1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics

Athletics at the XVII. Olympic Games
information
Date:	August 31 to September 10
Competition location:	Rome
Venue:	Stadio Olimpico
Decisions:	Men: 24 / women: 10
← Melbourne 1956	Tokyo 1964 →

1960 Olympic Games (athletics medal table)
space	team				Total
1	United States	12	8th	6th	26th
2	Soviet Union	11	5	5	21st
3	Germany	2	8th	3	13
4th	Poland	2	2	3	7th
5	New Zealand	2	-	1	3
6th	Great Britain	1	3	4th	8th
7th	Australia	1	2	1	4th
8th	Italy	1	-	2	3
9	Romania	1	-	1	2
10	Ethiopia	1	-	-	1
11	Hungary	-	1	2	3
12	France	-	1	1	2
13	Belgium	-	1	-	1
	Morocco	-	1	-	1
	Sweden	-	1	-	1
	Czechoslovakia	-	1	-	1
	Taiwan	-	1	-	1
18th	West Indian Federation	-	-	2	2
19th	Finland	-	-	1	1
	South African Union	-	-	1	1

At the XVII. At the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome , 34 athletics competitions were held. 31 of these competitions were held at the Stadio Olimpico , which had a capacity of 80,000 spectators.

Olympic norms

For the first time in athletics, there were so-called Olympic norms. The athletes had to meet these standards if more than one athlete was to be reported in a discipline from a country.

Attendees

As with the last Olympic Games , there were some problems and special cases with regard to the participation of certain nations.
The People's Republic of China was no longer a member of the IOC , so no athletes from this country participated in Rome . The athletes from the smaller Republic of China competed under the name Taiwan .
From Korea , after some political squabbles, only the southern part of the peninsula, i.e. South Korea, took part.
The Caribbean islands of Jamaica , Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago appeared together as the West Indian Federation . Egypt and Syria sent a joint team called the United Arab Republic .
As in 1956, Germany was represented by an all-German team made up of athletes from the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR . This construct was connected with many arguments and disputes on the question of the flag, the anthem, the official clothing, etc. The IOC had to mediate again and again before final agreements were made. As in numerous other sports, elimination competitions were held between the athletes from East and West Germany, which were decisive for participation in the Olympic Games. Of course, if more than one athlete reported in a discipline, all of the athletes concerned had to comply with the new rules in accordance with the Olympic standard in order to be eligible to participate.

Stadion

The planning for the later Stadio Olimpico , in which almost all athletics competitions took place, began as early as the 1920s. The construction dragged on with numerous interruptions over a long period of time before the stadium was completed in 1953. In the beginning it was called "Stadio dei Centomila" - Stadium of the Hundred Thousands and was renamed accordingly to host the Olympic Games.
An excellent cinder track with the usual lap length of four hundred meters was available for the athletics events.

Competitions

There was a change in the competition: in the women's area, the 800-meter run , which had disappeared after being staged once at the Olympic Games in 1928 , was included again in the program. At the European Athletics Championships , where the discipline was offered again as early as 1954 , it had become clear that this running route was not too demanding for women and should also be part of the athletics program for women.
Otherwise the offer was identical to that of the last games in Melbourne . There were 24 disciplines for men and ten for women, which now included four individual running disciplines - 100 meters , 200 meters and 80 meters hurdles and, for the first time, 800 meters as the middle distance . In addition, only the 4 x 100 meter relay was held in the running area . There were still two jumping disciplines with high and long jump as well as three push and throw competitions with the shot put , discus throw and javelin throw . To date - as of October 2017 - nothing has changed in the field of men's Olympic disciplines. For women, however, there were still numerous additions to be made for the future.

Sporting successes

The level of performance was also high at this major event. There were seven new or set world records in seven disciplines, and a new world record was achieved in another competition. In a further 21 disciplines, the Olympic record was improved or leveled 23 times.
As in all previous athletics games, the most successful nation was the United States with twelve gold medals. But the gap to second in this ranking, the Soviet Union , which had eleven Olympic victories, had become narrow. It was followed by three nations with two gold medals each: Germany , Poland and New Zealand , with the German team winning significantly more silver medals than the other two countries. All other nations achieved at most one Olympic victory in athletics.
The outstanding athlete of these games was the American sprinter Wilma Rudolph, who was three times Olympic champion: over 100 meters . 200 meters and in the 4 x 100 meter relay . Three other athletes each won two gold medals in athletics at these games:

• Armin Hary ( Germany ): 100-meter run and 4 x 100-meter relay
• Otis Davis ( USA ): 400-meter run and 4-by-400-meter relay
• Glenn Davis ( USA ): 400-meter hurdles and 4-by-400-meter relay

Results men

100 m

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 100 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Armin Hary	EUA	10.2 ORe
2	Dave Sime	United States	10.2 ORe
3	Peter Radford	GBR	10.3
4th	Enrique Figuerola	CUB	10.3
5	Frank Budd	United States	10.3
6th	Ray Norton	United States	10.4

Final on September 1st, 5:30 p.m.

