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“Long after the names of the winners have faded from memory and the records then made have been broken, there will remain in the minds of many thousands of men and women, old or growing old, a warming memory of an event which had, as I believe, an enduring human signifi cance.” Robert Menzies, Australian Prime Minister in 1956PAPP STRIKES GOLD AGAIN IN THE RINGHungarian boxer László Papp entered the light middleweight event as the man to beat, having won gold in London in 1948 and in Helsinki four years later. And the hard-punching southpaw did not disappoint in Melbourne. After victories over Argentina’s Alberto Sáenz and Poland’s Zbigniew Pietrzykowski, he defeated future world champion José Torres, from the USA, in the gold medal match to become the first boxer in history to win three successive Olympic titles. He turned professional the following year, and remained unbeaten throughout his professional career.WHAT THEY SAIDMEMORABLE MOMENTSDue to Australia’s strict quarantine laws, which would have forced National Olympic Committees to transport and quarantine their competitors’ horses over six months before the start of the Games, the equestrian events were instead held in Stockholm (Sweden) five months earlier. This is the only time in the history of the Games that the unity of time and place, as stipulated in the Olympic Charter, has not been observed. Sweden rose to the occasion, winning three gold medals, while female athletes competed in dressage and jumping events for the first time.DID YOU KNOW?AUSTRALIA FINDS A NEW GOLDEN GIRL Betty Cuthbert had already bought tickets for the athletics events because she didn’t think she’d qualify, but the blonde-haired 18-year-old burst on to the scene to become the host nation’s “golden girl”. She managed a clean sweep of sprinting gold medals, winning the 100m and 200m before anchoring the Australian relay team to victory – a triple haul that was also achieved by the USA’s Bobby Morrow in the men’s events.MEMORABLE MOMENTSDespite taking place 60 years ago, the 1956 Games left Melbourne with a visible architectural legacy and some of the venues are still in use. For example, the celebrated Olympic Park Swimming and Diving Stadium – the scene of Australia’s greatest triumphs – is used today as a sports and entertainment centre, while the former Olympic Village in Victoria remains as public housing.However, Melbourne’s most significant Olympic legacy was a humanitarian one. Held during a period of global tension and political unrest, OLYMPIC LEGACYthe Games inspired hope, unity and togetherness, with a combined East and West Germany team competing for the first time since World War Two. The Olympic spirit was encapsulated by a young Australian named John Ian Wing. His suggestion to the IOC that all the athletes walk together during the Closing Ceremony – regardless of nationality, colour or religion – was adopted as a tradition that endures to this day, and partly explains why the 1956 Olympic Games are fondly remembered as the “friendly Games”.OLYMPIC REVIEW 71OLYMPIC FLASHBACK