16 competitors entered, but 13 only took part. Those 13 competitors first raced in three heats. The top three finishers in each heat moved directly to the final.
Heat 1 |
1. | {{flagIOCathlete|Gert Fredriksson|SWE|1956 Summer}} | 4:22.0 | QF |
2. | {{flagIOCathlete|Igor Pissarov|URS|1956 Summer}} | 4:22.2 | QF |
3. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ladislav Čepčianský|TCH|1956 Summer}} | 4:26.0 | QF |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|Knut Østby|NOR|1956 Summer}} | 4:27.1 |
5. | {{flagIOCathlete|Thorvald Strömberg|FIN|1956 Summer}} | 4:51.3 |
6. | {{flagIOCathlete|Robert Smith|CAN|1956 Summer}} | 4:54.2 |
Heat 2 |
1. | {{flagIOCathlete|Stefan Kapłaniak|POL|1956 Summer}} | 4:35.4 | QF |
2. | {{flagIOCathlete|Lajos Kiss|HUN|1956 Summer}} | 4:35.8 | QF |
3. | {{flagIOCathlete|Louis Gantois|FRA|1956 Summer}} | 4:39.9 | QF |
Heat 3 |
1. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ernst Steinhauer|EUA|1956 Summer}} | 4:24.8 | QF |
2. | {{flagIOCathlete|Villy Christiansen|DEN|1956 Summer}} | 4:25.2 | QF |
3. | {{flagIOCathlete|Barry Stuart|AUS|1956 Summer}} | 4:30.1 | QF |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|David Merwin|USA|1956 Summer}} | 4:35.9 |
width=30 bgcolor=gold | align=left|{{flagIOCathlete|Gert Fredriksson|SWE|1956 Summer}} | 4:12.8 |
bgcolor=silver | align=left|{{flagIOCathlete|Igor Pissarov|URS|1956 Summer}} | 4:15.3 |
bgcolor=cc9966 | align=left|{{flagIOCathlete|Lajos Kiss|HUN|1956 Summer}} | 4:16.2 |
4. | {{flagIOCathlete|Stefan Kapłaniak|POL|1956 Summer}} | 4:19.8 |
5. | {{flagIOCathlete|Louis Gantois|FRA|1956 Summer}} | 4:22.1 |
6. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ladislav Čepčianský|TCH|1956 Summer}} | 4:23.2 |
7. | {{flagIOCathlete|Villy Christiansen|DEN|1956 Summer}} | 4:25.2 |
8. | {{flagIOCathlete|Ernst Steinhauer|EUA|1956 Summer}} | 4:25.5 |
9. | {{flagIOCathlete|Barry Stuart|AUS|1956 Summer}} | 4:30.7 |