The Canadian Harry Jerome set Armin Hary's world record of 10.0 seconds in July. With his victory at the US championships, Ray Norton had run into the favorite position. Armin Hary undercut the old Olympic record with 10.2 s in the intermediate run, in the semifinals Jerome gave up injured. After two false starts - caused by Dave Sime and then by Hary - the field went out of the starting blocks in the final. Hary was immediately in the lead, Sime came up strongly towards the end, but Hary just managed to save his lead at the finish. Armin Hary's victory was the first Olympic victory in athletics for Germany since 1936 .

200 m

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 200 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Livio Berruti	ITA	20.5 WRe / ORe
2	Lester Carney	United States	20.6
3	Abdoulaye Seye	FRA	20.7
4th	Marian Foik	POLE	20.8
5	Stone Johnson	United States	20.8
6th	Ray Norton	United States	20.9

Final: September 3, 6:00 p.m.

After Ray Norton had set the old world record of 20.6 s four times in 1959 and 1960, the Briton Peter Radford improved the record to 20.5 s in May 1960. Stone Johnson and Ray Norton stopped this performance in the US trials. But Norton was not in the shape of these eliminations. Livio Berruti set the world record in the semifinals. The very slim and therefore graceful-looking Italian succeeded in doing this again in the final. He was the first Olympic gold medalist since Percy Williams in 1928 to come from outside the United States, and the first ever European to take this route.

400 m

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 400 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Otis Davis	United States	44.9 WR
2	Carl Kaufmann	EUA	44.9 WR
3	Malcolm Spence	RSA	45.5
4th	Milkha Singh	IND	45.6
5	Manfred children	EUA	45.9
6th	Earl Young	United States	45.9

Final: September 6th, 3:45 p.m.

The world record of Lou Jones stood at 45.2 s, which since 1956 Olympic record since 1952 at 45.9 s. In the first semifinals, Otis Davis ran a new Olympic record with 45.5 s. Malcolm Spence was the fastest in the final at halfway with 21.2 seconds, Otis Davis took the lead in the final corner and Carl Kaufmann fought his way up to Davis on the home straight, but could not quite catch him. Davis crossed the finish line in 44.91 seconds, ahead of Kaufmann in 44.93 seconds. But since only hand-timed times were counted, both had improved the world record by three tenths of a second.

800 m

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 800 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Peter Snell	NZL	1: 46.3 ORe
2	Roger Moens	BEL	1: 46.5
3	George Kerr	BWI	1: 47.1
4th	Paul Schmidt	EUA	1: 47.6
5	Christian Wägli	SUI	1: 48.1
6th	Manfred Matuschewski	EUA	1: 52.0

Final: September 2nd

The world record holder Roger Moens was the clear favorite, in the semifinals George Kerr was the fastest with 1: 47.1 min. For a long time, the final was determined by Christian Wägli, who, as the worst spurter, kept the pace high and led to the 600-meter mark. Moens took the lead in the finish curve and felt like the sure winner, but Peter Snell pushed past him on the inside lane and won his first gold medal. Kerr won bronze and the German Paul Schmidt came fourth. It was only after Snell won two more gold medals four years later that Moens realized that a silver medal behind Peter Snell was a success, not a disappointment.

1500 m

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 1500 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Herb Elliott	OUT	3: 35.6 WR
2	Michel Jazy	FRA	3: 38.4
3	István Rózsavölgyi	HUN	3: 39.2
4th	Dan Waern	SWE	3: 40.0
5	Zoltan Vamoş	ROME	3: 40.8
6th	Dyrol Burleson	United States	3: 40.9
7th	Michel Bernard	FRA	3: 41.5
8th	Jim Grelle	United States	3: 45.0

Final: September 6th, 4:15 pm

Herb Elliott traveled as a world record holder over 1500 meters and over the mile. Since his youth he was unbeaten on both routes. In the final, the tempo runners Michel Bernard and Dan Waern took the lead up to the 800-meter mark, then Elliott took the lead and never gave it up until the finish. He improved his own world record and was twenty meters ahead of runner-up Michel Jazy.

5000 m

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 5000 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Murray Halberg	NZL	13: 43.4
2	Hans Grodotzki	EUA	13: 44.6
3	Kazimierz Zimny	POLE	13: 44.8
4th	Friedrich Janke	EUA	13: 46.8
5	Dave Power	OUT	13: 51.8
6th	Nyandika Maiyoro	KEN	13: 52.8
7th	Michel Bernard	FRA	14: 04.2
8th	Horst Flosbach	EUA	14: 06.6

Final: September 2nd, 5:10 pm

After Peter Snell had already won over 800 meters , Murray Halberg, the second protégé of coach Arthur Lydiard, won gold. Halberg took the initiative three laps before the end and tore the field apart with an intermediate sprint. Hans Grodotzki, Friedrich Janke and Kazimierz Zimny ​​followed Halberg and came closer and closer to the leader on the final lap, who held out until the finish. Grodotzki secured the silver medal just ahead of Zimny. With Janke in fourth place and Horst Flosbach in eighth place, the German runners achieved a good team result.

10,000 m

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 10,000 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Pyotr Bolotnikov	URS	28: 32.2 OR
2	Hans Grodotzki	EUA	28: 37.0
3	Dave Power	OUT	28: 38.2
4th	Alexei Dessyatchikov	URS	28: 39.6
5	Murray Halberg	NZL	28: 48.5
6th	Max Truex	United States	28: 50.2
7th	Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak	POLE	28: 52.4
8th	John Merriman	GBR	28: 52.6

Start September 8th, 5:15 p.m.

