Silver went to Pentti Linnosvuo of Finland, similarly taking his nation's first medal since 1924.

The three men had tied for first after the main round of 60 shots and had required a three-way shoot-off to determine the medals.

[5] The post-World War II event substantially altered the competition once again.

Reigning world champion and world record holder Aleksandr Kropotin of the Soviet Union did not compete in Rome; fellow Soviet runner-up (and co-record holder, having lost to Kropotin in a shoot-off) Alexander Zabelin was.

William McMillan, who had finished seventh at the 1952 Olympics and second at the 1954 world championships before missing the 1956 Games due to equipment failure at the U.S. trials, also returned.

The Republic of China, India, Morocco, Pakistan, South Korea, Thailand, and the United Arab Republic each made their debut in the event; East and West Germany competed together as the United Team of Germany for the first time.