For the 17th Olympiad held in Rome in 1960, the Italians imbued the Games
with an ancient feel by holding certain events at historical sites throughout
the city.
The continued success of a number of athletes at the Games also gave
audiences a sense of old times as Denmark's Paul Elystrom won the single-handed
dinghy event for the fourth straight time, Aladar Gerevich of Hungary garnered
his sixth straight gold in the sabre team competition, and Gert Fredriksson of
Sweden paddled his way to his sixth career gold in canoeing.
For all its connections with the past, however, one thing about the Games was
decidedly different from any other Olympics held previously. The Rome Games
featured the first African medal winner in Ghanaian boxer Clement Quartey, who
earned a silver medal in the sport's light-welterweight division, and the first
African gold medal winner in Ethiopian runner Abebe Bikila, who won the marathon
five days after Quartey's conquest in the ring. The U.S.S.R. earned its second
consecutive victory in the medal count, winning 103-71 over the U.S.
