Swimming at the 1960 Summer Olympics

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Swimming
at the Games of the XVII Olympiad
Venue Stadio Olimpico del Nuoto
Dates26 August – 3 September 1960
No. of events15
Competitors380 from 45 nations
  1956
1964  

At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, 15 swimming events were contested, eight for men and seven for women. There was a total of 380 participants from 45 countries competing. [1] [2] For the first time, the 4 × 100 metres medley relay was contested. The United States topped the medal standings with a total of 15 medals (9 gold), while Australia finished close second with 13 medals (5 gold). 16-years-old phenom Chris von Saltza won four medals, three of them gold.

Medal table

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1Flag of the United States.svg  United States  (USA)93315
2Flag of Australia.svg  Australia  (AUS)55313
3Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain  (GBR)1113
4Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan  (JPN)0325
5Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany  (EUA)0134
6Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands  (NED)0123
7Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden  (SWE)0101
8Flag of Brazil (1960-1968).svg  Brazil  (BRA)0011
Totals (8 entries)15151545

Medal summary

Men's events

GamesGoldSilverBronze
100 m freestyle
details
John Devitt
Flag of Australia.svg  Australia
55.2
(OR)
Lance Larson
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
55.2
(OR)
Manuel dos Santos
Flag of Brazil (1960-1968).svg  Brazil
55.4
400 m freestyle
details
Murray Rose
Flag of Australia.svg  Australia
4:18.3
(OR)
Tsuyoshi Yamanaka
Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan
4:21.4 John Konrads
Flag of Australia.svg  Australia
4:21.8
1500 m freestyle
details
John Konrads
Flag of Australia.svg  Australia
17:19.2
(OR)
Murray Rose
Flag of Australia.svg  Australia
17:21.7 George Breen
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
17:30.6
100 m backstroke
details
David Theile
Flag of Australia.svg  Australia
1:01.9
(OR)
Frank McKinney
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
1:02.1 Bob Bennett
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
1:02.3
200 m breaststroke
details
Bill Mulliken
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
2:37.4 Yoshihiko Osaki
Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan
2:38.0 Wieger Mensonides
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
2:39.7
200 m butterfly
details
Mike Troy
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
2:12.8
(WR)
Neville Hayes
Flag of Australia.svg  Australia
2:14.6 Dave Gillanders
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
2:15.3
4 × 200 m freestyle relay
details
Flag of the United States.svg  United States  (USA)
George Harrison
Dick Blick
Mike Troy
Jeff Farrell
8:10.2 (WR)Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan  (JPN)
Makoto Fukui
Hiroshi Ishii
Tsuyoshi Yamanaka
Tatsuo Fujimoto
8:13.3Flag of Australia.svg  Australia  (AUS)
David Dickson
John Devitt
Murray Rose
John Konrads
8:13.8
4 × 100 m medley relay
details
Flag of the United States.svg  United States  (USA)
Frank McKinney
Paul Hait
Lance Larson
Jeff Farrell
4:05.4 (WR)Flag of Australia.svg  Australia  (AUS)
David Theile
Terry Gathercole
Neville Hayes
Geoff Shipton
4:12.0Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan  (JPN)
Kazuo Tomita
Koichi Hirakida
Yoshihiko Osaki
Keigo Shimuzu
4:12.2

Women's events

GamesGoldSilverBronze
100 m freestyle
details
Dawn Fraser
Flag of Australia.svg  Australia
1:01.2 (OR) Chris von Saltza
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
1:02.8 Natalie Steward
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
1:03.1
400 m freestyle
details
Chris von Saltza
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
4:50.6 (OR) Jane Cederqvist
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden
4:53.9 Tineke Lagerberg
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
4:56.9
100 m backstroke
details
Lynn Burke
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
1:09.3 (OR) Natalie Steward
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
1:10.8 Satoko Tanaka
Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg  Japan
1:11.4
200 m breaststroke
details
Anita Lonsbrough
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
2:49.5 (WR) Wiltrud Urselmann
Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany
2:50.0 Barbara Göbel
Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany
2:53.6
100 m butterfly
details
Carolyn Schuler
Flag of the United States.svg  United States
1:09.5 (OR) Marianne Heemskerk
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
1:10.4 Jan Andrew
Flag of Australia.svg  Australia
1:12.2
4 × 100 m freestyle relay
details
Flag of the United States.svg  United States  (USA)
Joan Spillane
Shirley Stobs
Carolyn Wood
Chris von Saltza
4:08.9 (WR)Flag of Australia.svg  Australia  (AUS)
Dawn Fraser
Ilsa Konrads
Lorraine Crapp
Alva Colquhoun
4:11.3Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany  (EUA)
Christel Steffin
Heidi Pechstein
Gisela Weiss
Ursel Brunner
4:19.7
4 × 100 m medley relay
details
Flag of the United States.svg  United States  (USA)
Lynn Burke
Patty Kempner
Carolyn Schuler
Chris von Saltza
4:41.1 (WR)Flag of Australia.svg  Australia  (AUS)
Marilyn Wilson
Rosemary Lassig
Jan Andrew
Dawn Fraser
4:45.9Flag of the German Olympic Team (1960-1968).svg  United Team of Germany  (EUA)
Ingrid Schmidt
Ursula Küper
Bärbel Fuhrmann
Ursel Brunner
4:47.6

100m men's freestyle controversy

Results were decided by finish judges who relied on their eyes and did not use replays. Three judges were assigned to each finishing position. There were three official timers in 1960 for each lane and swimmer, all timing by hand. All three timers for Devitt, in lane three, timed him in 55.2 seconds. The three timers for lane four timed Lance Larson in 55.0, 55.1, and 55.1 seconds. [3]

Former Olympic swimmer and FINA co-founder Max Ritter inspected the judge's scorecards. Two of the three first-place judges found that Devitt had finished first and the third found for Larson. Of the three-second-place judges, two found that Devitt finished second and one found that Larson was second. Ritter pointed out to chief judge Henry Runströmer of Sweden that the scorecards indicated a tie. Runstrümer cast the deciding vote and declared Devitt the winner. However, the rules at that time did not provide for the chief judge to have a vote or give him the right to break ties. [4] Ties were supposed to be broken by referring to the timing machine. The official results placed Devitt first and Larson second, both with the identical time of 55.2 seconds. [5] The United States team appealed, bolstered by videotaped footage of the finish that appeared to show Larson the winner. [6] The appeal jury, headed by Jan de Vries, also the President of FINA in 1960, rejected the appeal, keeping Devitt the winner. [7] This controversy would pave the way for electronic touchpads to be included in swimming events to determine finish and accurate timing.

Participating nations

380 swimmers from 45 nations competed. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Swimming at the 1960 Rome Summer Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  2. "Olympedia – Swimming at the 1960 Summer Olympics". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  3. David Maraniss, Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World, Simon & Schuster, New York City, p. 130 (2008).
  4. Maraniss, Rome 1960 p. 132
  5. Maraniss, Rome 1960, p. 131
  6. Maraniss, Rome 1960, p. 137
  7. Maraniss, Rome 1960, p. 138