capilla in a double backflip [Applause] Pasadena's dick Connor in a back one and a half tobien follows with a beautiful two and a half Gainer and then for his final dive a running one and a half with full twists it's Championship form but it doesn't match capilla's Capper a perfect full Gainer from a handstand it's a close contest but the Mexican Champion Juan Capilla takes first place with Californians Gary tobian and Dick Connor second and third back at the stadium it's the 100 meter dash and it's Bobby Joe Morrow who takes it going away in 10 and a half seconds Lieutenant Walt Baker of the Air Force's second and Hogan of Australia third speed Merchants one and all next is the 400 meter hurdles Ohio star Glenn Davis running in lane four coming into the stretch Davis leads with Eddie Southern and Marine Josh Culbreth trailing on the inside the last hurdle spells trouble for the South African entry but at the tape it's one two three for the USA for the first time in the games the Stars and Stripes fly from all three Victory polls a clean sweep for the firm of Davis Southern and Culbreth back at the pool the women's 100 meter butterfly gets underway Shelley Mann swimming in lane four is our High Hope with Nancy Ramey and Mary Jane Sears providing the competition which keeps Shelley on her toes it's a beautiful stroke to watch when it's done by the best and these are the best the Australians have dominated the swimming so far but here comes a surprise teenager Shelly Mann Nancy Ramey and Mary Jane Sears finished one two three Kelly's time is one minute 11 seconds as America makes its only Clean Sweep of the swimming competition now back to the stadium where our pole vaulters are ready to go here's George Matos of the Air Force in a beautiful slow-motion vault Reverend Bob Richards is out to top 15 feet this afternoon something he's done several times in the past but this just doesn't seem to be the day the persistent preacher comes back however to clear the bar at 14 feet 11 and a quarter inches which is good for a new Olympic record first place goes to Reverend Richards with Bob gutowski second and rubanus of Greece third in the shot put American Bill nieder opens the action with a toss which is well over the 1952 Olympic mark skobla of Czechoslovakia isn't doing badly either but the man to beat his Lieutenant Harry O'Brien at the Air Force stepping up now to eye the Olympic and World marks both set by himself here in slow motion Lieutenant O'Brien puts all of his 240 pounds behind the toss and the 16-pounder lands just short of his world record mark it measures out at 60 feet 11 inches O'Brien is winner and still Champs with Bill neither second and skobla Czechoslovakia third now for one of the colorful optional events of Olympic competition the hot Skip and jump here's Ira Davis of Philadelphia this Jump by Davis would be good for first money in just about any college meet but Ira is facing some tough competition the career of Russia for instance shown here in slow motion what's the height that clear gets into each segment of his jump and Grimm faced the iron arson of Iceland in Iron arson's case the deciding factor seems to be speed he marks up an ear record leap despite a costly hand foul but it's Ferreira de Silva of Brazil who breaks his own olympic record by five inches he takes first place with 53 feet seven and a half inches iron arson the second and clear of Russia third in Melbourne's exhibition Hall it's Russia versus the United States in the basketball finals prophetically the U.S team draws First Blood the Russians play a heads-up brand of ball but the rangey American five is really up for this game and the Soviet team can't seem to keep Pace with them teamwork like this under the basket gives the U.S team an early lead of 21-16 the Russian team keeps hustling all the way but they can't seem to find a loophole in the American defense watch the action now as the American five Builds an iron curtain of its own around the basket driving home the point that if you can't get into shoot you just don't make points by half time the USA leads by a margin of 56-27 and despite Russian comeback efforts the second half is more of the same when the final basket is tipped in the scoreboard tells the story in a nutshell USA 89 Russia 55 and America holds the world championship of basketball coming up next is an Olympic highlight the decathlon competition and Seaman Apprentice Milt Campbell at Wright emerges as a new star of the sports world setting a time of 10 and 8 10 seconds in the 100 meter dash the young sailor is off to a flying start taking the lead over favored Raper Johnson of California next in the broad jump our slow motion camera sees milk widen his lead with a leap of 24 feet one half inch in the shot put ring Campbell gets off a toss of 48 feet 5 inches and follows up in the high jump with a mark of six two and a quarter to put his number 294 still farther in front [Applause] the 400 meter run marks the halfway point and on the inside Lane melt is still giving it all he's got it's a tactic which pays off as he wins the 448 and 8 10 seconds giving him a Midway lead of 149 points next day in the high hurdles Campbell is in Clover this is milt's specialty a fact which