1960 Summer Olympics
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| Games of the XVII Olympiad | |
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| Host city | Rome, Italy |
| Nations participating | 83 |
| Athletes participating | 5,348 (4,738 men, 610 women) |
| Events | 150 in 17 sports |
| Opening ceremony | August 25, 1960 |
| Closing ceremony | September 11, 1960 |
| Officially opened by | Giovanni Gronchi |
| Athlete's Oath | Adolfo Consolini |
| Olympic Torch | Giancarlo Peris |
| Stadium | Stadio Olimpico |
The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, were held in 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had been awarded the organization of the 1908 Summer Olympics, but, after the 1906 eruption of Mount Vesuvius, had to decline and pass the honours to London. In 1955, the city beat out Lausanne, Detroit, Budapest, Brussels, Mexico City and Tokyo for the rights to the Games.
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[edit] Highlights
- Jeff Farrell, USA, won 2 gold medals in Swimming after undergoing an emergency appendectomy 6 days before the Olympic Trials
- Representatives of the USSR won 15 of 16 possible medals in women's gymnastics
- Danish sailer Paul Elvstrøm won his fourth straight gold medal in the Finn class, the first athlete to achieve this feat in an individual event. The only other two to have emulated his performance are Al Oerter and Carl Lewis.
- Finnish Vilho Ylönen, a field shooter, shot a bullseye to a wrong target and was dropped from the second place to fourth.
- The future Constantine II, King of Greece, won his country a gold in sailing Dragon Class.
- Fencer Aladar Gerevich of Hungary won his sixth consecutive gold medal in the team sabre event (1932-1936, 1948-1960).
- Wilma Rudolph, a former polio patient, won three gold medals in sprint events on the track.
- Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia won the marathon bare-footed to become the first black African Olympic champion although he specialized in the 25km race.
- Cassius Clay, later known as Muhammad Ali, won boxing's light-heavyweight gold medal.
- The Japanese men's gymnastics team won the first of five successive golds, the last of which was won in 1976, in Montreal.
- South Africa appeared in the Olympic arena for the last time under the apartheid regime. They would not be allowed to return until 1992, after the abandonment of apartheid and during the transition to majority rule.
- Swedish canoer Gert Fredriksson won his sixth Olympic title.
- Danish cyclist Knud Enemark collapsed during his race under the influence of amphetamines and later died in the hospital. It was the second time an athlete died in competition at the Olympics, after the death of Portuguese marathon runner Francisco Lazaro at the 1912 Summer Olympics.
- Australian athlete Herb Elliott won the men's 1500 meters in one of the most dominating performances in Olympic history.
- American athlete Rafer Johnson defeated his rival and friend C.K. Yang in one of the greatest decathlon events in Olympic history.
- American vice-presidential candidate Peter Camejo competed in yachting for Venezuela.
- Armin Hary won the 100m in a world record time of 10.2 seconds.
[edit] Venues
- Olympic Stadium² (Stadio Olimpico) - opening/closing ceremonies, athletics, equestrian events
- Flaminio Stadium¹ (Stadio Flaminio) - football/soccer finals
- Swimming Stadium¹ - swimming, diving, water polo
- Sports Palace¹ (Palazzo dello sport) - basketball, boxing
- Olympic Velodrome¹ - cycling, hockey
- Small Sports Palace¹ (Palazzetto dello Sport) - basketball, weightlifting
- Marble Stadium² (Stadio dei Marmi) - hockey preliminaries
- Baths of Caracalla - gymnastics
- Basilica of Maxentius - wrestling
- Palazzo dei Congressi - fencing
- Umberto I Shooting Range¹ - shooting
- Roses Swimming Pool¹ (Piscina delle Rose) - water polo
- Lake Albano, Castelgandolfo - rowing, canoeing
- Piazza di Siena, Villa Borghese gardens - equestrian events
- Pratoni del Vivaro, Rocca di Papa - equestrian events
- Bay of Naples, Naples - yachting
- Communal Stadium, Florence - football/soccer preliminaries
- Communal Stadium, Grosseto - football/soccer preliminaries
- Communal Stadium, L'Aquila - football/soccer preliminaries
- Ardenza Stadium, Livorno - football/soccer preliminaries
- Adriatico Stadium, Pescara - football/soccer preliminaries
- Fuorigrotta Stadium, Naples - football/soccer preliminaries
¹ New facilities constructed in preparation for the Olympic Games. ² Existing facilities modified or refurbished in preparation for the Olympic Games.
[edit] Medals awarded
See the medal winners, ordered by sport:
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[edit] Participating nations
A total of 84 nations competed at the Rome Games. Morocco, San Marino, Sudan, Suriname, and Tunisia competed at the Olympic Games for the first time. Athletes from Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago would represent the new West Indies Federation, but this nation would only exist for this single Olympiad. Athletes from East Germany and West Germany would compete as the United Team of Germany from 1956-1964.
[edit] Medal count
These are the top ten nations that won medals at these Games:
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Soviet Union |
43 | 29 | 31 | 103 |
| 2 |  United States |
34 | 21 | 16 | 71 |
| 3 |  Italy (host nation) |
13 | 10 | 13 | 36 |
| 4 |  United Team of Germany |
12 | 19 | 11 | 42 |
| 5 |  Australia |
8 | 8 | 6 | 22 |
| 6 |  Turkey |
7 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| 7 |  Hungary |
6 | 8 | 7 | 21 |
| 8 |  Japan |
4 | 7 | 7 | 18 |
| 9 |  Poland |
4 | 6 | 11 | 21 |
| 10 |  Czechoslovakia |
3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Sports • Medal counts • NOCs Medalists • Symbols |
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| Summer Games: 1896, 1900, 1904, 19061, 1908, 1912, (1916)2, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, (1940)2, (1944)2, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 |
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| Winter Games: 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, (1940)2, (1944)2, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 | ||
| Athens 2004 — Turin 2006 — Beijing 2008 — Vancouver 2010 — London 2012 | ||
