NS it has been 2,600 years since Rome conquered Greece, and now the Olympic Games are taking place in Rome. Thus, in the camp of the victor, an eternal hymn was sung to the culture defeated yesterday and triumphant today.
C The opening ceremony of the Games took place on 25 August 1960 at the Foro Italico stadium. The day before, an exceptional spectacle unfolded in front of the huge majestic cathedral in St. Peter's Square in Rome. Thousands of athletes of all races and skin colors, atheists and adherents of various religions, some out of curiosity, some sincerely believing, came for the blessing of the Pope. And the Pope blessed these Games, once destroyed by the church for their pagan nature. Truly, the paths of history are difficult and confusing! For the first time, the West Indies Federation, Morocco, San Marino, Sudan, Tunisia were represented at the Games. At the 17th Olympic Games, 74 Olympic records were set, of which 27 exceeded world records.
Athletes of the USSR, who performed in all types of programs, except for football and field hockey, retained their leadership in the general unofficial team event, gaining 682.5 points. The runner-up United States of America team was more than 200 points behind. Soviet athletes won 103 medals - 43 gold, 29 silver and 31 bronze. The best athlete of the Roman Olympics was recognized as the strongest man on the planet, the Soviet weightlifter, who set Olympic records for heavy weight athletes in all three movements and in the sum of classic triathlon. In clean and jerk and all-around, his records were also world records.
The harmonious development of Yuri Vlasov, his versatile talent attracted the closest attention to him, made him a favorite sports hero for many. During his performances, Vlasov set several dozen records. But for sports fans, he was and remains Olympic champion, the triumphant of Rome, the most powerful man on the planet, who opened the way to this title for both Leonid Zhabotinsky and Vasily Alekseev. Vlasov is the most ordinary person, and it was this quality that distinguished him favorably from his heavyweight colleagues. Vlasov, this truly Russian bogatyr, but not a "superman", jumped over the horse completely freely in training. Moreover, while still studying at the Suvorov School, Yuri was engaged in athletics, swimming, chess, boxing, wrestling, gymnastics, and played all sports games. And in almost all these sports he had sports categories. Doesn't this speak of the versatility and harmonious development of a person? And millions of people around the world fell in love with him not only because he lifted fantastic weights at that time, but above all because everyone saw in him the personification of the athlete of the future: a person of enormous physical strength and powerful intellect, a person of excellently built and highly intelligent ...
After graduating from college, Vlasov entered the academy, where he began to seriously engage in weightlifting. But let us give the floor to Yuri Petrovich himself: - I grew up in the Suvorov school, among strong and healthy boys. Strength and prowess were especially appreciated and respected with us. We were little by little engaged in wrestling, boxing, athletics. All together - book heroes, the desire to move, fight, win - engendered in us a love of sports. Therefore, when I graduated from college and entered the first year of the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy, I no longer thought of myself outside of sports. And if a blind chance brought me to a weight-lifting gym, it was no longer a chance that made me fall in love with this seemingly uninteresting and really hard sport.
It took Vlasov only three and a half years to become one of the strongest weightlifters in the country. In the spring of 1957, he improved the USSR record in clean and jerk, then in snatch. Two years later, at the championship of the Armed Forces in Leningrad, he sets his first world record: he lifts 196.5 kilograms in clean and jerk! In the same year he becomes world and European champion, in May sixtieth, Olympic year won the championship of the continent in Milan, and, finally, the road led him to the Eternal City.
Rome. Foro italico stadium. Opening ceremony of the XVII Olympic Games. A tall athlete is walking ahead of the Soviet delegation. He carefully carries a huge red cloth - the flag of the Land of the Soviets. This is Yuri Vlasov. It was he who was entrusted with the high honor to carry the Soviet flag through the Olympic stadium. The agonizing days of waiting dragged on. Only on the fourteenth day of the Games did weightlifters start fighting. And the heavyweights, including Yuri Vlasov, waited three more days.
