The 1960 Winter Olympics were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort in Squaw Valley, California, United States. The resort was chosen to host the Games at the 1956 meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Squaw Valley was an undeveloped resort in 1955, so the infrastructure and all of the venues were built between 1956 and 1960 at a cost of US$80,000,000. The layout was designed to be intimate, allowing spectators and competitors to reach most of the venues on foot.
At the 1932 Winter Olympics, four speed skating events were contested. For the only time in the Olympic history, the speed skating were held as pack-style events, having all competitors skate at the same time. Women were allowed to compete in speed skating for the first time in history in a set of demonstration events. The IOC was reluctant to upgrade women’s events to full medal events, although the organizing committee of the Games advocated for the full inclusion of women’s events. The distances for women were 500 m, 1000 m and 1500 m. The pack-style racing would pave the way for short track speed skating, that would debut as a demonstration event at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary before becoming an official Olympic event at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville.
Alpine skiing at the 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley, California, United States, consisted of six events. Competitions took place at Squaw Peak, KT-22, and Papoose Peak.
Long track speed skating has been featured as a sport in the Winter Olympics since the first winter games in 1924. Women's events were added to the Olympic program for the first time in 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics.
Denmark sent a delegation to compete at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, United States from 18–28 February 1960. This was Denmark's third time participating in a Winter Olympic Games. The only athlete the nation sent to these Games was speed skater Kurt Stille. He competed in the men's 1,500, 5,000, and 10,000 meter events, finishing 13th, 27th, and 17th respectively.
Denmark sent a delegation to compete at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria from 29 January to 9 February 1964. This was Denmark's fourth time participating in a Winter Olympic Games. The Danish delegation consisted of two athletes, cross-country skier Svend Carlsen and speed skater Kurt Stille. Carlsen placed outside the top 50 in both his events. Stille finished 9th in the men's 10,000 meters, the best performance by a Danish athlete at these Games.
The broadcasts of the Olympic Games produced by CBS Sports were shown on the CBS television network in the United States. CBS's last Olympics broadcast was the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.
The 500 metres speed skating event was part of the speed skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics programme. The competition was held on the Squaw Valley Olympic Skating Rink and for the first time at the Olympics on artificially frozen ice. It was held on Wednesday, February 24, 1960. Forty-six speed skaters from 15 nations competed.
The women's 500 metres speed skating event was part of the speed skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics programme. It was the first appearance of a women's event in Olympic speed skating. The competition was held on the Squaw Valley Olympic Skating Rink and for the first time at the Olympics on artificially frozen ice. It was held on Saturday, February 20, 1960. Twenty-three speed skaters from ten nations competed.
The 1500 metres speed skating event was part of the speed skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics programme. The competition was held on the Squaw Valley Olympic Skating Rink and for the first time at the Olympics on artificially frozen ice. It was held on Friday, February 26, 1960. Forty-eight speed skaters from 16 nations competed.
The women's 1000 metres speed skating event was part of the speed skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics programme. It was the first appearance of women's speed skating events at the Olympics. The competition was held on the Squaw Valley Olympic Skating Rink and for the first time at the Olympics on artificially frozen ice. It was held on Monday, February 22, 1960. Twenty-two speed skaters from ten nations competed.
The women's 1500 metres speed skating event was part of the speed skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics programme. It was the first appearance of women's speed skating events at the Olympics and the 1500 metres were the second contest after the 500 metres. The competition was held on the Squaw Valley Olympic Skating Rink and for the first time at the Olympics on artificially frozen ice. It was held on Sunday, February 21, 1960. Twenty-three speed skaters from ten nations competed.
The women's 3000 metres speed skating event was part of the speed skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics programme. It was the first appearance of women's speed skating events at the Olympics and the 3000 metres were the last contest at this Games. The competition was held on the Squaw Valley Olympic Skating Rink and for the first time at the Olympics on artificially frozen ice. It was held on Tuesday, February 23, 1960. Twenty speed skaters from ten nations competed.
The 5000 metres speed skating event was part of the speed skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics programme. The competition was held on the Squaw Valley Olympic Skating Rink and for the first time at the Olympics on artificially frozen ice. It was held on Thursday, February 25, 1960. Thirty-seven speed skaters from 15 nations competed.
The 10,000 metres speed skating event was part of the speed skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics programme. It was the last speed skating contest at this Games. The competition was held on the Squaw Valley Olympic Skating Rink and for the first time at the Olympics on artificially frozen ice. It was held on Saturday, February 27, 1960. Thirty speed skaters from 15 nations competed.
For the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California, in the United States, a total of five sports venues were used. Except for the Palisades Tahoe, all of the venues had to be constructed. For the first time in Winter Olympic history, a temporary venue was constructed at McKinney Creek for biathlon, cross-country skiing, and Nordic combined. A bobsleigh track was not constructed over the guarantees from the FIBT not being able to field the minimum twelve teams needed to compete, making it the only time bobsleigh has not been included in the Winter Olympics.