becomes obvious when the young Seaman romps home a good two hurdles ahead of the competition time 14 seconds flat the seventh event is discus shown here in slow motion that toss will measure 149 feet six and a half inches the pole vault is Campbell's weak event the best he can do is 11 feet 7 and 3 4 inches but he makes up for it in the javelin putting plenty of whip into a toss which sails 187 Feet 3 inches with a comfortable point lead Campbell starts the tenth and final decathlon event the metric Mile and small wonder if he's beginning to show fatigue at the Finish Laura of Germany pulls out to win by 50 yards Campbell drawing on his last Reserve Sprints in to take second and the decathlon is open the final tally gives Seaman Campbell a record-breaking 7937 points with Johnson second and kuznetsov of Russia third in the 800 meter run Army PFC Tom Courtney Takes the inside on the first curve the early pace is set by team-mate Arnie Sowell with Courtney tight on his heels coming into the stretch Britain's Derrick Johnson surges between the two Americans to take the lead but in the last 20 yards of the race a cheering crowd sees Courtney summon that last ounce of Reserve to retake the lead and win by a matter of inches it's a new olympic record of one minute 47 and 7 10 seconds gold medal for PFC Courtney with Johnson second and Norway's Boys in third in The discus competition Lieutenant Desmond Koch of the air force winds up and lets fly a nice toss in anybody's League not thief of Russia really gets off whip on it Olympic champ Fortune gordine a record holder at this point but not for long because New York's Al earter uncorks a toss that sails 184 feet 10 and a half inches for a new record in a clean sweep for the U.S it's murder first Nordeen second and Lieutenant Coke third foreign High hurdles with navy Lieutenant Jack Davis second from left Lee Calhoun second from right Davis and Calhoun matched stride for stride but in a photo finish it's Calhoun by a whisker in the record time of 13 and a half seconds with Lieutenant Davis second and Joe Shankle third it's the USA all the way a large field turns out for the classic Marathon a murderous 26-mile run which has its origin in ancient Greece after a lap of the track the runners leave the stadium to take up a winding course through the streets of Melbourne meantime Lois Testa of Rhode Island opens the women's shot put Russia's muscular G zabina let's go with a toss which betters the Olympic record but the final score puts zabina second to takeovic with Berner of Germany third they're a good group the 200 meter dash as in the 100 the boy to watch is Bobby Morrow third from right running with form so smooth it looks effortless the Texas Jackrabbit comes across in 20 and 16th seconds the last man to win both the 100 and 200 was Jesse Owens in 1936 and with Stanfield second and Baker of the Air Force third it's another American clean sweep now all eyes turn up field is Marathon veteran Elaine mimoon of France comes in Solo he wins the 26 miler in two hours 25 minutes looks like 13 is his lucky number at wenduri outside Melbourne the Rowing competition gets underway here it's the single skulls event always a hard part and dramatic individual competition at the Finish it's Russia's Ivanov leading in McKenzie of Australia's second with Grace Kelly's brother Jack in third position as he takes his first Olympic medal first honors however to a tired Ivana later on the highlight of the rowing comes when the slim eight ORD shells take the water the Yale team beaten in earlier trials has staged a comeback and the Clarkson is calling a murderous stroke at the Finish they all or nothing Pace pays off though as the Yale crew pulls ahead to win over Canada second and Australia third [Music] [Applause] find gold medals for an exhausted but happy Yale crew cross-country cycling is an event little known in America but very popular overseas this little junket winds over Country Roads uphill and down for a neat 116 miles and even with extremely lightweight competition bikes obstacles like misery Hill here are no sense maintenance bands follow close behind and refreshment has to be taken on the Run the grinding circuit takes all afternoon to complete but after 5 hours 21 minutes and 17 seconds baldini of Italy comes home a winner with gear of France second and Jackson of England third among cycling fans these guys are wheels back in town the 1600 meter relay gets underway at the first handoff Army PFC Lou Jones passes along a healthy lead to his number two man third lap coming up now is 400 meter winner Charlie Jenkins takes the Baton printing in for the final handoff Jenkins has picked up another five yards over Australia running second now it's up to Army PFC Tom Courtney running Anchorman to bring home the bacon and this doe foot can really lope along the stretch Courtney holds a 10-yard lead while Australia and Britain try in pain to catch that long-legged stride of his at the tape it's Courtney going away a time of three minutes four and eight ten seconds puts the USA in first place with Australia's second and England third still faster action comes with the 400 meter relay our slow motion camera tracking the powerful starting stride of private Ira