And now on September 10th. The Olympic Village is half empty. The games are almost over. A huge crowd of spectators only at the "Palazceto dello Sport", where weightlifters compete. Competitions take place at night, therefore, in addition to fighting the pre-start excitement, you also have to fight drowsiness. It's somehow unusual to lift a heavy barbell at two or three o'clock in the morning, usually at this time you already see the tenth dream. And in the hall, many spectators doze. They are transformed only when either a weightlifter in a red leotard, Yuri Vlasov, or one of the athletes in a white leotard, American Negro James Bradford and Norbert Shemansky, comes onto the platform. The entire struggle of the heavyweights on the platform was reduced to a duel of these three giants. The rest faded into the background.
On September 10, all the evening Roman newspapers came out with big headlines: “In the Palazceto dello sport“ the battle of the colossi is ahead. ”And everyone was looking forward to this battle. The first movement is the bench press. Vlasov and Bradford have the same result - 180 kg each. Shemanski squeezed 10 kg less. When a year later the Negro athlete came to Moscow and came home to Yuri Vlasov, they, of course, remembered the Roman duel. - Frankly speaking, I did not think that you will be able to squeeze 180 kilograms, - said Bradford. - In training I I squeezed 185, ”Vlasov replied,“ and I must admit that the result of 180 kilograms, on the one hand, made me happy, because it was not inferior to yours, and on the other hand, it made me nervous. to lose 5 kilograms each? "
In the second movement - the snatch - all three favorites lift 150 kg. In the second approach, Vlasov asks to add another 5 kg and calmly raises the bar. And now he is already 5 kg ahead. But this is too small a gap to calm down. And those one and a half hours that separated the jerk from the third movement - the jerk - Yuri was very worried. A year later, sitting in Yuri Vlasov's Moscow apartment, Bradford admitted: - Oddly enough, but after the bench press and jerk I laid down my arms. I realized that, not having a reserve, to fight further against Vlasov in the clean and jerk is a utopia. All I needed now was second place. I decided to push just as much as necessary so that Shemansky would not get around me. Five hours of the struggle was overwhelming. I was thrown into sweat several times, and you saw me in a strange outfit - wrapped in a warm blanket. - Yes, it puzzled me, - said Yuri. - I, on the contrary, was drawn to the fresh air.
Fatigue and confidence in second place tuned me in only 182.5 kg in clean and jerk. And you pushed 20 kg more! I was happy that I was present at the greatest moment in the history of sports and that my rival and friend lifted a gigantic weight.
It was truly the greatest moment in sports history. When Bradford pushed 182.5 kg and left the platform, Vlasov was left alone. All the participants had already finished the competition and he was fighting alone. Still, he still had one rival. It was Paul Anderson, or rather, not himself, but his records. The American's official triathlon world record was 512.5 kg, but Anderson lifted 533 kg in total in the Texas domestic event.
It was with this rival that Vlasov had to fight. First, he pushes 185 kg. There is a new world record in triathlon - 520 kg! Vlasov asks to install on the bar 10 kg more - 195. And just like that, without any apparent effort, straightens with this huge weight. Another world record - 530 kg! A third attempt remains. And Vlasov claims 202.5 kg. What's going on in the hall! An avalanche of applause, enthusiastic screams, strangers hugging, kissing ... When a Soviet athlete appears on the platform, silence instantly ensues in the hall. - I am slowly gathering my strength, - says Vlasov. - I carefully rub my neck and chest with magnesium so that the heavy bar does not slip off. How quiet around. So quiet that, it seems, you can hear in the tenth row, how anxiously my heart beats, how my lungs inhale the hot, stuffy air. Rosin crunches deafeningly underfoot. And then everything moves away somewhere far away. Now the whole world has narrowed for me to the size of a barbell lying motionless on the platform. Well ... The shell, hanging in the air for a moment, falls on my chest. Another effort ... I get up, swaying slightly under the record weight of the barbell. Several seconds pass. It's time! The bar is lifted from the chest on which she rested and begins its upward movement. All this happens in a fraction of a second. Automatically, without control of consciousness, hands instantly grab it, hold it ... And suddenly, from somewhere from afar, it grows louder and louder, crashing down a polyphonic: "A-ah-oo-oo!" Because of the noise, I can't hear the command of the American fixator Terpak. But I see his desperate go-ahead. The bar can be lowered. At the moment when she falls on the floor, bending the boards, three white lights flash above me at once. The attempt was scored by the judges unanimously. And here it is approved by the audience. The hall roars with delight. And for me now there is no more beautiful music than this roar ... Listening to it, I revel, I peer into the faces of people. The first, second, third rows ... And beyond the sea of raised hands, nothing is visible. And suddenly, unexpectedly pushing everyone aside, a man deftly jumped onto the stage, and other spectators rushed after him. Many hands reach out to me, squeeze, push. Strangers kiss and hug me. A dream in reality! Drunk with irrepressible joy, I suddenly take off into the air, and then fly down, just like in a dream. No, this is not a dream. These are people from different countries who rejoice at my victory. They picked me up in their arms and carried me out of the hall ...
