Rome 1960 - Olympic Games Winners

Start:

25 Aug 1960

End:

11 Sep 1960

Countries:

Athletes:

5338

Sports:

Events:

150

City:

Rome, Italy (Neapol - Sailing)

Rome, the Italian capital, won the right to host the Games of the 17th Olympiad in June 1955 at the 50th IOC session in Paris.
The other candidate cities were Detroit, USA; Budapest, Hungary; Lausanne, Switzerland; Tokyo, Japan; Mexico City and Brussels, Belgium.
Events were held at modern arenas and at famous ancient sites, such as the Caracalla Thermal Baths for Gymnastics and the Maxence Basilica for Wrestling.

President Giovanni Gronchi officially opened the 1960 Summer Olympic Games at the new Olympic Stadium with a total capacity of up to 90,000 spectators.
Thousands of athletes, except for the Soviet competitors, had received the blessing of Pope John XXIII in St.Peter's Square.
The 1960 Olympic Games were the first to be fully televised. These Games were broadcast live in 18 European countries, and with a time delay of a few hours in the USA and Canada.
The Soviet gymnast Boris SHAKHLIN won four gold, two silver and one bronze medal.
The Soviet female gymnast Larissa LATYNINA won three gold, two silver and one bronze medal.
The Japanese athlete Takashi ONO won three gold, one silver and two bronze medals.
The American female swimmer Christine VON SALTZA won three gold and one silver medal.
The American female athlete Wilma RUDOLPH won three gold medals, winning all sprint races in Athletics. She was dubbed "Black Gazelle" in the European press for her speed.
Among the many winners at the 1960 Olympics was a light heavyweight boxer from the USA, Cassius CLAY. Later, after changing his name to Muhammad ALI, he became the greatest heavyweight champion of all time.
The first African Olympic champion was marathon runner Abebe BIKILA from Ethiopia, who ran the race barefoot.