After Emil Zátopek and Wolodymyr Kuz had achieved a double victory over 5000 and 10,000 meters , Murray Halberg also tried his luck. Only the Hungarian Sándor Iharos had a better record than Halberg. A rain shower had lowered the temperature and the conditions were better than feared. After 7000 meters, four runners separated from the others, Halberg and Iharos could not follow either. Pyotr Bolotnikow only secured the gold medal in the last lap, when he gave his opponents no chance with his final sprint.

marathon

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - marathon (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (h)
1	Abebe Bikila	ETH	2: 15: 16.2 WBL
2	Rhadi Ben Abdesselam	MAR	2: 15: 41.6
3	Barry Magee	NZL	2:17: 18.2
4th	Konstantin Vorobyov	URS	2: 19: 09.6
5	Sergei Popov	URS	2: 19: 18.8
6th	Thyge Thøgersen	THE	2:21: 03.4
7th	Abebe Wakgira	ETH	2: 21: 09.4
8th	Bakir Benaïssa	MAR	2: 21: 21.4

Start: September 10, 5:30 p.m.

The marathon started at the Campidoglio. Via Viale Cristofero Colombo we went south to Citinia and from there to Via Appia Antica , on which we walked the last kilometers into town, the goal was at the Arch of Constantine .

Abebe Bikila had already run 2: 21: 23.0 hours at an altitude of 2,400 meters, which was hardly known in Europe. Bikila ran the track barefoot and still beat the previous world record of Russian Sergei Popov . Bikila wasn't the first African to win the marathon route. The white South African Ken McArthur had already won in 1912 . The Algerians Boughera El Ouafi in 1928 and Alain Mimoun in 1956 had won for France. But Bikila was the first Olympic champion to be born in sub-Saharan Africa. His victory in front of a Moroccan on the historic track in the last athletics competition in Rome was also a glimpse into the future of long-distance running.

110 m hurdles

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 110 m hurdles (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Lee Calhoun	United States	13.8
2	Willie May	United States	13.8
3	Hayes Jones	United States	14.0
4th	Martin Lauer	EUA	14.0
5	Keith Gardner	BWI	14.4
6th	Valentin Chistyakov	URS	14.6

Final: September 5th, 4:45 p.m.

Martin Lauer had improved the world record to 13.2 s in 1959 . Lee Calhoun, the 1956 Olympic champion , set this record just before the Rome Games . In the Olympic final, Calhoun and Willie May fought for gold in the front and Hayes Jones and Lauer behind for bronze. According to the unofficial electronic timekeeping system, Calhoun was a hundredth of a second ahead of May at the finish, and Jones was three hundredths of a second ahead of Lauer in the battle for third place. With Calhoun's victory, the Olympic champion of Melbourne also won the second hurdle course .

400 m hurdles

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 400 m hurdles (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Glenn Davis	United States	49.3 OR
2	Clifton Cushman	United States	49.6
3	Dick Howard	United States	49.7
4th	Helmut Janz	EUA	49.9
5	Jussi Rintamäki	FIN	50.8
6th	Bruno Galliker	SUI	51.0

Final: September 2nd, 4:00 p.m.

The 1956 Olympic champion and world record holder Glenn Davis was a clear favorite. One of the favorites, Gert Potgieter from South Africa, was seriously injured in a car accident shortly before the games and was unable to compete. In the final in Rome Davis ran away to gold, then his two compatriots Clifton Cushman and Dick Howard followed in the medal ranks. The German Helmut Janz was the first European to stay under 50 seconds, but the European record was not enough for him to win a medal either. Bruno Galliker from Switzerland had narrowly eliminated the Italian Salvatore Morale in 51.3 s in the semifinals , but he had no chance in the final.

3000 m obstacle

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 3000 m obstacle (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak	POLE	8: 34.2 OR
2	Nikolai Sokolov	URS	8: 36.4
3	Semyon Rshishchin	URS	8: 42.2
4th	Gaston Roelants	BEL	8: 47.6
5	Gunnar Tjornebo	SWE	8: 58.6
6th	Ludwig Muller	EUA	9: 01.6
7th	Deacon Jones	United States	9: 18.2
8th	Alexei Konow	URS	9: 18.2

Final: September 3, 4:50 p.m.

Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak, the 1958 European champion , set a new world record at the end of June and was the clear favorite. As a fast-paced runner, he followed the three Soviet athletes, where Alexei Konow sacrificed himself at the top for his teammates. Krzyszkowiak finally won with a new Olympic record .

The German athlete Hans Hüneke gave up in the final.