He was carried out of the hall in his arms, like a Roman triumphant. For a long time, people chanted the name of the winner and congratulated each other on the birth of a phenomenal world record. Anderson's "tsar-record" fell. After the end of the competition at a press conference, the vice president International Federation weightlifting Finn Bruno Nyberg said: - These were the most fantastic Olympic Games that I have seen. No one has ever achieved such an advantage as the Soviet weightlifters. The young professor of weightlifting Vlasov is amazing. Its highly polished technique crowns phenomenal strength. For some, Vlasov's result is a disaster. It is no secret that many heavy weight lifters are a bit obese and clumsy. In Finland, we call Vlasov a real athlete, not a cutlet. He is elegant, amazingly complex, his performance is a joy for everyone.
In addition to Vlasov, five more Soviet weightlifters returned home with Olympic medals. Moskvich Evgeny Minaev, Alexander Kurynov from Kazan, resident of Gorky Victor Bushuev and Arkady Vorobyov from Sverdlovsk won gold medals, and the Muscovite Trofim Lomakin- silver.
Soviet gymnasts performed excellently in Rome. They won by a wide margin team championship, and in personal lost only one gold medal to a Czechoslovak gymnast Eve Bosakova in exercises on a balance beam. 
All other medals - gold, silver, and bronze - were shared by the Russian athletes. The absolute champion of the Games became, as at the last Olympics, the second in the all-around was a Muscovite Sofia Muratova, third - from Kiev Polina Astakhova... Vault won Margarita Nikolaeva from Odessa, exercises on uneven bars - Polina Astakhova, floor exercises -. After the awarding, Latynina was surrounded by journalists, questions rained down. Someone asked: - What are your plans for the future?
Crafty lights flashed in Larisa's eyes: - It would be nice to become ... the absolute champion of the Union.
Yes, the two-time absolute champion of the Olympic Games, two-time winner of the world championships in the all-around did not manage to become the number one gymnast in her country. She was outstripped by Sofia Muratova, Tamara Manina, Lydia Kalinina, Polina Astakhova ... But the dream of the heroine of Melbourne and Rome came true. A year after the Roman interview, Larisa Latynina became the absolute champion of the country. True, she had to share this title with Tamara Lyukhina.
The wonderful Soviet sportsman from Kiev Boris Shakhlin became the absolute champion of the Games in gymnastics. He alone won more medals than the entire French Olympic delegation - four gold, two silver and one bronze. The exercises on the rings were won by Albert Azaryan from Yerevan. The strongest men's team was the gymnastics squad of Japan.
For the first time, track and field athletes of the Soviet Union surpassed the US athletes in the number of points in the unofficial team event. Muscovites won gold medals Peter Bolotnikov running 10,000 meters, Vladimir Golubnichy from the Ukrainian city of Sumy - walking 20 kilometers, Tbilisi Robert Shavlakadze, who broke the hegemony of the Americans in the high jump, from Kiev Victor Tsibulenko- in javelin throwing and Muscovite Vasily Rudenkov- in hammer throwing.
New Zealand athlete Murray Halberg was sixteen years old when, while playing rugby, he suffered a serious injury that caused partial paralysis. Doctors have suffered a lot to pull him out of the tenacious embrace of death. Halberg was rescued, but the withered left hand forever became a stranger. It was impossible to go in for sports. However, Halberg did not give up, directing all his efforts, all his energy to remain a full-fledged person, so as not to part with sports.
