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 1960 Winter Olympics, eight speed skating events were contested in Squaw Valley, California. For the first time in Olympic history, women participated in the Olympic speed skating events after the USOC's proposal to include the women's events was approved by the IOC. The competitions were held from Saturday, February 20, to Tuesday, February 23, 1960 (women), and from Wednesday, February 24, to Saturday, February 27, 1960 (men).
Figure skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics took place at the Blyth Arena in Squaw Valley, California, United States. Three figure skating events were contested: men's singles, ladies' singles and pair skating.
Blyth Arena was an ice skating arena in the western United States, located at Squaw Valley, California. It was built in 1959 as venue for ice hockey, figure skating competitions, and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1960 Winter Olympics. With a seating capacity of 8,500, standing-room crowds of 10,000 were reported for the hockey games between the U.S. and the Soviet Union and the U.S.-Czechoslovakia game during the final day. The elevation of the rink was 6,200 feet (1,890 m) above sea level.
Australia competed at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, United States. This was the first and last time Australia competed in ice hockey and Nordic combined. While ice hockey gave Australia its only top ten finish in this games, the team lost all of their matches, conceding double-digit goals. Australia also competed in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and figure skating, where Mervyn Bower and Jacqueline Mason came twelfth in the pairs event.
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.
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.
The men's single skating competition of the 1960 Winter Olympics was held at the Blyth Arena in Squaw Valley, California, United States. The compulsory figures section took place on Wednesday 24 February 1960 with the free skating section concluding the event two days later. Each judge ranked each skater by Ordinal Placement from first to last place. If a skater was ranked first by a majority of the judges, that skater was placed first overall, this process was repeated for each place. If more than one skater had a majority ranking for the same position then a series of tiebreaks were in place, indicated in order in the result section.
The women's single skating competition of the 1960 Winter Olympics was held at the Blyth Arena in Squaw Valley, California, United States. The compulsory figures section took place on Sunday 21 February 1960 with the free skating section concluding the event two days later. Each judge ranked each skater by Ordinal Placement from first to last place. If a skater was ranked first by a majority of the judges, that skater was placed first overall, this process was repeated for each place. If more than one skater had a majority ranking for the same position then a series of tiebreaks were in place, indicated in order in the result section.
The pair skating competition of the 1960 Winter Olympics was held at the Blyth Arena in Squaw Valley, California, United States. The event took place on Friday 19 February 1960. Each judge ranked the skaters by Ordinal Placement from first to last place. If a skater was ranked first by a majority of the judges, that skater was placed first overall; this process was repeated for each place. If more than one skater had a majority ranking for the same position, then a series of tiebreaks were in place, indicated in order in the Results section below.