4 × 100 m relay

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 4 × 100 m (men)

space	country	Athletes	Time (s)
1	Germany	Bernd Cullmann Armin Hary Walter Mahlendorf Martin Lauer	39.5 WRe / ORe
2	Soviet Union	Gusman Kossanow Leonid Bartenew Yuri Konovalov Edwin Osolin	40.1
3	Great Britain	Peter Radford David Jones David Segal Nick Whitehead	40.2
4th	Italy	Armando Sardi Pier Giorgio Cazzola Salvatore Giannone Livio Berruti	40.2
5	Venezuela	Clive Bonas Lloyd Murad Emilio Romero Rafael Romero	40.7
	United States	Frank Budd Ray Norton Stone Johnson Dave Sime	DQ

Final: September 8th, 6:10 pm

After Manfred Germar fell ill, the German relay team needed a new final runner. Manfred Steinbach and Martin Lauer, both of whom had won Olympic rankings in their specialty disciplines, could replace them. The choice fell on Lauer, and the newly formed German relay set the world record of 39.5 s in advance . Germany and the USA won their semifinals with 39.7 seconds each. In the final, Norton exceeded his change mark. However, the American team continued the race and fought a close duel with the Germans to the finish. Sime was ahead, but the disqualification was already indicated. The US relay was measured at 39.4 s, but what counted was the setting of the world record time by the German team. After the Americans were disqualified, the German team was Olympic champion.

With the relay win, Armin Hary was the first German athlete to win two gold medals. For the US runners, however, what had become apparent in the finals over 100 and 200 meters was completed. For the first time since the sprint relay was held at the Olympic Games in 1912 , the US sprinters did not win gold on one of the three short sprint courses. This debacle did not repeat itself until 2008 in Beijing . (At the Games in 1980 in Moscow was attended by no US athletes.)

4 × 400 m relay

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 4 × 400 m (men)

space	country	Athletes	Time (min)
1	United States	Jack Yerman Earl Young Glenn Davis Otis Davis	3: 02.2 WR
2	Germany	Hans-Joachim Reske Manfred children of Johannes Kaiser Carl Kaufmann	3: 02.7
3	West Indian Federation	Malcolm Spence James Wedderburn Keith Gardner George Kerr	3: 04.0
4th	South African Union	Edward Jefferys Edgar Davis Gordon Day Malcolm Spence	3: 05.0
5	Great Britain	Malcolm Yardley Barry Jackson John Wrighton Robbie Brightwell	3: 08.3
6th	Switzerland	René Weber Ernst Zaugg Hansruedi's brother Christian Wägli	3: 09.4

Final: September 8th, 4:30 p.m.

The world record of the Jamaican season from 1952 was 3: 03.9 min. In Rome , the Jamaicans were part of the West Indian Federation , with George Kerr, Mal Spence and Keith Gardner from Jamaica , James Wedderburn was a native of Barbados . In the final, the Americans led from the start. The German relay was second after their second runner Manfred Kinder and won the silver medal in the end. The American team set a new world record, and the German season also beat this old record.

20 km walking

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 20 km walk (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (h)
1	Volodymyr Holubnychy	URS	1: 34: 07.2
2	Noel Freeman	OUT	1: 34: 16.4
3	Stan Vickers	GBR	1: 34: 56.4
4th	Dieter Lindner	EUA	1: 35: 33.8
5	Norman Read	NZL	1: 36: 59.0
6th	Lennart Back	SWE	1: 37: 17.0
7th	John Ljunggren	SWE	1: 37: 59.0
8th	Ladislav Moc	TCH	1: 38: 32.4

Start: September 2nd, 11:30 a.m.

The route was a circular course in the Foro Italico past the tennis courts and the swimming stadium to the Tiber. A total of thirteen laps had to be covered, the start and finish was in the Stadio Olimpico .

Towards the middle of the race, Volodymyr Holubnytschyj pulled away from the field and quickly had such a large lead that the final attack by Australian Noel Freeman could no longer pose a threat to him. Holubnytschyj had missed the 1956 Olympic Games due to illness. His Olympic career from 1960 to 1976 brought him four medals (2-1-1) in five starts.

50 km of walking

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 50 km walk (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (h)
1	Don Thompson	GBR	4: 25: 30.0 OR
2	John Ljunggren	SWE	4: 25: 47.0
3	Abdon Pamich	ITA	4: 27: 55.4
4th	Oleksandr Shcherbyna	URS	4: 31: 44.0
5	Tom Misson	GBR	4: 33: 03.0
6th	Alex Oakley	CAN	4: 33: 08.6
7th	Giuseppe Dordoni	ITA	4: 33: 28.8
8th	Zora Singh	IND	4: 37: 45.0

Start: September 7th, 2:30 p.m.

The route was an easy turning course. From the Stadio Olimpico we went along the Tiber, after eleven kilometers the river was crossed on the Ponte Marconi. The turning point was in Acilia in the south of Rome.

Of the 39 walkers who started, 28 reached the finish. Don Thompson took the lead after thirty kilometers, closely followed by John Ljungberg, who had already walked 20 km in his legs. Thompson broke up at the refreshment station at 45 km from Ljunggren. Among the seven winners were four walkers who were or should become Olympic champions on this route from 1948 to 1964 . Only the 1956 Olympic champion Norman Read from New Zealand gave up on the way.

high jump

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - high jump (men)

space	athlete	country	Height (m)
1	Robert Schawlakadze	URS	2.16 OR
2	Valery Brumel	URS	2.16 ORe
3	John Thomas	United States	2.14
4th	Viktor Bolshov	URS	2.14
5	Stig Pettersson	SWE	2.09
6th	Charles Dumas	United States	2.03
7th	Jiří Lanský	TCH	2.03
	Kjell-Åke Nilsson	SWE
	Theo Püll	EUA

Final: September 1st, 3:15 p.m.

