1960 Rome

Rome 1960

Athletics

Boxing

Canoe Sprint

Equestrian

Fencing

Hockey

Sailing

Swimming

Weightlifting

Wrestling

Armenia

Australia

Denmark

Ethiopia

France

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Great Britain

Hungary

Italy

Japan

New Zealand

Pakistan

Singapore

South Africa

Sweden

Ukraine

United States

USSR

Fencer Aladar Gerevich arrived at the Rome Games, having competed at the five previous editions, a run stretching back to the Los Angeles Games of 1932\. On each occasion he had returned home with at least one gold medal\. Now, at the age of 50, he was taking on the

Sabre star Gerevich makes light of half-century

Despite being just 32, he was already considered one of the greatest sailors in Olympic history\. His first gold had come, by a whisker, at the tender age of 20, while the second and third had been secured in dominant style\.

Sailing - Paul Elvstrøm (DEN)

While still a British colony, South Africa became the first African nation to appear at the Olympics in the St Louis Games of 1904.
South Africa appeared at every Summer Games until Rome 1960, winning 51 medals in the process.
But before the 1964 Tokyo Games, the International Olympic Committee

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Find Out Why South Africa Was Barred From the Olympics for 32 Years

In the summer of 1960, with the Olympic Games on the horizon, her famous benchmark was equalled by another Dutch swimmer, Ria van Velsen\.

Backstroke queen Burke sends Olympic records toppling

However, there had been signs four years earlier that they could be beaten\. India's gold medal victory at 1956 Melbourne had only been secured via 1\-0 victories in both the semi\-final and the final\. The competition was definitely improving\.

Field hockey - Pakistan 

Roycroft was a typically tough Australian\. He had been born on a farm and has done a series of outdoors jobs – farm labourer, sheep shearer and even being paid to break wild horses\. He served in the Australian army and, after the end of the Second World War, started

Roycroft defies doctors to see out three-day eventing win

Azaryan had won two gold medals in Melbourne four years earlier, with victory in the rings and as a member of the Soviet all\-round team\. In 1960, he did even better, and left behind a legacy that remains intact to this day\.

Azaryan proves that he is Lord of the Rings

Managing to find his very best form in Rome, both goals were accomplished with considerable style\.

Golds in vault and bar help Ono to his half-dozen

But then again, nothing about Bikila's athletics career had ever been straightforward\. The son of a shepherd, he was working as a bodyguard to the Ethiopian royal family when his athletic potential was first spotted and he was soon showing great promise in training\.
However, his selection for the team

Barefooted Bikila steps in for heroic marathon triumph

Latynina had won six medals at the 1956 Games\. Brilliant though she was, few imagined that she could match that level of success four years later\. Now aged 25, she had to deal with rising standards in the sport, a crop of new challengers and the pressure of meeting the

Gymnast Latynina collects six more medals en route to record haul

Known as “Tiger”, weightlifter Tan Howe Liang had first taken an interest in his sport after watching a contest at an amusement park\. He had to hold down one, and sometimes two, jobs to fund his training, but was determined to fulfil the promise he had made to his father

Weightlifter Tan beats pain barrier for Singapore's first medal

He took four golds – more than any other athlete – and his overall haul of seven medals overall was also the biggest tally achieved at the Games\. It was a quite stunning achievement\.
Shahklin had first blossomed at the 1956 Games, where he won two golds and finished fourth

Seven up for incredible gymnast Shakhlin

D'Inzeo was born a little north of Rome, and grew up surrounded by horses\. His father was the leading instructor with the most renowned regiment in the Italian cavalry\. Young Raimondo was initially scared of horses, but felt he had to persevere in order to keep up the conversation with

Raimondo d'Inzeo rides to victory in battle of the brothers

The British athlete took part in his first major race in 1952, from London to Brighton, a distance of more than 50 miles \(80km\)\. He came second, although it was the last time he was to be beaten in the event for the next eight times\. His breakthrough performance confirmed

Thompson steams across the line in 50km walk

Wilson's path to the Games had been a difficult one\. A lightweight, he finished only third in the US trials, but then beat both the first and second placed finishers at the American training camp to earn his ticket to Rome\. Blubaugh, by contrast, was seen as the strongest wrestler

Wilson and Blubaugh return home happy with wrestling golds

Delfino went into the Games already established as one of the sport's great stars\. He had competed at both the 1952 and 1956 Games, winning team gold in the epee on each occasion\. He had also won an individual silver in 1956 and arrived in Rome ready to mount another

Local hero Delfino justifies star billing in fencing

Their upbringings had been very different &ndash; Johnson's family moving from Texas to California when Rafer was nine, Yang, meanwhile, grew up among rice farmers in Taiwan\. However, the two came together as students at University of California, Los Angeles \(UCLA\)\. They shared accommodation, trained together under coach &ldquo;Ducky&rdquo; Drake

Friendship comes second for decathlon star Johnson

The Australian arrived in Rome as the world record holder, and the clear favourite for the 1,500m\. He had been unbeaten over the distance since 1954, and had taken Commonwealth titles two years earlier in the mile and the 880 yards\. He held the world records over a mile and

Record-breaking Elliott reaches peak in 1,500m

The answer came in the shape of Ike Quartey, a Ghanaian boxer, who was competing in the light\-welterweight division\. He had grown up in a huge family \- his father had 27 children with five different wives \- but had quickly established himself as one of the nation's leading boxers\.

Boxer Quartey becomes first black African medalist

It seems curious to think now, but many people thought he wouldn't have enough to win the light\-heavyweight gold\. , the Polish fighter Zbigniew Pietrykowski, who had won bronze four years before, was considered one of the main contenders, or as was the Soviet boxer Gennady Shatkov, the middleweight champion

Clay strikes first blow in unparalleled boxing career

Rudolph came from a huge family\. The 17th of 18 children, she was born prematurely and then contracted infantile paralysis at the age of four, leaving her with a twisted left leg\. There was no miracle cure and she was forced to wear a brace for the next five years\.

