Chilla Porter’s Olympic silver story is even more legendary than recent coverage celebrates
Sad news this week with the passing of Australian high-jumping legend Charles “Chilla” Porter.
I’m a Queenslander and I recall my father — who is of a similar vintage to Porter — retelling stories of the high jumper’s exploits from schoolboy star to Oly medalist.
In the last few days, most tributes to Porter say that his battle with Dumas for the 1956 Olympic high jump title finished under the lights of the Olympic stadium. It didn’t. And the impending darkness was one of the reasons their duel remains so memorable still to this day.
I’ll leave the story for Ken Moses to explain. He wrote the article copied below on Saturday 24 November 1956 for The Argus.
THE BAR CRASHED, THE CROWD CRIED . . “OH, POOR CHILLA!” (HIGH JUMP DRAMA IN THE DUSK)
By KEN MOSES on Saturday 24 November 1956 for The Argus.
Australian high jumper Charlie (Chilla) Porter squinted nervously into the dusk at the Main Olympic Stadium last night, ran lightly to the high jump . . . and touched the bar as he soared over. But as he picked himself up, one of the greatest ovations ever given an Australian athlete crashed, down on him
from the packed stands.
Porter had been beaten in the Olympic high jump by the incredible leaping United States Negro Charlie Dumas.
The crowd, which had stayed on spellbound in the gathering gloom as the high jump developed into a duel between the two Charlies, roared its acclamation for Dumas, who cleared 6ft. 11¼in. at his second attempt.
And it opened its heart to lanky, short-sighted Porter, who made the greatest jump of his life to clear 6ft. 10½in. and just failed to match Dumas’ Olympic record leap.
Heroic
It was a day of heroic performances.
- Russian VLADIMIR KUTS “killed” the field in the 10,000 metres to set the new Olympic record of 28min. 45.6sec.
- Czechoslovakia’s OLGA FIKOTOVA hurled the discus 176ft. 1½in. to set new Olympic figures and beat Russia’s Irina Begliakova and Nina Ponomareva.
However, the Dumas - Porter duel was easily the most dramatic.
It was a race against darkness.
Light was so poor towards the end that matches in the stand shone like Olympic torches, and the lights on the scoreboard looked like Bourke st. decorations.
If the event had lasted another 10 minutes both athletes would have had
every right to appeal against the light.
Ten more minutes and they’d had to quit
The victory ceremony was held in darkness. Igor Kachkarov, of Russia, was third. Dumas made one attempt to create a new world record when the bar was raised to 7 ft. 1in., but he failed.
It was so dark he made no more attempts, although he was entitled to two more jumps.
There was terrific tension in the closing stages.
Both athletes had been on their feet since 10 a.m., and the last half-hour must have been the greatest strain either of them had known.
Another Victorian, Colin Ridgeway, was well in the picture, and was eliminated after clearing 6ft. 6¾in.
This effect would have won the high jump at the 1948 Olympics in London.
He failed to clear the bar at 6ft. 7⅞in. It was a tense moment when Porter, who is naturally short-sighted, prepared for his last effort in the fading light.
Ridgeway accompanied Porter to the bar, and both smoothed out the run-up. The huge crowd waited in frozen silence for Porter to make his final effort.
As Chilla clipped the bar with his trailing knee, a long sigh rippled from the stands — and was drowned in a mighty cheer as he raced to congratulate Dumas.
Ends.
Poor performance from the CTO
Epilogue - Who knows why the lights weren’t turned on. It was a poor performance from the CTO* anyway!
*Chief Twilight Officer