John Thomas had to sit out due to an injury in 1959. In 1960 on his comeback he had jumped four world records to a height of 2.22 m and had won a total of fourteen competitions, all with heights of 2.13 m or more. This made 19-year-old Thomas the clear favorite. In Rome he was not alone in the competition at 2.14 m as usual, but with three jumpers from the Soviet Union. Thomas was also not used to competitions lasting four hours, while the Soviet jumpers had rehearsed exactly this beforehand. In the following years, Valeri Brumel, here silver medalist, dominated the high jump.

Pole vault

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - pole vault (men)

space	athlete	country	Height (m)
1	Don Bragg	United States	4.70 OR
2	Ron Morris	United States	4.60
3	Eeles Landström	FIN	4.55
4th	Rolando Cruz	PURE	4.55
5	Günter Malcher	EUA	4.50
6th	Ihor Petrenko	URS	4.50
	Matti Sutinen	FIN
8th	Rudolf Tomášek	TCH	4.50

Final: September 7th, 1:30 p.m.

1957 had Bob Gutowski with the aluminum to the fifteen-year-old -rod bamboo - world record of Cornelius Warmerdam to 4.78 m improved without recognition as a world record he even jumped 4.82 m. Don Bragg improved the world record with the metal baton to 4.80 m in the US trials and traveled to Rome as the clear favorite. In contrast to other members of the US team, he lived up to his role as a favorite and safely jumped to the title. He also tried his hand at the world record height of 4.82 m, but failed clearly. Bragg's world record was only broken with the fiberglass rod, which became generally accepted from 1961.

Long jump

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - long jump (men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Ralph Boston	United States	8.12 OR
2	Bo Roberson	United States	8.11
3	Igor Ter-Ovanesjan	URS	8.04
4th	Manfred Steinbach	EUA	8.00
5	Jorma Valkama	FIN	7.69
6th	Christian Collardot	FRA	7.68
7th	Henk Visser	NED	7.66
8th	Dmytro Bondarenko	URS	7.58

Final: September 2nd, 4:20 pm

Three weeks before the competition Ralph Boston had with 8,21 m the world record of Jesse Owens exceeded after 25 years and two and a half months. In the Olympic final, Boston and Roberson also exceeded the wind-assisted best distance of 8.06 m, which Owens had jumped when he won his Olympic gold in 1936 . Boston achieved its best in the third attempt, in the sixth round three other athletes jumped over eight meters, Igor Ter-Owanesjan improved the European record as a bronze medalist, and Steinbach, fourth, the German record. The two young jumpers Boston and Ter-Owanesjan should shape the long jump in the next few years.

Ninth place went to the German participant Manfred Molzberger with a width of 7.49 m, the third German jumper Fritz Köppen had not qualified for the final.

Triple jump

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Triple Jump (Men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Józef Szmidt	POLE	16.81 OR
2	Vladimir Goryayev	URS	16.63
3	Witold Krejer	URS	16.43
4th	Ira Davis	United States	16.41
5	Vilhjálmur Einarsson	ISL	16.37
6th	Ryszard Malcherczyk	POLE	16.01
7th	Manfred Hinze	EUA	15.93
8th	Kari Rahkamo	FIN	15.84

Final: September 6th, 3:00 p.m.

The 1950s had been the era of the Brazilian Adhemar da Silva in the triple jump , in Rome he only finished 14th in the preliminary fight. On August 5, 1960, Józef Szmidt was the first to jump over 17 meters. The Szmidt era had begun two years earlier with the European title, in Rome he was clearly superior to his opponents. In the last attempt Witold Krejer surpassed the American Ira Davis; when he wanted to congratulate him, Krejer fended off because Vilhjálmur Einarsson still had one more try. The audience wrongly interpreted Krejer's behavior as hostile to America and whistled him mercilessly.

Shot put

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Shot Put (Men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Bill Nieder	United States	19.68 OR
2	Parry O'Brien	United States	19.11
3	Dallas Long	United States	19.01
4th	Viktor Lipsnis	URS	17.90
5	Mike Lindsay	GBR	17.80
6th	Alfred Sosgórnik	POLE	17.57
7th	Dietrich Urbach	EUA	17.47
8th	Martyn Lucking	GBR	17.43

Final: August 31, 4:50 p.m.

Parry O'Brien had already won gold twice. In the US trials, he qualified behind Dallas Long and ahead of Dave Davis . Since Davis was out of shape due to injury and Bill Nieder, fourth in the Trials, was the first shot putter to surpass the 20-meter mark at the beginning of August, the US Association decided at short notice to nominate Nieder for Davis. This was a very unusual exception to the principle according to which the first three of the trials always go to the major event. Nieder justified the trust placed in him, but prevented O'Brien from his third Olympic victory.

Discus throw

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Discus throw (men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Al Oerter	United States	59.18 OR
2	Rink Babka	United States	58.02
3	Dick Cochran	United States	57.16
4th	József Szécsényi	HUN	55.79
5	Edmund Piątkowski	POLE	55.12
6th	Viktor Kompaniyets	URS	55.06
7th	Carmelo Rado	ITA	54.00
8th	Kim Buchanzov	URS	53.61

Final: September 7th, 3:00 p.m.

