The 1960 Rome Olympic Games set the standard for every Olympiad to follow.
They were the first Olympics televised in the US, even if film had to be flown from Rome to New York, where TV newscaster Jim McKay did the voice-overs the following day.
For many, the Olympics were their first look at the ancient city. Rome showed off its history by holding wrestling at the Basilica of Maxentius and gymnastics in the Baths of Caracalla.
Rome was the first Olympics where a handful of US athletes became modern celebrities, Olympic historian Bill Mallon said.
Wilma Rudolph became the first American woman to win three gold medals, while Cassius Clay won boxing gold before taking the name Muhammad Ali and becoming a global superstar.
“It was also the first Olympics that really started spending a lot of money,” Mallon said.
The Rome Games cost an estimated US$616 million, a big jump from the about US$159 million spent in 1956 at the Melbourne Games.
Rome was not Rudolph’s first Olympics. She won a relay bronze in 1956. In Rome, the Tennessee native — who overcame double pneumonia, scarlet fever and polio that had forced her to use braces as a youngster — dominated.
She tied the world record of 11.3 seconds in the semi-finals and won the 100m with a wind-aided time of 11.0 seconds. Her victory in the 200m came by an even bigger margin after she set the Olympic mark at 23.2 seconds in the opening heat.
Then she capped her performance with her third gold as the anchor in the 4x100m relay.
TAIWANESE DECATHLETE
Rafer Johnson was roommates with Yang Chuan-kwang, also known as C.K. Yang, of Taiwan at UCLA, and the men turned in what Mallon believes is the best decathlon ever.
Yang won seven of the 10 events. Johnson, who played also played basketball for John Wooden at UCLA, took the discus, shot-put and javelin by wide enough margins to lead by 67 points going into the final event.
Then came the 1,500m. Yang needed a big win over Johnson to clinch gold, but Johnson refused to let Yang leave him behind, staying with him every time his roommate tried.
Yang won with Johnson only 3m behind, enough for the American to take the gold by 58 points.
The men collapsed into each other’s arms out of exhaustion in a dramatic and poignant finish.
“You have an Asian athlete competing against an African-American in the ancient city of Rome in the first modern Olympics,” Mallon said. “I mean, what more could you want?”
Abebe Bikila was a last-minute addition to Ethiopia’s Olympic team thanks to an injury, so late that no shoes that fit were available. Bikila tested a pair before choosing to run the marathon barefoot, just as he had trained.
Rhadi Ben Abdesselam of Morocco was the big threat in the marathon that finished in the dark.
Bikila broke away late and won gold by 25 seconds to set the world record at 2 hours, 15:16.
He was the first Olympic gold medal winner from sub-Saharan Africa, setting the standard for great African runners.
The Rome Olympic Games featured 150 events from Aug. 25 to Sept. 11, 1960. A total of 5,338 athletes, 611 of them women, represented 83 countries.
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