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1960 Summer Olympics

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The Games of the XVII Olympiad were held in 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had been awarded the organisation of the 1908 Summer Olympics, but had to decline and pass the honours to London. This time, they beat Lausanne, Detroit, Budapest, Brussels, Mexico City and Tokyo.

Games of the XVII Olympiad
Nations participating83
Athletes participating5,348 (4,738 men, 610 women)
Events150 in 17 sports
Opening ceremoniesAugust 25, 1960
Closing ceremoniesSeptember 11, 1960
Officially opened byGiovanni Gronchi
Athlete's OathAdolfo Consolini
Judge's Oath:-
Olympic TorchGiancarlo Peris
Contents

Highlights

  • Danish sailer Paul Elvstrøm wins 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.
  • 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, wins three gold medals in the sprint events on the track.
  • Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia wins the marathon bare-footed to become the first black African Olympic Champion.
  • Cassius Clay, later better known as Muhammad Ali, wins boxing's light-heavyweight gold medal.
  • Japanese man's gymnastics team starts its five successive winning from here to 1976, Montreal.
  • South Africa appears 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 a black-majority government.
  • Swedish canoer Gert Fredriksson wins his sixth Olympic title.
  • Danish cyclist Knut Jensen 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.

Medals awarded

See the medal winners, ordered by sport:

  • Athletics
  • Basketball
  • Boxing
  • Canoeing
  • Cycling
  • Diving
  • Equestrianism
  • Fencing
  • Football
  • Gymnastics
  • Hockey
  • Modern Pentathlon
  • Rowing
  • Shooting
  • Swimming
  • Water Polo
  • Weightlifting
  • Wrestling
  • Yachting


Medal count

Top medal-collecting nations:
(for the full table, see 1960 Summer Olympics medal count)


1960 Summer Olympics medal count 50px
Pos Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
120px USSR 432931103
220px United States of America 34211671
320px Italy 13101336
420px United Team of Germany 12191142
520px Australia 88622
620px Turkey 7209
720px Hungary 68721
820px Japan 47718
920px Poland 461121
1020px Czechoslovakia 3238


See also

External links


Olympic Games
Summer Olympic Games
1896 | 1900 | 1904 | 1906* | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016
Winter Olympic Games
1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1994 | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | 2018
*The 1906 Olympic were organised by the IOC, but are currently not officially recognised by the IOC.


de:Olympische Sommerspiele 1960 et:1960. aasta suveolümpiamängud fr:Jeux Olympiques d'été de 1960 it:XVII Olimpiade ja:ローマオリンピック (1960年) no:Sommer-OL 1960 fi:1960 kesäolympialaiset sv:Olympiska sommarspelen 1960

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