In Melbourne , Al Oerter won gold in front of the world record holder Fortune Gordien . At the final sports festival of the US athletes, Rink Babka had set Edmund Piątkowski's world record with 59.91 m. This gave Oerter the chance in Rome to defeat two world record holders in one competition. With Ludvík Daněk 1954 and Jay Silvester 1968 , Al Oerter not only succeeded in winning four Olympic gold medals in a row, but also defeated five reigning world record holders.

Hammer throw

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - hammer throw (men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Vasily Rudenkow	URS	67.10 OR
2	Gyula Zsivótzky	HUN	65.79
3	Tadeusz Ruth	POLE	65.64
4th	John Lawlor	IRL	64.95
5	Olgierd Ciepły	POLE	64.57
6th	Zvonko Bezjak	YUG	64.21
7th	Anatoly Samotsvetov	URS	63.60
8th	Hal Connolly	United States	63.59

Final: September 3, 4:00 p.m.

The 1956 Olympic champion Hal Connolly was the first thrower to surpass the 70-meter mark in June, but did not reach the final of the best six in Rome and only finished eighth. The Olympic champion Wassili Rudenkow had Connolly already in the international match USA vs. The Soviet Union was beaten in 1959 and exceeded the Olympic record in Rome in both qualifying and the final . Heinrich Thun from Austria came in ninth with 63.53 m .

Javelin throw

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Javelin Throw (Men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Viktor Zybulenko	URS	84.64
2	Walter Kruger	EUA	79.36
3	Gergely Kulcsár	HUN	78.57
4th	Väinö Kuisma	FIN	78.40
5	Willy Rasmussen	NOR	78.36
6th	Knut Fredriksson	SWE	78.33
7th	Zbigniew Radziwonowicz	POLE	77.31
8th	Janusz Sidło	POLE	76.46

Final: September 8th, 3:30 p.m.

In the qualification Janusz Sidło had thrown 85.14 m and was ahead of the world record holder Al Cantello and Wiktor Zybulenko. In the preliminaries, Sidło finished eighth and Cantello took tenth. The cause was the wind, which was still mild on the first pass, but then became gusty. The four first placed achieved their best litter in the first round, only four of twelve throwers were able to improve after their first attempt. The first six throwers reached the final battle and three more attempts each, but they brought no more change.

Decathlon

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Decathlon (men)

space	athlete	country	P - official value.	P - 85 value.
1	Rafer Johnson	United States	8392 OR	7901
2	Yang Chuan-Kwang	TWN	8334	7820
3	Vasily Kuznetsov	URS	7809	7527
4th	Yuri Kutenko	URS	7567	7401
5	Evert Kamerbeek	NED	7236	7213
6th	Franco Sar	ITA	7195	7140
7th	Markus Kahma	FIN	7112	7161
8th	Klaus Grogorenz	EUA	7032	7078

September 5th and 6th

The duel between the colored world record holder Rafer Johnson and his Chinese colleague Yang Chuan-Kwang went down as perhaps the most exciting duel in Olympic decathlon history . Yang led after the first discipline and expanded the lead in the long jump. Johnson took the lead with the third discipline, the shot put, and defended it until the end of day one. On the second day Yang regained the lead with the hurdles , Johnson as the better thrower was back in front after the discus throw . Before the final 1500-meter run , Yang was 67 points - about ten seconds behind - and Yang was considered the better runner. Johnson stayed in Yang's slipstream for the entire race and lost just one second to the Chinese at the finish. Johnson had increased his best time by almost five seconds. The third place of the Soviet European champion Kuznetsov, however, was never in danger. Out of thirty decathletes, 23 completed the competition. In 23rd place came Panagiotis Epitropopoulos, who three weeks earlier had been the first runner to take over the Olympic torch in Olympia .

Results women

100 m

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 100 m (women)

space	Athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Wilma Rudolph	United States	11.0
2	Dorothy Hyman	GBR	11.3
3	Giuseppina Leone	ITA	11.3
4th	Marija Itkina	URS	11.4
5	Catherine Capdevielle	FRA	11.5
6th	Jenny Smart	GBR	11.6

Final: September 2, 4:20 p.m.
Wind: +2.75 m / s

In the semifinals, Wilma Rudolph set the world record with 11.3 seconds. In the final, she ran ahead of all opponents, but her time could not be recognized as a world record because of the tailwind. Rudolph had a lead of at least three tenths of a second in every run from the preliminary to the finals. In the semifinals, Wera Krepkina, the co-owner of the world record, was eliminated, but two days earlier she had won the Olympic long jump .
Because of the strong tailwind, all times achieved were not recognized as records or for best lists.

200 m

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 200 m (women)

space	Athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Wilma Rudolph	United States	24.0
2	Jutta Heine	EUA	24.4
3	Dorothy Hyman	GBR	24.7
4th	Marija Itkina	URS	24.7
5	Barbara Janiszewska	POLE	24.8
6th	Giuseppina Leone	ITA	24.9

Final: September 5th, 5:10 pm

In the 200-meter run , too , Wilma Rudolph won every lap by at least three tenths of a second. In the run-up she set a new Olympic record with 23.2 seconds , while headwinds prevented faster times in the intermediate run and in the final. The student Jutta Heine was as far away from Rudolph as the rest of the field from Heine. Gisela Birkemeyer was still ahead of Heine in the all-German Olympic elimination. In Rome , after the final in the hurdles and the semi-finals over 100 meters , Birkemeyer was no longer able to qualify for the final over 200 meters.