With furious tenacity, Murray Halberg trained on the cinder track. And he achieved good results in running. At the 1956 Olympics, Halberg reached the finals in the 1.5 km distance and finished in eleventh place. But he dreamed of an Olympic medal, which was to commemorate his complete victory over the disease.
At the Games in Rome, Halberg decided to compete at a five-kilometer distance. He became a champion of new tactics: he tried to stun rivals with a stormy spurt three laps before the finish line, to break away from them, and then, having given everything, to hold out to the finish line. In the final race, with 3,700 meters behind, Halberg was the last. And then he made an unprecedented leap, leaving behind the leading group of runners. Halberg raced as if his life depended on it.
Gradually, he began to slow down, his strength dried up. Styer from the GDR Hans Grodocki overtook Halberg. But he did not manage to catch up with him to the finish line. With a margin of seven to eight meters, a twenty-seven-year-old teacher from Oakland crossed the finish line and sank down on the grass exhausted. He nevertheless won the Olympic gold medal, which became an award to him not only for his great sportsmanship, but also for his unprecedented persistence in the fight against a serious illness.
For women, six out of ten gold medals went to Soviet athletes. The best were: Lyudmila Shevtsova from Dnepropetrovsk - in the 800-meter race, a distance included in the Olympic program after a thirty-two-year break; Leningrad Irina Press- running 80 meters hurdles and her sister Tamara- in shot put; Kiev woman Vera Krepkina- in the long jump; Muscovite Nina Ponomareva- in discus throwing (this was her second Olympic gold medal); Leningrad Elvira Ozolina- in javelin throwing. All Soviet athletes are the winners of the Roman Olympics in athletics set new Olympic records.
Among women at the Games in Rome, there was no more popular athlete than a black runner. She won both sprint distances by a large margin - 100 and 200 meters. Wilma won her third gold medal in the 4 x 100 meters relay. “Perhaps the most amazing, sensational event of the XVII Olympic Games in Rome was the run of a Negro girl who was paralyzed until the age of eight and grew up in a large family. All this you need to know in order to understand what a triumph this girl's brilliant victory over her rivals was. who had superiority over her in property status, education and social opportunities "- this is how the famous West German writer Rudolf Hagelstange wrote about Wilm Rudolph.
"Black Gazelle", as the journalists dubbed Wilma, literally conquered Rome, and when she visited Sweden, Swedish newspapers stated: "During the night the country fell in love with her"... The Black Gazelle captivated everyone who saw it both on the treadmill and outside the stadium.
As a child, she ran very fast, overtook all the boys in her neighborhood, and someone advised her to take up athletics. She immediately agreed. After several years of study, great success came in Rome. At the 100-meter race, Wilma showed a result of 11.0 seconds. Englishwoman D. Hayman, the second who came running, managed to show only 11.3 seconds. An even greater gap was at a distance of 200 meters. Wilma Rudolph finished brilliantly in 24.0 seconds, and J. Heine from Germany, the silver medalist, was at the finish line only after 0.4 seconds.
Wilma won her third gold medal in the 4 x 100 meters relay. Largely thanks to her efforts, the American relay team was able to set a new world record.
After the Olympics, Wilma, returning home, entered college, and after graduating, she began to teach Negro children in her town of Clarksville.
It has already become a tradition to see representatives of Italy, France, Belgium, Holland among the Olympic champions in cycling. Therefore, the real sensation in Rome was made by a Soviet racer who broke this tradition.
In the north of Rome, three kilometers from "Foro Italico" and from the Olympic village, a group cycling track was laid. She passed through three narrow suburban streets - Flaminia, Grottarossa and Cassia. Since the longest leg of this triangle was Grottarossa street, the whole ring was called the Grottarossa route. She was not only winding, but also of a rather complex profile. Suffice it to say that the riders had to climb twelve times (the distance of 175 kilometers, 380 meters consisted of twelve laps) on a stretch of three kilometers, or rather, climb - there is no other word for it - a mountain whose height was more than a hundred meters. After a two-kilometer descent - again take off almost fifty meters up.
