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.
| United Team of Germany at the 1956 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
Flag of Germany, which was used at the time by both East Germany (until 1959) and West Germany | |
| IOC code | EUA |
| NOC | United Team of Germany |
| in Melbourne/Stockholm | |
| Competitors | 158 in 15 sports |
| Flag bearers | Karl-Friedrich Haas (Melbourne) Fritz Thiedemann (Stockholm) |
| Medals Ranked 7th |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
| Other related appearances | |
| Germany (1896–1936, 1952, 1992–) Saar (1952) East Germany (1968–1988) West Germany (1968–1988) | |
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
- Wolfgang Behrendt (East Germany) — Boxing, Men's Bantamweight
- Michael Scheuer and Meinrad Miltenberger (both from West Germany) — Canoeing, Men's K2 1000 m Kayak Pairs
- Hans-Günter Winkler (West Germany) — Equestrian, Jumping Individual
- Hans-Günter Winkler, Fritz Thiedemann, and Alfons Lütke-Westhues (all from West Germany) — Equestrian, Jumping Team
- Helmut Bantz (West Germany) — Gymnastics, Men's Long Horse Vault
- Ursula Happe (West Germany) — Swimming, Women's 200 m Breaststroke
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 × 100 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
- Martin Lauer
- Heat — 14.2 s
- Semifinals — 14.4 s
- Final — 14.5 s (→ 4th place)
- Berthold Steines
- Heat — 14.3 s
- Semifinals — 14.5 s (→ did not advance)
Men's Marathon
- Lothar Beckert — 2:42:10 (→ 19th place)
- Kurt Hartung — 2:52:14 (→ 28th place)
- Klaus Portadnik — did not finish (→ no ranking)
Boxing
Canoeing
Cycling
- Tandem
- Friedrich Neuser
Günther Ziegler — 10th place
- Team pursuit
- Kurt Gieseler
Rolf Nitzsche
Siegfried Köhler
Werner Malitz — 12th place
- Team road race
- Horst Tüller
Gustav-Adolf Schur
Reinhold Pommer — 27 points (→ Bronze Medal)
- Individual road race
- Horst Tüller — 5:23:16 (→ 4th place)
- Gustav-Adolf Schur — 5:23:16 (→ 5th place)
- Reinhold Pommer — 5:24:38 (→ 18th place)
- Erich Hagen — 5:26:38 (→ 22nd place)
Fencing
One fencer represented Germany in 1956.
- Men's foil
- Günter Stratmann
- Men's épée
- Günter Stratmann
- Men's sabre
- Günter Stratmann
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
- Klaus von Fersen
- Men's double sculls – 4th place
- Thomas Schneider
- Kurt Hipper
- Men's coxless pair
- Helmut Sauermilch
- Claus Heß
- Men's coxed pair – 2nd place ( silver medal)
- Karl-Heinrich von Groddeck
- Horst Arndt
- Rainer Borkowsky
- Men's coxless four
- Willi Montag
- Horst Stobbe
- Gunther Kaschlun
- Manfred Fitze
Sailing
Shooting
Two shooters represented Germany in 1956.
- 50 m rifle, three positions
- Rudi Sigl
- Albert Sigl
- 50 m rifle, prone
- Rudi Sigl
- Albert Sigl
Swimming
- Men
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Horst Bleeker | 100 m freestyle | 1:00.1 | 26 | Did not advance | |||
| Hans Köhler | 59.8 | =22 | Did not advance | ||||
| Paul Voell | 58.4 | =12 Q | 58.6 | 13 | Did not advance | ||
| Hans Köhler | 400 m freestyle | 4:43.5 | 18 | N/a | Did not advance | ||
| Hans Zierold | 4:35.7 | =4 Q | N/a | 4:34.6 | 5 | ||
| Hans-Joachim Reich | 1500 m freestyle | 19:28.6 | 17 | N/a | Did not advance | ||
| Ekkehard Miersch | 100 m backstroke | 1:07.5 | 16 Q | 1:06.6 | 12 | Did not advance | |
| Dieter Pfeifer | 1:06.7 | 13 Q | 1:07.6 | =13 | Did not advance | ||
| Herbert Klein | 200 m breaststroke | DSQ | N/a | Did not advance | |||
| Horst Weber | 200 m butterfly | 2:34.4 | 11 | N/a | Did not advance | ||
| Hans Köhler Hans-Joachim Reich Hans Zierold Horst Weber | 4 × 200 m freestyle | 8:42.5 | 5 Q | N/a | 8:43.4 | 5 | |
- Women
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Kati Jansen | 100 m freestyle | 1:08.3 | 19 | Did not advance | |||
| Birgit Klomp | 1:07.7 | 15 Q | 1:07.9 | 16 | Did not advance | ||
| Christel Steffin | 1:08.1 | 18 | Did not advance | ||||
| Ingrid Künzel | 400 m freestyle | 5:20.8 | 14 | N/a | Did not advance | ||
| Helga Schmidt | 100 m backstroke | 1:14.8 | =5 Q | N/a | 1:13.4 | 4 | |
| Ursula Happe | 200 m breaststroke | 2:54.1 | 1 Q | N/a | 2:53.1 OR | ||
| Eva-Maria ten Elsen | 2:57.5 | 6 Q | N/a | 2:55.1 | |||
| Jutta Langenau | 100 m butterfly | 1:17.4 | 8 Q | N/a | 1:17.4 | 6 | |
| Ingrid Künzel Hertha Haase Kati Jansen Birgit Klomp | 4 × 100 m freestyle | 4:27.5 | 4 Q | N/a | 4:26.1 | 4 | |
Water polo
Weightlifting
Wrestling
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