800 m

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 800 m (women)

space	Athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Lyudmila Shevtsova	URS	2: 04.3 WRe / OR
2	Brenda Jones	OUT	2: 04.4
3	Ursula Donath	EUA	2: 05.6
4th	Vera Kummerfeldt	EUA	2: 05.9
5	Antje Gleichfeld	EUA	2: 06.5
6th	Joy Jordan	GBR	2: 07.8
7th	Gizella Csóka	HUN	2: 08.0
8th	Beata Żbikowska	POLE	2: 11.8

Final: September 7th

After 32 years, the 800-meter course was back in the Olympic program. Unsurprisingly, the Olympic record of 1928 was already improved in the first run, and in the second and fourth run the record was further lowered. With 2: 05.9 min, Australian Dixie Willis now held the record before the final. In the finals, Dixie Willis and Lyudmila Schewzowa made the lead. These two came first on the home stretch, followed by Ursula Donath. Willis fell while Brenda Jones and Vera Kummerfeldt sprinted up from behind. Shevtsova set her world record and was only slightly ahead of Jones. Donath won the bronze medal.

80 m hurdles

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 80 m hurdles (women)

space	Athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Irina Press	URS	10.8
2	Carole Quinton	GBR	10.9
3	Gisela Birkemeyer	EUA	11.0
4th	Mary Bignal	GBR	11.1
5	Galina Bystrowa	URS	11.2
6th	Rimma Koscheljowa	URS	11.2

Final: September 1st, 5:10 pm

In the first run, Irina Press had set the Olympic record with 10.7 seconds . In the intermediate run, Press won in 10.6 s ahead of Gisela Birkemeyer, who held the world record with 10.5 s . In the semifinals, Zenta Kopp and Karin Richert, the other two German starters, were eliminated as fourth in their run. In the finals, Press had the best start and went confidently to the gold medal. After a bad start, Birkemeyer was only just able to work his way up to the bronze medal, silver went to Carole Quinton.

4 × 100 m relay

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 4 × 100 m (women)

space	country	Athletes	Time (s)
1	United States	Martha Hudson Lucinda Williams Barbara Jones Wilma Rudolph	44.5
2	Germany	Martha Langbein Anni Biechl Brunhilde Hendrix Jutta Heine	44.8
3	Poland	Teresa Wieczorek Barbara Janiszewska Celina Jesionowska Halina Richter	45.0
4th	Soviet Union	Wera Krepkina Walentyna Maslowska Marija Itkina Irina Press	45.2
5	Italy	Letizia Bertoni Sandra Valenti Piera Tizzoni Giuseppina Leone	45.6
DSQ	Great Britain	Carole Quinton Dorothy Hyman Jenny Smart Mary Bignal

Final: September 8th, 5:55 pm

The four Americans undercut the world record of 44.5 seconds set by the Australians in the 1956 Olympic final with 44.4 seconds. In the final, the British lost the baton at the second change, while the (West) German relay changed very well and was tied with the Americans at the beginning of the home straight. But Wilma Rudolph also ensured a clear lead in her third Olympic victory in Rome .

high jump

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - high jump (women)

space	Athlete	country	Height (m)
1	Iolanda Balaș	ROME	1.85 OR
2	Jarosława Jóźwiakowska	POLE	1.71
	Dorothy Shirley	GBR
4th	Galina Dolja	URS	1.71
5	Taissija Tschentschik	URS	1.68
6th	Helen Frith	OUT	1.65
	Inga-Britt Lorentzon	SWE
	Frances Slaap	GBR

Final: September 8th, 3:00 p.m.

Of the fifteen jumpers who had qualified for the final, 14 jumped the height of 1.65 m. Only Iolanda Balaș skipped this height after having easily mastered 1.60 m. Then only five jumpers took 1.68 m, all in the first attempt. 1.71 m mastered three jumpers in the first attempt, from 1.73 m Balaș was alone. Now she took 1.77 m in the first attempt, 1.81 m in the second attempt and 1.85 m in the third attempt, and she failed three times at the world record of 1.87 m. There was no 14 centimeter lead over the second in the women's high jump before or after 1960.

Long jump

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - long jump (women)

space	Athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Wera Krepkina	URS	6.37 OR
2	Elżbieta Krzesińska	POLE	6.27
3	Hildrun Claus	EUA	6.21
4th	Renate Junker	EUA	6.19
5	Lyudmyla Radchenko	URS	6.16
6th	Helga Hoffmann	EUA	6.11
7th	Joke Bijleveld	NED	6.11
8th	Valentina Schaprunowa	URS	6.01

Final: August 31, 3:45 p.m.