Before the start of the race, the main character of the newspaper strips was the weather. The heat was unbearable. The head of the French team Robert Hubron said, looking at the bright sun: - The competition is threatening to turn into a race with a knockout - too hot!
At the start there are 142 athletes from 42 countries. And only the most persistent, strong and patient fighters, people of great tactical wisdom and unrestrained impulse will be able to compete for the gold medal.
... More than 130 kilometers are already behind. Here it is, finally, the climax of the race. Nobody expected what happened, nobody could foresee. Viktor Kapitonov looked back at his rivals and suddenly rushed to the side of the road to cut off his pursuers. No one had time to react to his jerk, and he alone went ahead. He walks eight kilometers alone. But suddenly his main competitor is an Italian Livio Trape- worried: after all, the gap is more than forty seconds.
The gangplank ran after him. Viktor was informed about this, and he slowed down: the two of them are easier to walk, and the finish line is still far away, they will have time to settle scores. And as soon as the pair of leaders connected, they sharply increased their speed, and the gap separating them from the main group began to increase. As always in such cases, Kapitonov did not cheat, did not try to save his strength at the expense of someone else. Once it has been decided to "work as an artel", then Lomi with all his might. Moreover, he had enough strength.
The leaders had to go through the last ring to the finish. And suddenly ... Victor, as he told later, four hundred meters before the finish line began to hesitate. Is it the end of the race now, or do you need to complete another lap? There was no time to think. And Kapitonov decides to go on the attack. Victor lifts himself up in the saddle and begins a long finishing spurt. The gangway is nearby. There are only a few meters left. Only at the very finish line did the Soviet athlete beat the Italian. Victor throws up his hands. Victory! He looks around happily. He sees spectators applauding him. And suddenly his eyes meet with the senior coach of the Soviet national team, Leonid Sheleshnev. The coach shows with energetic gestures:
"Go-go!" - Wrong! Sheleshnev shouts. - Another circle!
Kapitonov grabs the wheel and rushes forward again. All this happened in a matter of seconds. But the stands were in a daze and waited a long time for a radio message from a distance. Trapee, also bewildered by surprise, lagged behind a little. But Kapitonov, on the rise, Kass waited for the Italian. And they went at high speed, honestly, taking turns cutting the oncoming air with their breasts and whole bodies. Sitting on the "wheel" is easier: he is already in a rarefied atmosphere. There was very little to go to the finish line, and at the decisive moment Trape gave up the collective struggle. He tried to conserve his strength. Victor, too, decided not to go forward, to keep the most dangerous opponent in front of him, so that he could see all his maneuvers and deliver a counterstrike in time. The Italian ace was nervous and suggested that the Russian come out ahead, but the latter showed that the Italian would also be nice to work. So they bargained until three hundred meters were left to the finish line. A cavalcade of cyclists appeared from behind. Now the nerves were deciding. The one who breaks first, he lost, because he himself will lead the opponent to the decisive dash "off the wheel".
Trape could not stand the first, he made a dash, trying to press the opponent to the public. But Kapitonov, who was watching him closely, was ahead of him and made a powerful finishing throw. It was a truly masterful finish of a self-confident athlete, who until the last second calmly knew what he was doing.
At the finish line, they both cried - Victor Kapitonov and Livio Trape. Victor had bright tears of joy in his eyes, and bitter sobs choked Livio. Directly off the track, one of the French journalists reported:
"With the victory of Kapitonov, Russia enters through the front door into big international cycling."
The same words can be said about our horsemen. The first Olympic gold medal for the Soviet Union in equestrian sports was won by a Moscow officer Sergey Filatov... He was the best in the Grand Olympic Dressage Prize.
The rower Vyacheslav Ivanov repeated his Melbourne success - he won the gold medal in solo. Soviet rowers from Leningraders Valentin Bo-reiko and Oleg Golovanov were the first to finish the distance in double-man rowing without a helmsman. Muscovite Antonina Seredina won two gold medals in kayaking. Our canoeists from Belarus Sergey Makarenko and Leonid Geishtor won the 1000m race. Outstanding Swedish kayaker Gert Fredriksson received his sixth gold medal. This was his fourth Olympics. At the first, in 1948, he won two gold medals, in 1952 - one gold and one silver, in 1956 - two gold and in 1960 - one gold and one bronze.