Murchison of the army in this race Split Second timing in the handoffs can make the difference between defeat and victory and our boys know it Lieutenant Baker of the Air Force passes to Bobby Morrow for the anchor leg and the Texan does it again a new world record of 39 and a half seconds it's Morrow's third gold medal as the U.S takes first Russia ties the old record per second and Germany is third Murchison King Baker and morrow at joyceum foursome and with good reason in the women's high diving ladies champ Pat McCormick is favored to take the gold medal retaining her title as the winningest gal in diving history foreign competition comes from Juno Irwin Stover and Paula Gene Myers and in the end they all get into the ACT Juno and Paula Gene take second and third while Queen Pat retains her crown with a total of 84.85 points across town at Melbourne's exhibition Hall the weightlifting is ready to start second from left is heavyweight Paul Anderson and expectant crowd sees Paul win the heavyweight title with such Feats of sheer power as this press of 369 pounds [Music] watch your toes [Applause] piling up a staggering total of 1102 pounds the 340 pound giant from Georgia retains the World Heavyweight Championship of lifting second is salvetti of Argentina third fijiani of Italy which reminds me I gotta get back on that diet the gymnastics finals are also held in the exhibition Hall and here Russia comes into her own the highly trained Soviet team outpoint stiff Western competition in every category in this branch of sport traditionally a European specialty Russia takes both men's and women's Team Championships plus most of the individual events in their strongest showing of the 1956 Olympics from a military standpoint the highlight of the games is the pentathlon which begins with the writing event horses are drawn by lots and the writers have only 15 minutes to get acquainted with their Mouse the American team of Andre Daniels and Lambert is ready here's Andre of the Navy mounting up starting at five minute intervals a field of 60 Riders battle with the clock they face a series of 25 jumps of all kinds plus the problem of rugged unfamiliar terrain spills are not uncommon but no Rider must quit or eat disqualified every kind of wooded and open terrain must be negotiated along the way and Riders are judged by two standards first and most important of course is their running time second their degree of success Had Each obstacle [Music] nearing the end of the rugged three-mile course Horace and Ryder are often near the limits of their stamina surprising the forecasters the U.S team takes first with a healthy total of 3020 points Finland is second and Russia third [Applause] the second pentathlon event is fencing here's Andre of the Navy again ready to go into action [Music] the fencers probe wearily with their electrified foils knowing that according to pentathlon rules a single hit decides the winner [Music] final judging puts Hungary first but the U.S still leads as a team next comes the shooting and again the pentathlon rules make it a tough event the targets appear for only three seconds disappear for 10. this happens exactly 20 times and each man must get off 20 shots so there's no margin for error [Music] the judges find Mexico first in the shooting America is still leading on overall point score in the swimming event each competitor must swim 300 meters freestyle against the clock [Music] this is one of our strong events but even so the Russian team picks up several points narrowing down the lead we've built up the next event will tell the story [Music] in the final event the cross-country run Lieutenant Andre number 36 leaves the starting mark spaced one minute apart the runners once again pit themselves against the clock [Music] the distance is roughly two and a half miles and each man faces a grave handicap and judging his face over the course since the terrain is completely unfamiliar to each of them [Music] pentathlon rules state that each Runner must see the course for the first time as he runs it following the white tape which marks the trail in addition the terrain is chosen for those features which will make the strongest demands on both the stamina and Judgment of each Runner in a surprise finish the well-trained Russian team shows unexpected strength recording times which put them in first place America finishes out of the money in this event but scores an upset by taking second in the overall pentathlon scoring third place goes to Finland on closing day a hundred thousand Spectators jammed the stadium to see representatives of all Nations March onto the field symbolizing the unifying influence of sportsmanship the nations are not grouped separately but March as one unit [Applause] the last race is run the last medal presented and the 16th Olympiad of the modern era is officially coming to a close now the World of Sport looks ahead to 1960 and Rome where once again the athletes of all Nations will speak The Words which express the spirit of the Olympia we swear but we will take part in these Olympic Games in the true Spirit of sportsmanship and that we will respect and abide by the rules which govern them well the glory of sport and the honor of our country [Music]