Shooting at the 1956 Summer Games: Previous Summer Games
Host City: Melbourne, Australia
Venue(s): Merrett Rifle Range, Williamstown, Victoria
Date Started: December 3, 1956
Date Finished: December 4, 1956
Format: 50 single shots and 25 double shots. 250 possible in each course, for 500 total possible.
| Gold: | Vitaliy Romanenko |
| Silver: | Olof Sköldberg |
| Bronze: | Vladimir Sevryugin |
There were only 11 competitors in this event, from six nations. The course was the same as in 1952, with the shooters firing 100 shots – 50 singles and 50 doubles – from 100 metres. The deer target moved across a firing line of 23 metres in four seconds. The event was won by Vitaly Romanenko of the USSR, who obliterated the Olympic record of 413, with 441. This was the last occurrence of this event, although a running target event returned at the 1972 Olympics. The event was in danger of not being held in 1952, as the Olympic rules required at least six participating nations. Olof Sköldberg (SWE) set a World Record for the single shot (223) on day one, but faltered on day two, although still winning the silver medal.
| Rank | Athlete | Age | Team | NOC | Medal | PTS | R1P | R2P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vitaliy Romanenko | 30 | Soviet Union | URS | Gold | 441 | 220 | 221 | OR |
| 2 | Olof Sköldberg | 46 | Sweden | SWE | Silver | 432 | 223 | 209 | |
| 3 | Vladimir Sevryugin | 32 | Soviet Union | URS | Bronze | 429 | 213 | 216 | |
| 4 | Miklós Kovács | 22 | Hungary | HUN | 417 | 204 | 213 | ||
| 5 | Miklós Kocsis | 24 | Hungary | HUN | 416 | 215 | 201 | ||
| 6 | Rolf Bergersen | 50 | Norway | NOR | 409 | 203 | 206 | ||
| 7 | Benkt Austrin | 47 | Sweden | SWE | 405 | 208 | 197 | ||
| 8 | John H. Larsen, Sr. | 43 | Norway | NOR | 390 | 199 | 191 | ||
| 9 | Germán Briceño | Venezuela | VEN | 375 | 180 | 195 | |||
| 10 | Colin Anderson | Australia | AUS | 357 | 184 | 173 | |||
| 11 | Noel Hall | 42 | Australia | AUS | 339 | 167 | 172 |