Remarkable Rudolph defies odds with sprint treble

The previous victories hadn't always been easy – in 1932 and 1936 they had been achieved by less than a second – but they had helped the US crews acquire a veneer of invincibility\.

German eight ends era of American invincibility

In the 100m she came up against an opponent who had been notably absent from the Pan American Games &ndash; the magnificent Australian Dawn Fraser\. Fraser had not lost a race since the last edition of the Games and she smashed her own Olympic record to win the final, but

Von Saltza rules the pool with golden hat-trick

Despite her youth, Wood was considered by many to be the favourite for the 100m butterfly\. In the US trials she had beaten Carolyn Schuler, and the two Americans went head to head in the final in Rome\. They were first and second with 30m to go when something extraordinary

Wood shrugs off disappointment to make decisive relay impact

It can also overwhelm, of course, and the history of the Olympic Games is also full of athletes who found the pressure of trying to delight their home supporters to be too much\. But when it inspires, when it really inspires, their support can sometimes help produce incredible results\.
In

Berrutti conquers nerves in 200m to become darling of Rome

Few had paid much attention to the New Zealander Peter Snell, at least not until the second semi\-final, in which Snell beat Moens to victory in a time of 1 minute 47\.2 seconds, smashing his own personal best\. Still, though, Kerr's victory in the first semi\-final got more attention, and

Snell times his run to pip Moens in 800m

Murray Halberg had a remarkable back\-story\. He had been an enthusiastic childhood rugby player whose love for the sport carried into his teenage years\. Then his life changed in an instant when a crash tackle left him with a catalogue of injuries to his left shoulder and arm\.
Halberg spent

Halberg takes rivals by surprise in stunning 5,000m win

However, recognising that finding a substitute for a swimmer of Farrell’s talent was a tall order, the US team officials, made him an offer\. Once he had spent a couple of weeks recovering from his operation, he could try to qualify for the team purely on the basis of time\.

Miracle man Farrell helps US to relay success

However, sure\-fire predictions ahead of an Olympic Games are a risky pursuit\. The anticipated American dominance of the podium never transpired, with both Faust and Dumas hampered by injuries\. Neither of them even made the top five and it was down to Thomas to fight for the gold against a

Shavlakadze ends anglophone dominance in high jump

However, this time there was one other country that came into the Games in formidable form\. The Soviet Union had been improving dramatically since finishing fifth at Melbourne1956 and had won the 1959 World Championship title\. The new pretenders opened up in dominant style, thrashing Japan 15\-1 in their first

Home favourites no match for formidable Soviet fencers

There was another curious record\. At the previous three Games, the same woman had won both the platform and springboard events: Vicki Draves in 1948 and then Pat McCormick in 1952 and 1956\. This time, the USA was represented by Paula Jean Pope, who had won medals at the past

Unknown Krämer shocks the world with diving clean sweep

Kapitonov had taken part in the 1956 Games, but had not really been in contention for a medal\. Four years later, in Rome, he was a much more competitive athlete and he enjoyed his first success in the 100km team time trial\.
With Italy and Germany some way ahead of

Kapitonov clinches men's road race

Cyclist Sante Gaiardoni was regarded as among the favourites for gold in both the men's sprint and the men's kilometre time trial\.
He was Italy's only entrant in the latter, in which, for the first time in an Olympic contest, the timing was being measured down to one hundredth of

Gaiardoni makes history to take pair of cycling golds

By the time he arrived in Rome for his fourth Games he was 40, and keen for a golden Olympic swansong\. But there was a significant problem – the programme of events had changed\.
For the previous three Games, Fredriksson had competed in the kayak singles over 1,000m and 10,000m\.

Fredriksson stages stylish farewell in kayak doubles

Rome 1960 - Stories Mosaic

Welcome to This Week in Olympic Sports History, where Olympics.com remembers the most significant sports events of the past. This week, we'll cover 9 -15 September.
On this day – 10 September 1960: Bikila’s iconic Roman run
The Olympic marathon is one of the Games’ standout events for its tradition

Abebe BIKILA

Rome 1960 | Olympic Games

Abebe Bikila won the Rome 1960 men's marathon barefoot, the first black African to become Olympic marathon champion.

This week in Olympic history: Abebe Bikila wins marathon barefoot

Olympics.com caught up with the Bedel family from Denmark, laden with memorabilia from the Olympic Games Paris 2024 megastore on the Champs-Élysées, who will be in position to see a unique moment in Olympic history come the Opening Ceremony on 26 July.
Dad Matthias, mum Elisabeth and daughters Katrine, 13,

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Gold, Silver, Bronze.
This triptych of metals is well known to all sports fans having first appeared at the Olympic Games St. Louis 1904.
The winner was awarded gold, runner-up silver and third-place took bronze. It wasn't until the Olympic Games Rome 1960 that the famous tradition of draping the

Elina Svitolina of Team Ukraine smiles with her bronze medal

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Eliud Kipchoge will attempt to win a third consecutive gold medal when he lines up in a Paris 2024 marathon that is primed to be one of the most challenging and beautiful in Olympic history. But the path to the reigning world record holder’s legend began long before, as other

Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia, running barefoot, draws away from Abdesselem Rhadi of Morocco near the finish of the marathon at the 1960 Rome Olympics. He went on to win with a new Olympic record time of 2 hours 15 minutes 16 seconds, becoming the first Ethiopian African Olympic gold medalist. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

Olympic Games Rome 1960

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