1960 Rome Summer Games
5,348 Athletes, 84 Countries, 150 Events
The 1960 Summer Olympics were the Games of American Wilma
Rudolph, a three-time gold medalist in track who overcame
various diseases as a child. These were also the Games of
Cassius Clay, who won the boxing lightheavyweight
gold medal in Rome prior to his illustrious career as
Muhammad Ali. And who could forget Ethiopian
Abebe Bikila? Bikila won the marathon in two hours
and fifteen minutes while barefooted.
The Ivies present in Rome were able to witness these feats and
perform some of their own.
Rower Richard Wailes (Yale '58) followed up his
gold in 1956 as a member of the Yale varsity eight with a gold
medal in the fourman race. Fellow Eli Jeffrey
Farrell '63 won two swimming gold medals in Rome both with
American relay teams. He had intended to compete in more events,
but the 1960 trials were only six days after Farrell underwent an
appendectomy. He did, however, anchor both relay teams and lead
both to world records. A future Crimson swimmer, sixteen-year-old
Neville Hayes '67 won silver in the 200-meter
butterfly for his native Australia.
Six-time Olympians Frank D. Chapot (Penn '55)
and William Steinkraus (Yale '48) were both on the
United States equestrian jumping team that finished with a silver
medal. Chapot and Steinkraus have been actively involved in
equestrian since leaving the sport and both have been awarded the
USA Equestrian Lifetime Achievement Award.
Yachter George O'Day (Harvard '45) was a
football player for the Crimson, but won gold in the 5.5meter boat
class at Rome.
Irvin 'Bo' Roberson (Cornell '58) won silver in
the long jump at Rome with a jump of 267 1/4 just a centimeter
behind the first-place finisher. He had a long career in
professional football after the Olympics.
| Name |
School |
Sport |
| James Margolis |
Columbia University |
Men's Fencing |
| Peter J. Barrett |
Cornell University |
Men's Sailing |
| Albert Hall |
Cornell University |
Men's Athletics |
| Irvin 'Bo' Roberson |
Cornell University |
Men's Athletics |
| Vilhjalmur Einarsson |
Dartmouth College |
Men's Athletics |
| Neville Hayes |
Harvard University |
Men's Swimming |
| Bruce Hunter |
Harvard University |
Men's Swimming |
| George D. O'Day |
Harvard University |
Men's Sailing |
| Frank D. Chapot |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Equestrian |
| R. Richard Dyer |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Fencing |
| John B. Kelly, Jr. |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Rowing |
| David M. Micahnik |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Fencing |
| Harry L. Parker |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Rowing |
| Lyman Perry |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Rowing |
| Stephen Clark |
Yale University |
Men's Swimming |
| Jeffrey Farrell |
Yale University |
Men's Swimming |
| Henry Kolowrat |
Yale University |
Men's Fencing |
| Al Morales |
Yale University |
Men's Fencing |
| William Steinkraus |
Yale University |
Men's Equestrian |
| Richard Wailes |
Yale University |
Men's Rowing |