Summer Olympiad (1960)

The 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, celebrated 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 honors to London. CBS paid $394,000 for the right to broadcast the Games in the United States. Fifty-four years after Italy had to give up hosting the Olympics; Rome finally got its chance. They made the most of their dramatic history, holding the wrestling competition in the Basilica of Maxentius. Paul Elvstrom of Denmark won the gold medal in the single-handed dinghy class yachting - for the fourth consecutive time. Hungarian fencer Aladar Gerevich earned his sixth consecutive gold medal in the team sabre event. In canoeing, Sweden’s Gert Fredriksson won his sixth gold medal. Yugoslavia, which qualified for the final by winning a coin toss, won the football tournament after losing in the final three times in a row. Sante Gaiardoni of Italy became the only cyclist in Olympic history to win both the time trial and the match sprint events. By winning the silver medal in light-welterweight boxing, Clement "Ike" Quartey of Ghana became the first black African Olympic medalist. Five days later in the marathon, Abebe Bikila, running barefoot, outlasted Rhadi Ben Abdesselem of Morocco to become the first black African Olympic champion. Suffering from concussion and a broken collarbone after a fall in the endurance test of the three-day equestrian event, Bill Roycroft left his hospital bed to compete in the jumping test and ensure the gold medal for Australia.

Opening date: 25 August 1960

Closing date: 11 September 1960

Ceremonies

Official opening of the Games by: President Giovanni Gronchi

Lighting the Olympic Flame by: Giancarlo Peris (athletics)

Olympic Oath by: Adolfo Consolini (athletics)

Official Oath by: The first officials' oath was sworn at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

Participations

83 NOCs (Nations)
5,338 athletes (611 women, 4,727 men)
150 events

Country of the host city: Italy (ITA)

Candidate cities: Lausanne (SUI), Detroit (USA), Budapest (HUN), Brussels (BEL), Mexico City (MEX) and Tokyo (JPN)

Sports

• Aquatics
• Athletics
• Basketball
• Boxing
• Canoe / Kayak
• Cycling
• Equestrian
• Fencing
• Football
• Gymnastics
• Hockey
• Modern Pentathlon
• Rowing
• Sailing
• Shooting
• Weightlifting
• Wrestling

Venues

• Olympic Stadium (Stadio Olimpico) - opening/closing ceremonies, athletics, equestrian events
• Flaminio Stadium (Stadio Flaminio) - football/soccer finals
• Swimming Stadium - swimming, diving, water polo
• Sports Palace (Palazzo dello sport) - basketball, boxing
• Olympic Velodrome - cycling, hockey
• Small Sports Palace (Palazzetto dello Sport) - basketball, weightlifting
• Marble Stadium (Stadio dei Marmi) - hockey preliminaries
• Baths of Caracalla - gymnastics
• Basilica of Maxentius - wrestling
• Palazzo dei Congressi - fencing
• Umberto I Shooting Range - shooting
• Roses Swimming Pool (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

Highlights

• Soviet gymnasts won 15 of 16 possible medals in women's gymnastics.

• The future Constantine II, King of Greece, won his country a gold in sailing Dragon Class.

• Wilma Rudolph, a former polio patient, won three gold medals in sprint events on the track.

• Running bare-footed, Abebe Bikila (ETH-athletics) did not go noticed when he entered the marathon. He refused to be daunted by the condescending remarks. He left all his opponents behind and crossed the finishing line victorious, near Constantine's triumphal arch.

• At 20, Wilma Rudolph (USA-athletics) became the first American woman to win three gold medals in athletics in one Olympiad: 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay. She achieved this extraordinary feat after recovering from several major illnesses during her childhood.

• 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 Lázaro at the 1912 Summer Olympics.

• Armin Hary won the 100 m in a world record time of 10.2 seconds.

• Pakistan broke India's dominance in Olympic Men's Field Hockey by becoming the first team in history to beat India in Olympic Field Hockey since 1928 and winning its first Olympic gold medal in the process. India had already won six previous hockey gold in the Summer Olympics.

Facts

• These Games saw a close union between sport and culture in this city on the banks of the Tiber with a rich historical past. The marble stadium, the Caracalla thermal baths, the Albano Lake, the Constantine triumphal arch - ancient surroundings for the Olympic competitions

• An Olympic Anthem composed by Spyros Samaras (music) and by Kostis Palamas (lyrics) was first played at the Games of the I Olympiad in Athens. Thereafter, a variety of musical offerings provided the backgrounds to the Opening Ceremonies until 1960, since which time the Samaras/Palamas composition has become the official Olympic Anthem (decision taken by the IOC Session in 1958).

• The Games in Rome were the last Games in which South Africa was allowed to participate for a period of some 32 years - until 1992 - as the International Olympic Committee could not tolerate the racist policies of the South African government.

• These Games were broadcast live by more than 100 television channels and with recorded broadcasts in 18 European countries and a time lag to the United States, Canada and Japan.