Three gold medals were won by Soviet wrestlers of the classical style. Minskers became champions Oleg Karavaev, Tbilisi Avtandil Koridze and Kievite Ivan Bogdan.
For the first time, the future world champion in professional boxing, one of the outstanding boxers of our time, an American, won a major victory in the Roman Olympic ring. Cassius Marcellus Clay... He won a lightweight medal. Shortly after his victory in the Olympic ring, Cassius Clay turned pro. Four years later, he converted to the Islamic faith and his current name is Mohammed Ali.
Of the Soviet boxers, only Muscovite Oleg Grigoriev in the bantamweight was the first.
Soviet fencers performed well. For the first time in the Olympics, the women's and men's foil teams won victories. A student from Leningrad won the personal foil fencing tournament. In the final, he did not lose a single fight. But this does not mean that all the fights were very easy for him. He spent the penultimate meeting with an Englishman B. Hoskins... If Victor won, gold medal got him ahead of schedule. The Leningrader was the first to give the injection. Then he brought the score to 2: 0. And then he made a tactical mistake - he decided not to take unnecessary risks. The opponent immediately took advantage of this. Two attacks follow - and the score is 2: 2.
Italians are great fans and experts in fencing. What was happening in the hall of the Roman Palace of Congresses, placed at the disposal of the masters of cold weapons! How passions raged! On the one hand, many have already come to love this Russian newbie. On the other hand, what fan does not expect a sensation, does not hope that the favorite will lose?
The rivals again exchange injections. First, our athlete achieves success, then the Englishman. But there was nothing more Hoskins could do. Victor twice more "pierces" the Englishman and achieves victory.
Already in the rank of Olympic champion, he had another principled fight. Against him on the track was two-time Olympic champion Christian d "Oriola. It was not only a dispute between the outgoing champion and the current champion. Representatives of two schools met: classical, French, and Soviet, which creatively reworked the achievements of the French, Italians, Hungarians - former trendsetters. won this principled battle with a score of 5: 3.
Hungarian saber fencers, who have not lost a single Olympics since 1928, were also the first this time. In the individual championship, gold and silver medals also went to the Hungarians - Rudolph Karpati and Zoltan Horvat.
Famous Italian swordsman Eduardo Manjarotti put in his piggy bank a gold medal for victory in the team championship in epee fencing and a silver one in foil fencing. This was his fifth Olympics. In Rome, the outstanding swordsman celebrated his quarter-century anniversary of active life in sports. Maestro Manjarotti is the owner of the largest collection of awards among fencers. In twenty-five years of performances on the fencing track, he won thirteen Olympic medals- six gold, five silver and two bronze - and twenty medals of the world championships, of which thirteen are gold, five are silver and two are bronze.
The first Olympic gold medal was also won by Russian yachtsmen. Muscovites were the best in the "Zvezdny" class in the Gulf of Naples Timir Pinegin and Fedor Shutkov... After four races, they had 1857 points of advantage. To become the owners of the gold medal, it was enough for them to win at least one third place in one of the three remaining races. And in the fifth race they finished third.
The most pleasant was for Pinegin - the steering of the Soviet yacht - the assessment of his victory, which was given to him by the third prize-winner - the helmsman of the American "star" William Parke:
I don't want to put too much emphasis on luck, but Pinegin was in the right place at the right time.
It was said clearly and honestly. Pinegin really managed to be in the right place at the right time every time. And the point here, of course, is not happiness. Pinegin won because for many years he walked "against the wind", stubbornly fought against failures, with bad luck and did not lose heart. He knew that his hour would come. And in the vastness of the Mediterranean Sea, Pinegin came in handy with the experience that he received in his youth, at a reservoir near Moscow, and later, when, together with his permanent sailor, he participated in international competitions. He spared neither time nor energy to unravel the speed of the "stars". And in the end, this painstaking work revealed to him the secret of the secrets in the character of the "stars", the secrets of which until recently were owned only by the Americans.
