1960 Rome Olympics

Also called: Games of the XVII Olympiad, Rome 1960

Ethiopia’s Abebe Bikila won the marathon running barefoot, the first gold medal for a black African athlete. After the Games the first Paralympics were held in the same city.

Some 5,300 athletes from 83 nations took part from 25 August to 11 September 1960. Ancient Roman monuments served as venues, and the Games were broadcast live on television across much of Europe for the first time. Ethiopia’s Abebe Bikila won the marathon running barefoot, a victory in the capital of the country that had invaded his own. The American Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) won a boxing gold, and Wilma Rudolph won three golds on the track. After the Games, Rome hosted an international competition for disabled athletes now counted as the first Paralympic Games.