Hildrun Claus held the world record with 6.40 m. In the qualification, Mary Bignal reached 6.33 m, in the preliminary fight, however, she jumped only 6.01 m, which meant ninth place in the end. In the final, however, the successful 100-meter - world record holder Wera Krepkina the longest jump of her career to a surprising gold medal in front of the Polish Olympic champion of 1956 . Hildrun Claus was third and with all three German starters in the final battle, the long jump proved to be the strongest discipline of the German athletes after the 800-meter run .

Shot put

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Shot put (women)

space	Athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Tamara Press	URS	17.32 OR
2	Johanna Lüttge	EUA	16.61
3	Earlene Brown	United States	16.42
4th	Valerie Sloper	NZL	16.39
5	Sinaida Doinikova	URS	16.13
6th	Renate Garisch-Culmberger	EUA	15.94
7th	Galina Sybina	URS	15.56
8th	Wilfriede Hoffmann	EUA	15.14

Final: September 2nd, 4:40 pm

Tamara Press held the world record with 17.78 m . She hit 17.32 m in the second attempt and had already decided the competition. The gaps between the individual pushers were considerable, only between Valerie Sloper and Earlene Brown a battle for the bronze medal developed. The Olympic champion from 1952 Galina Sybina reached the seventh place.

Discus throw

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Discus throw (women)

space	Athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Nina Ponomaryova	URS	55.10 OR
2	Tamara Press	URS	52.59
3	Lia Manoliu	ROME	52.36
4th	Kriemhild Hausmann	EUA	51.47
5	Yevgenia Kuznetsova	URS	51.43
6th	Earlene Brown	United States	51.29
7th	Olga Connolly	United States	50.95
8th	Jiřina Němcová	TCH	50.12

Final: September 5, 3:40 p.m.

Nina Ponomarjowa had already won the gold medal in 1952 under the name Nina Romaschkowa. The world record was still held by Nina Dumbadze , who was third in the 1952 Olympics , with 57.04 m . Ponomarjowa was in the lead from the second attempt and increased to victory in the fifth attempt. Tamara Press, on the other hand, was only able to surpass Lia Manoliu in the last attempt. In seventh place was Olga Connolly from the USA, who four years earlier had become Olympic champion for Czechoslovakia as Olga Fikotová .

Javelin throw

→ Main article : 1960 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Javelin throw (women)

space	Athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Elvīra Ozoliņa	URS	55.98 OR
2	Dana Zátopková	TCH	53.78
3	Birutė Kalėdienė	URS	53.45
4th	Vlasta Pešková	TCH	52.56
5	Urszula Figwer	POLE	52.33
6th	Anna Pazera	OUT	51.15
7th	Sue Platt	GBR	51.01
8th	Alevtina Schastitko	URS	50.92

Final: September 1st, 3:00 p.m.

The world record holder Elvīra Ozoliņa threw her winning distance in the first attempt and at the same time improved the Olympic record . Even her 54.80 m in the fourth attempt would have been enough for gold. Second was the 1952 Olympic champion Dana Zátopková, who was still in the world class even after her husband Emil had retired. In her Olympic victory, she had thrown 50.47 m, in Rome eight athletes threw on in the preliminary and final fight.

literature

• Volker Kluge : Summer Olympic Games. The Chronicle II. London 1948 - Tokyo 1964. Sportverlag Berlin, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-328-00740-7 .
• Ekkehard zur Megede , The History of Olympic Athletics, Volume 2: 1948–1968, Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 1st edition 1969, p.
• Ekkehard zur Megede , The Modern Olympic Century 1896–1996, Track and Field Athletics. Berlin 1999, published by the German Society for Athletics Documentation eV
• Heribert Meisel / Carl Grampp, Olympia 1960, Südwest Verlag Munich 1960

Web links

• IOC's website on athletics at the 1960 Olympic Games at olympic.org, accessed October 10, 2017
• Official report of the 1960 Olympic Games , pp. 57–216 (English) at library.la84.org (PDF), accessed on October 10, 2017
• Rome 1960: Olympia in the "Eternal City" on sportschau.de, accessed on October 10, 2017
• Olympia-Lexikon on olympia-lexikon.de, accessed on October 10, 2017
• ROME REVIEW. Schlachthaus am Tiber Spiegel Online September 14, 1960, Der Spiegel 38/1960, accessed on October 10, 2017
• OLYMPIA / LEISTUNGSGRENZE, pepper in the box Spiegel Online September 7, 1960, Der Spiegel 37/1960, accessed on October 10, 2017
• QUESTIONNAIRE. Athlete's Kinsey Spiegel Online July 20, 1960, Der Spiegel 30/1960, accessed October 10, 2017
• Olympic fairy tale Westdeutsche Zeitung July 22, 2008, accessed October 10, 2017
• Olympic summer games Rome 1960 , published May 19, 2014 on youtube.com, accessed October 10, 2017

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Official Report of the 1960 Olympic Games , p. 269 (English) at library.la84.org (PDF), accessed on October 10, 2017
2. ↑ Elke Brick, The All-German Olympic Teams - A Paradox in Sports History? , Dissertation by the Faculty of Psychology and Sports Science at Bielefeld University, May 2013, pp. 148–167 (PDF), accessed on October 10, 2017
3. ↑ The "Olimpico": Rome's Olympic Stadium Between Cultures , FIFA.com October 3, 2014, accessed October 10, 2017