Swimming was dominated by athletes from Australia and the United States. Both medals in diving among women were won by a wonderful athlete from the GDR Ingrid Kremer. She took first place in ski jumping and platform jumping. Kremer played for the United German Team. The GDR athletes for the United Team have won three gold, nine silver and seven bronze medals, more than many of the leading sports powers.
T The closing celebration of the 17th Olympic Games was solemn and memorable. Ninety thousand spectators who gathered at Foro Italico greeted the flag-bearers with the national flags of the countries participating in the Games with thunderous applause. Then the President of the IOC Beasts Brandage rises to the podium and delivers a short traditional speech in Italian, declaring the XVII Olympiad closed. A military band, located on either side of the bowl, where the Olympic flame is burning, performs a solemn march. Ten trumpeters raise their fanfare. Harsh invocation sounds are heard, and the choir of the National Academy of Santa Cicilia sings the Olympic anthem. At this time, the flame of the Olympic flame, which burned for eighteen days and nights, begins to slowly fade away. With the last chords of the melody, it goes out completely, in order to flare up again in four years as a symbol of peace and friendship between athletes from different countries, as a symbol of faithful comradeship and noble sports struggle.
It is getting dark. A white Olympic banner with five intertwined rings slowly slides down the flagpole. The rumble of guns located on the slopes of Monte Mario is heard - these are five volleys of farewell fireworks.
An exciting moment was when athletes from all countries participating in the Games took to the field hand in hand. They walked embracing, welcoming the audience, and this procession marked the great brotherhood of peoples, showed that athletes from all countries, united Olympic movement, won here in Rome, first of all, not titles and medals, but strong indestructible friendship. How well the Bulgarian newspaper Narodna Younger wrote:
"All participants in the Olympic Games won the most expensive medal for humanity. This medal is an atmosphere of camaraderie and friendship between young people of different races and countries, different political and social systems."
Slowly, as if reluctantly, the Olympic flame faded away in the lamp. The spotlights went out. For a moment, the concrete bowl of the stadium plunged into darkness. And suddenly a bright light flashed in the darkness. Then the second, third, fourth ... Soon, tens of thousands of small homemade torches were burning over the stands. It was the spectators who burned newspapers, programs, and specially brought paper. It seemed that this wavering, sparkling sea of lights flashed from the Olympic flame. In a single impulse, people rose from their seats and flung reddish flames high above their heads. The Olympic Games are over. But the Olympic flame, as if pouring from a bowl of a lamp through the stands of the stadium, continued to glow, warming the hearts of people, igniting the spirit of camaraderie in them.
The 1960 Summer Olympics were attended by 5338 athletes from 83 countries. The Olympic flame was lit by 18-year-old runner Giancarlo Paris, who was selected as the winner of the cross, held among young Italian athletes. President of Italy Giovanni Gronchi made a speech at the opening ceremony of the Games.
According to the results of the XVII Summer Olympic Games, the USSR national team took first place in the number of awards in the team classification. Athletes from the Soviet Union won 43 gold, 29 silver and 31 bronze medals. The second place went to the Olympians from the USA - 34 gold medals, 21 silver medals and 16 bronze medals. The hosts of the Olympics climbed to the third step, having won 13 gold, 10 silver and 13
bronze awards, which was the undoubted success of the Italian athletes.
At the Olympics in Rome, Soviet athletes performed very well, having won 15 out of 16 medals in artistic gymnastics. Gymnast Larisa Latynina received 6 awards - three gold, two silver and one bronze.
Weightlifters representing the Soviet Union performed just fine. Yuri Vlasov was named the best sportsman of the year. During the competition, he set Olympic in all three movements for heavyweight athletes. In clean and jerk and all-around, the records set by him were also world records.
The rower Vyacheslav Ivanov repeated his success in Melbourne, winning the gold medal in singles. Our other rowers were also successful. Oleg Golovanov and Valentin Boreiko from Leningrad were the first to finish in double rowing. Muscovite Antonina Seredina won two gold medals in kayaking. Canoeists from Belarus Leonid Geishtor and Sergei Makarenko won the 1000m race.
In track and field athletics among women, the best were: Lyudmila Shevtsova (Dnepropetrovsk) - in the 800-meter race; Irina Press (Leningrad) - 80 meters hurdles; Vera Krepkina (Kiev) - long jump; Tamara Press - shot put; Nina Ponomareva - discus throwing; Elvira Ozolina - javelin throw. Without exception, all Soviet athletes who won the Olympics set new Olympic records.
