The 1960 Winter Olympics, officially known by the International Olympic Committee as the VIII Olympic Winter Games, were a multi-sport event held in Squaw Valley, California, United States from February 18 through February 28, 1960. A total of 665 athletes representing 30 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 27 events across 8 disciplines during the Games.[1]
The Olympic program was adjusted from that of the 1956 Winter Olympics omitting bobsleigh and adding a sport new to Olympic competition, biathlon. Additionally, women's speed skating events were held for the first time in history.[1][2][3] The sport of military patrol, similar to biathlon, had previously been a medal sport in 1924 and a demonstration sport in 1928, 1936 and 1948.[4] The removal of bobsleigh was by necessity; organizers felt the lack of possible entrants (a pre-Olympic poll indicated that only nine countries were planning to participate) and the high cost of building the run were sufficient deterrents to leave the bobsled events off the 1960 Olympic program.[5] Both men and women competed at the 1960 Games, with women taking part in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, figure skating, and speed skating.
A total of 131 athletes won medals at the 1960 Games.[6] The Soviet Union was awarded the most medals, with its athletes winning seven gold medals, five silver, and nine bronze, for a total of 21 medals overall. The United States placed second in the overall medal count, with a total of 10 medals, and third in the gold medal count (3), while Germany placed third in the overall medal count, with eight medals in total, and second by golds, with four. Of the 30 NOCs competing in the 1960 Games, 14 won at least one medal, with 10 of these winning at least one gold medal.[6] There was an unofficial bronze medal awarded to Theron Bailie, USA, for the development of the digital clock used for the first time in downhill skiing.
The Scandinavian countries attained considerable success in cross-country skiing, with the Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish teams winning 12 of the available 18 medals and the remaining six medals being won by the Soviet Union.[7] Finnish cross-country skier Veikko Hakulinen won the most medals, with three – bronze from the men's 15 kilometres event, silver from the men's 50 kilometres event, and gold from the men's 4 × 10 kilometres relay.[6][8]
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Men's downhill[9] details |
Jean Vuarnet France |
Hans-Peter Lanig United Team of Germany |
Guy Périllat France |
Men's slalom[10] details |
Ernst Hinterseer Austria |
Hias Leitner Austria |
Charles Bozon France |
Men's giant slalom[11] details |
Roger Staub Switzerland |
Josef Stiegler Austria |
Ernst Hinterseer Austria |
Women's downhill[12] details |
Heidi Biebl United Team of Germany |
Penelope Pitou United States |
Traudl Hecher Austria |
Women's slalom[13] details |
Anne Heggtveit Canada |
Betsy Snite United States |
Barbara Henneberger United Team of Germany |
Women's giant slalom[14] details |
Yvonne Rüegg Switzerland |
Penelope Pitou United States |
Giuliana Minuzzo Italy |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Men's 20 km[15] details |
Klas Lestander Sweden |
Antti Tyrväinen Finland |
Aleksandr Privalov Soviet Union |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Men's 15 km[16] details |
Håkon Brusveen Norway |
Sixten Jernberg Sweden |
Veikko Hakulinen Finland |
Men's 30 km[17] details |
Sixten Jernberg Sweden |
Rolf Rämgård Sweden |
Nikolay Anikin Soviet Union |
Men's 50 km[18] details |
Kalevi Hämäläinen Finland |
Veikko Hakulinen Finland |
Rolf Rämgård Sweden |
Men's 4 × 10 km relay details |
Finland (FIN)[19] Toimi Alatalo Eero Mäntyranta Väinö Huhtala Veikko Hakulinen |
Norway (NOR)[20] Harald Grønningen Hallgeir Brenden Einar Østby Håkon Brusveen |
Soviet Union (URS)[21] Anatoly Shelyukhin Gennady Vaganov Aleksey Kuznetsov Nikolay Anikin |
Women's 10 km[22] details |
Maria Gusakova Soviet Union |
Lyubov Kozyreva Soviet Union |
Radya Yeroshina Soviet Union |
Women's 3 × 5 km relay details |
Sweden (SWE)[23] Irma Johansson Britt Strandberg Sonja Edström |
Soviet Union (URS)[21] Radya Yeroshina Maria Gusakova Lyubov Kozyreva |
Finland (FIN)[19] Siiri Rantanen Eeva Ruoppa Toini Pöysti |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Men's singles[24] details |
David Jenkins United States |
Karol Divín Czechoslovakia |
Donald Jackson Canada |
Ladies' singles[25] details |
Carol Heiss United States |
Sjoukje Dijkstra Netherlands |
Barbara Roles United States |
Pairs details |
Canada (CAN)[26] Barbara Wagner Robert Paul |
United Team of Germany (EUA)[27] Marika Kilius Hans-Jürgen Bäumler |
United States (USA)[28] Nancy Ludington Ronald Ludington |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Men's individual[32] details |
Georg Thoma United Team of Germany |
Tormod Knutsen Norway |
Nikolay Gusakov Soviet Union |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Men's individual[33] details |
Helmut Recknagel United Team of Germany |
Niilo Halonen Finland |
Otto Leodolter Austria |
Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
Men's 500 metres[34] details |
Yevgeny Grishin Soviet Union |
Bill Disney United States |
Rafayel Grach Soviet Union |
Men's 1,500 metres[35] details |
Roald Aas Norway Yevgeny Grishin Soviet Union |
None awarded[a] | Boris Stenin Soviet Union |
Men's 5,000 metres[36] details |
Viktor Kosichkin Soviet Union |
Knut Johannesen Norway |
Jan Pesman Netherlands |
Men's 10,000 metres[37] details |
Knut Johannesen Norway |
Viktor Kosichkin Soviet Union |
Kjell Bäckman Sweden |
Women's 500 metres[38] details |
Helga Haase United Team of Germany |
Natalya Donchenko Soviet Union |
Jeanne Ashworth United States |
Women's 1,000 metres[39] details |
Klara Guseva Soviet Union |
Helga Haase United Team of Germany |
Tamara Rylova Soviet Union |
Women's 1,500 metres[40] details |
Lidiya Skoblikova Soviet Union |
Elwira Seroczyńska Poland |
Helena Pilejczyk Poland |
Women's 3,000 metres[41] details |
Lidiya Skoblikova Soviet Union |
Valentina Stenina Soviet Union |
Eevi Huttunen Finland |
Athletes who won multiple medals during the 1960 Winter Olympics are listed below.[6]
Athlete | Nation | Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Veikko Hakulinen | Finland (FIN) | Cross-country skiing | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Lidiya Skoblikova | Soviet Union (URS) | Speed skating | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Yevgeny Grishin | Soviet Union (URS) | Speed skating | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Maria Gusakova | Soviet Union (URS) | Cross-country skiing | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Helga Haase | United Team of Germany (EUA) | Speed skating | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Håkon Brusveen | Norway (NOR) | Cross-country skiing | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Sixten Jernberg | Sweden (SWE) | Cross-country skiing | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Knut Johannesen | Norway (NOR) | Speed skating | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Viktor Kosichkin | Soviet Union (URS) | Speed skating | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Ernst Hinterseer | Austria (AUT) | Alpine skiing | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Lyubov Kozyreva | Soviet Union (URS) | Cross-country skiing | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Penny Pitou | United States (USA) | Alpine skiing | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Radya Yeroshina | Soviet Union (URS) | Cross-country skiing | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Rolf Rämgård | Sweden (SWE) | Cross-country skiing | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Nikolay Anikin | Soviet Union (URS) | Cross-country skiing | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |