[2] Five of the top 10 riders from the 1952 competition returned: gold medalist Pierre Jonquères d'Oriola of France, bronze medalist Fritz Thiedemann of Germany (now competing as the United Team of Germany), fourth-place finisher Eloy de Menezes of Brazil, fifth-place finisher Wilfred White of Great Britain, and seventh-place finisher Raimondo D'Inzeo of Italy.

Winkler suffered a pulled groin and would have withdrawn except that doing so would cost his teammates a chance at a team event medal (Germany led, but all three riders had to finish).

He rode the second round dosed with (visibly insufficient) painkillers and coffee.

[2] Despite those impediments, Winkler was one of three riders to ride a clean second round (though one, López, had a .75 time penalty).

Raimondo's clean round earned him silver; his elder brother Piero's 3 second-round faults was good for bronze.

The first two women to compete in the event, Pat Smythe and Brigitte Schockaert, finished 10th and 34th, respectively.