Swimming at the Games of the XVII Olympiad | |
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Venue | Stadio Olimpico del Nuoto |
Dates | 26 August – 3 September 1960 |
No. of events | 15 |
Competitors | 380 from 45 nations |
Swimming at the 1960 Summer Olympics | ||
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Freestyle | ||
100 m | men | women |
400 m | men | women |
1500 m | men | |
Backstroke | ||
100 m | men | women |
Breaststroke | ||
200 m | men | women |
Butterfly | ||
100 m | women | |
200 m | men | |
Freestyle relay | ||
4 × 100 m | women | |
4 × 200 m | men | |
Medley relay | ||
4 × 100 m | men | women |
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 a close second with 13 medals (5 gold). 16-years-old phenom Chris von Saltza won four medals, three of them gold.
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
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1 | United States (USA) | 9 | 3 | 3 | 15 |
2 | Australia (AUS) | 5 | 5 | 3 | 13 |
3 | Great Britain (GBR) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
4 | Japan (JPN) | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
5 | United Team of Germany (EUA) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
6 | Netherlands (NED) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
7 | Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
8 | Brazil (BRA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Totals (8 entries) | 15 | 15 | 15 | 45 |
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.
380 swimmers from 45 nations competed. [1]
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John Thomas Devitt, AM was an Australian sprint freestyle swimmer of the 1950s and 1960s, who won a gold medal in the 100-metre freestyle at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. He won in controversial circumstances, being awarded the gold medal despite the timekeepers recording a slower time than the American silver medallist Lance Larson. He also claimed a gold medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay.
Sarah Fredrika Sjöström is a Swedish competitive swimmer specialising in the sprint freestyle and butterfly events and one of the most decorated swimmers of all time.
Yuliya Andreyevna Yefimova is a Russian competitive swimmer. She is the Russian record holder in the 200 metre individual medley, 50 metre breaststroke, 100 metre breaststroke, and 200 metre breaststroke. After making her Olympic debut in 2008, she went on to win the bronze medal in the 200 metre breaststroke in 2012, and silver medals in the 100 metre and 200 metre breaststroke in 2016. She is a six-time World Champion, winning the 50 metre breaststroke in 2009 and 2013, the 100 metre breaststroke in 2015, and the 200 metre breaststroke in 2013, 2017, and 2019. In 2019, she became the first woman to win the 200 metre breaststroke at a FINA World Aquatics Championships three times. She is a former world record holder in the long course 50 metre breaststroke. She has won 109 medals, including 48 gold medals, at Swimming World Cups.
Lance Melvin Larson was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and world record-holder in four events.
The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 1960 Olympic Games took place between August 26 and 27. There were 51 competitors from 34 nations. Nations were limited to two swimmers each, down from three in previous Games. The event was won by John Devitt of Australia over Lance Larson of the United States in a controversial, disputed finish that resulted in a push for electronic timing. It was Australia's second consecutive victory in the event, third-most all-time behind the United States' 7 gold medals and Hungary's 3. Devitt, silver medalist four years earlier, was the fifth man to win multiple medals in the event. Manuel dos Santos earned Brazil's first medal in the men's 100 metre freestyle with his bronze.
Chad Guy Bertrand le Clos, OIS is a South African competitive swimmer who is an Olympic, World and Commonwealth Games champion. He is the African record, Commonwealth record, and South African record holder in the short course and long course 200-metre butterfly and the short course 100-metre butterfly. He also holds African and South African records in the long course 200-metre freestyle and 100-metre butterfly, as well as the short course 100-metre freestyle. Formerly, he was a world record holder in the short course 100-metre butterfly and 200-metre butterfly.
Thomas Allen Shields is an American competitive swimmer. He is a two-time Olympian and the current American record-holder in the short course 50-meter butterfly and 200-meter butterfly. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay, swimming the butterfly leg of the relay in the prelims. Later the same year, he became the first American to swim faster than 44 seconds in the 100-yard butterfly, setting a new American record of 43.84 seconds.
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