Ivies in Rome Recap (1960)

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