title: Speed skating at the 1956 Winter Olympics – Men's 500 metres
text: # Speed skating at the 1956 Winter Olympics – Men's 500 metres
  
  The 500 metres speed skating event was part of the speed skating at the 1956 Winter Olympics program. The competition was held on naturally frozen ice on the Lake Misurina. It was held on Saturday, 28 January 1956, and started at noon and ended at 1:15 PM. Forty-seven speed skaters from 17 nations competed.
  
  ## Medalists
  
  | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
  | - | - | - |
  | Yevgeny Grishin Soviet Union | Rafayel Grach Soviet Union | Alv Gjestvang Norway |
  
  ## Records
  
  These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1956 Winter Olympics.
  
  | World record | 40.2(*) | Yevgeny Grishin | Cortina d'Ampezzo/Lake Misurina (ITA) | 22 January 1956 |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Olympic record | 43.1 | Finn Helgesen | St. Moritz (SUI) | 31 January 1948 |
  
  (*) The record was set in a high altitude venue (more than 1000 metres above sea level) and on naturally frozen ice.
  
  Yevgeny Grishin equalized his own world record.
  
  ## Results
  
  Yevgeny Grishin set a new world record only six days before this event on the same venue. He equalized his world record time and won the gold medal.
  
  | Place | Speed skater | Time |
  | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Yevgeny Grishin (URS) | 40.2 =WR |
  | 2 | Rafayel Grach (URS) | 40.8 |
  | 3 | Alv Gjestvang (NOR) | 41.0 |
  | 4 | Yuri Sergeev (URS) | 41.1 |
  | 5 | Toivo Salonen (FIN) | 41.7 |
  | 6 | Bill Carow (USA) | 41.8 |
  | 7 | Colin Hickey (AUS) | 41.9 |
  | 7 | Bengt Malmsten (SWE) | 41.9 |
  | 9 | Matti Hamberg (FIN) | 42.2 |
  | 9 | Juhani Järvinen (FIN) | 42.2 |
  | 11 | Shinkichi Takemura (JPN) | 42.4 |
  | 11 | Johnny Werket (USA) | 42.4 |
  | 13 | Finn Hodt (NOR) | 42.5 |
  | 13 | Yrjö Uimonen (FIN) | 42.5 |
  | 15 | Bertil Eng (SWE) | 42.6 |
  | 16 | Sigmund Søfteland (NOR) | 42.7 |
  | 17 | Hroar Elvenes (NOR) | 42.8 |
  | 17 | Ken Henry (USA) | 42.8 |
  | 17 | Yoshitaki Hori (JPN) | 42.8 |
  | 17 | Bohumil Jauris (TCH) | 42.8 |
  | 21 | Johnny Cronshey (GBR) | 42.9 |
  | 22 | Taketsugu Asazaka (JPN) | 43.1 |
  | 22 | Guido Citterio (ITA) | 43.1 |
  | 22 | Gerard Maarse (NED) | 43.1 |
  | 25 | Gordon Audley (CAN) | 43.2 |
  | 25 | Raymond Gilloz (FRA) | 43.2 |
  | 25 | Don McDermott (USA) | 43.2 |
  | 28 | Jang Yeong (KOR) | 43.5 |
  | 28 | Vladimír Kolář (TCH) | 43.5 |
  | 30 | Jaroslav Doubek (TCH) | 43.6 |
  | 30 | Kiyotaka Takabayashi (JPN) | 43.6 |
  | 32 | Franz Offenberger (AUT) | 43.8 |
  | 33 | Guido Caroli (ITA) | 43.9 |
  | 34 | Jo Yun-sik (KOR) | 44.0 |
  | 34 | Helmut Kuhnert (EUA) | 44.0 |
  | 36 | Ralf Olin (CAN) | 44.1 |
  | 37 | Ernst Biel (AUT) | 44.2 |
  | 37 | Kees Broekman (NED) | 44.2 |
  | 37 | Sigvard Ericsson (SWE) | 44.2 |
  | 40 | Erich Kull (SUI) | 44.3 |
  | 41 | Kurt Eminger (AUT) | 44.4 |
  | 42 | Gunnar Ström (SWE) | 44.7 |
  | 43 | Wim de Graaff (NED) | 44.9 |
  | 44 | Alex Connell (GBR) | 45.2 |
  | 45 | John Hearn (GBR) | 45.9 |
  | — | Yuri Mikhaylov (URS) | DNF |
  | — | Johnny Sands (CAN) | DNF |
  
  Johnny Sands and Yuri Mikhaylov did not finish after a fall.
  
  