Hong Kong at the 1956 Summer Olympics

Hong Kong at the
1956 Summer Olympics
IOC codeHKG
NOCSports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong
Websitewww.hkolympic.org (in Chinese and English)
in Melbourne/Stockholm
Competitors2 in 1 sport
Officialsled by Arnaldo de Oliveira Sales[1]
Medals
Gold
0
Silver
0
Bronze
0
Total
0
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)

Hong Kong, a British colony at the time, competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia from 22 November to 8 December 1956. This was Hong Kong's second appearance in an Olympic Games. Two athletes, both men, participated in the swimming event. Hong Kong did not win a medal in Melbourne Olympics. The best result was Cheung Kin Man, who came 22nd in Men's 100 m freestyle.

Background

The National Olympic Committee (NOC) for Hong Kong was founded in 1950 as the Amateur Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong,[2] and was renamed in 1999 to the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC).[2][3] It was recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1951,[2][4][5] and subsequently, Hong Kong began to be represented separately from Great Britain. Hong Kong made its Olympics Games debut in 1952 at Helsinki.[5][6] 1956 Melbourne Olympics was Hong Kong's 2nd appearance at an Olympic Games.[6] The delegation in 1956 consists of two swimmers, Cheung Kin Man and Wan Shiu Ming.[7] The delegation was led by Arnaldo de Oliveira Sales, president of Amateur Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong at the time.[1][8][9]

Cheung Kin Man was 24 years old at the time of Melbourne Olympics.[10] He had previously represented Hong Kong at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, and would represent Hong Kong again at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.[10][11][12] In 1964, Tokyo Olympics torch relay, Cheung, would be the torch bearer for the last leg.[13] Wan Shiu Ming was 18 years old at the time of Melbourne Olympics.[14] This was his only appearance in Olympic Games.[14] Wan would later win the Cross Harbour Race six times,[15] winning the nickname of 'Flying Fish of Victoria Peak' (太平山飛魚).[16]

Competitors

The following is the list of the number of competitors in the Games.

Sport Men Women Total
Swimming 2 0 2
Total 2 0 2[7]

Swimming

Main article: Swimming at the 1956 Summer Olympics

On 29 November, both Cheung Kin Man and Wan Shiu Ming participated in the men's 100 m freestyle.[17] Cheung was assigned to heat two. He finished in 59.8 seconds, ranked 4th in the heat and 22nd overall, tied with Hans Köhler from Germany.[17] Wan was assigned to heat five. He finished in 1:00.7, ranked 7th and the last in the heat and 32nd overall, tied with André Laurent from Belgium.[17] Only the fastest 16 advanced to the semi-finals, and hence both Cheung and Wan were eliminated.[17][18] The gold medal was won by Jon Henricks, silver by John Devitt and bronze by Gary Chapman, all from Australia.[17][19] On 1 December, Wan participated in the men's 400 m freestyle.[20] He was assigned to heat one. He finished in 5:02.6, ranked 7th and the last in the heat and 32nd overall. Only the fastest 8 advanced to the final, so Wan was eliminated.[20] The gold medal was won by Murray Rose from Australia, silver by Tsuyoshi Yamanaka from Japan and bronze by George Breen from USA.[21] On 4 December, Cheung participated in men's 100 m backstroke.[22] He was assigned to heat six. He finished in 1:14.0, ranked 6th and the last in the heat and 25nd overall. Only the fastest 16 advanced to the semi-final, so Cheung was eliminated.[22] The gold medal was won by David Theile from Australia, silver by John Monckton and bronze by Frank McKinney from USA.[23]

Athlete Event Heat Semifinal Final Ref.
Time Rank Time Rank Time Rank
Cheung Kin Man Men's 100 m backstroke 1:14.0 6 Did not advance 25 [22][23][24]
Men's 100 m freestyle 59.8 4 Did not advance =22 [17][24]
Wan Shiu Ming Men's 100 m freestyle 1:00.7 7 Did not advance =32 [17]
Men's 400 m freestyle 5:02.6 7 Did not advance 32 [20]

References

  1. ^ a b Pang, Chung (April 2020). 走過香港奧運路 (PDF) (in Chinese) (2nd ed.). Hong Kong: 南華體育會.
  2. ^ a b c "History". Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  3. ^ "Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China". Hong Kong 2006. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  4. ^ "Hong Kong, China". Olympics. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Hong Kong at the Olympic Games". Topend Sports. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Hong Kong". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 9 January 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Olympedia – Hong Kong, China at the 1956 Summer Olympics". Olympedia. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  8. ^ "Olympedia – Arnaldo de Oliveira Sales". Olympedia. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  9. ^ Palmer, Dan (11 March 2020). "Hong Kong's sporting pioneer dies aged 100". insidethegames.biz.
  10. ^ a b "Olympedia – Cheung Kin Man". Olympedia. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  11. ^ "Kin-Man Cheung". Olympics. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  12. ^ 體路 (25 July 2020). "【當年奧運】68年前的赫爾辛基 香港人的第一次". 體路 Sportsroad. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  13. ^ "Olympic torch arrives in Hong Kong". Hong Kong Memory. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  14. ^ a b "Olympedia – Wan Shiu Ming". Olympedia. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  15. ^ "星期日專題：渡海泳冠軍皇后碼頭溫舊夢". Oriental Daily. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  16. ^ "Wan Shiu Ming". HKOlympians. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g "Olympedia – 100 metres Freestyle, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  18. ^ "香港張乾文温兆明均告落選". Kung Sheung Daily News. 30 November 1956. p. 8.
  19. ^ "Melbourne 1956 - Swimming 100 m freestyle men results". Olympics. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  20. ^ a b c "Olympedia – 400 metres Freestyle, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  21. ^ "Melbourne 1956 - Swimming 400 m freestyle men results". Olympics. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  22. ^ a b c "Olympedia – 100 metres Backstroke, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  23. ^ a b "Melbourne 1956 - Swimming 100 m backstroke men results". Olympics. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  24. ^ a b "Kin-Man CHEUNG | Results | World Aquatics Official". World Aquatics. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
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