In 1955, at the 50th session of the IOC, the capital of the 17th Summer Olympic Games was determined. Rome won by a large margin in the number of votes. The Summer Olympics were held in Italy for the first time.
The XVII Summer Olympics were held from August 25 to September 11, 1960. The competition was attended by 5338 athletes from 83 countries. Some states - Morocco, Tunisia, Sudan, San Marino, the West Indies Federation - sent their delegations for the first time. On the eve of the opening ceremony, an event took place that attracted thousands of Olympians. The head of the Roman Catholic Church, John XXIII, blessed Olympias. This happened for the first time. Previously, the Games were not recognized by the church due to their pagan origin.
The competition was held at Foro Italico. This monumental sports complex includes a swimming pool, tennis courts, two stadiums - an Olympic and a marble one. It was erected in Rome in 1928-1938 at the initiative of Mussolini. Duce considered it important to involve young people in the national fascist party in sports. In addition, Italy claimed to host the 1940 Games. True, then the IOC gave preference to Japan.
The complex is designed in the spirit of the ancient traditions of Roman architecture. It was originally called Foro Mussolini. After the Second World War, it was renamed, but all Nazi symbols were retained. In 2009, the complex was restored. Currently, it continues to be used for competitions, including world-class competitions.
The Rome Olympics were excellently organized and distinguished by a high level of participants, as can be judged by the number of records - 74 Olympic and 27 world records.
The 1960 Games were the third in a row for the Soviet team. In the unofficial team competition, the USSR national team took first place, having won 43 gold, 29 silver and 31 bronze medals. For the first time, Soviet athletes were ahead of US athletes in the number of points. Weightlifter Yuri Vlasov was recognized as the best participant in the Roman Olympics.