The closing ceremony of the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome was held in the presence of 90,000 spectators who greeted the flag-bearers with the flags of the countries participating in the event. Farewell speeches, a military band, a solemn march, the slow extinction of the Olympic flame - this is how the Olympics in Rome went down in history.
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- olympics in rome 1960
The seventeenth Summer Olympics in 1960 were held in Rome from 25 August to 11 September. They were the first summer olympiad for Italy, the very first winter games in this country were held four years earlier in the small town of Cortina d "Ampezzo.
Rome was elected as the capital of the 17th Summer Olympics at the 50th session of the Inter-National Olympic Committee in Paris on June 15, 1955. The main rival of Rome was the Swiss Lausanne, but in the final vote Rome won with a score of 35:24.
The eternal city was remarkably prepared for the competition, the athletes competed in 18 complexes. Historical objects were used for the competition: the ancient baths of Caracalla hosted gymnasts, wrestling mats were placed in the Basilica de Maxentius, the route of the marathon ran along the ancient Apia road to the Colosseum.
Five and a half thousand athletes from 83 countries competed for 150 sets of medals in 18 sports. The opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics were held at the new Foro Italico stadium, which could seat 90,000 spectators.
The Soviet national team arrived at the Games with 285 people. Vera Krepkina, who jumped the longest, opened the gold score. Lyudmila Shevtsova won the 800m race, Elvira Ozolina won gold for the javelin throw. Irina Press won the 80m race, her sister Tamara excelled in shot put and discus throwing, taking silver, and Nina Ponomareva got the gold medal.
Among the male athletes in the USSR national team, Viktor Tsibulenko (gold in the javelin throw), Vasily Rudenkov (hammer throw) distinguished themselves. The 10 km race was won by Peter Bolotnikov, the high jump - by Robert Shavlakadze, the 20 km race - by Vladimir Golubnichy.
American runner Wilma Rudolph enjoyed immense popularity at the Games, earning a well-deserved gold. For her graceful run she was nicknamed the Black Gazelle. The marathon runner Abebe Bikila (Ethiopia), who ran the entire distance barefoot, became the first Olympic champion to represent Africa.
Of our boxers, only lightweight Oleg Grigoriev received the title of champion. In Rome, the star rose to Cassius Clay, who won the light heavyweight title at 18. He then changed his name to Muhammad Ali and was voted the greatest heavyweight champion in professional boxing. Among the Soviet wrestlers, Ivan Bogdan, Avtandil Koridze and Oleg Karavaev became prize-winners.
The rower Vyacheslav Ivanov won the singles competition, repeating his Melbourne success. Soviet kayaker Antonina Seredina won singles and a pair with Maria Shubina.
Soviet fencers performed well. For the first time in the history of the Olympics, the men's and women's foil teams won victories, the individual tournament was won by the athlete Viktor Zhdanovich.
Soviet weightlifter Yuri Vlasov was recognized as the best athlete of the Games, who set Olympic records in heavy weight for all three movements, as well as in the total of classic triathlon (537.5 kg). His records became world records at the same time. With the light hand of Yuri, the path to this title was opened for Vasily Alekseev, Leonid Zhabotinsky and Andrei Chemerkin.
It was the first Olympics to receive full television coverage. Live broadcasts were carried out in 18 European countries, and with a slight delay due to the time difference in the United States and Canada.
At the Games, 74 Olympic records were set, of which 27 exceeded world records. The Soviet team retained the leading position in the unofficial team event, winning 103 medals, 43 of which were gold. The second place went to the USA team (71 awards, 34 gold medals). The third was the united team of Germany (FRG and GDR), which received 42 medals (12 gold).
From antiquity to the present day, we can say that the Olympic Games were not so much a sporting event as a cultural one. The Games were a pan-Greek event. If at the first games athletes from only two cities competed - Elisa and Pisa, then soon the main competitions of Hellas gathered from all corners of not only Balkan Greece, but also the Apennine Peninsula, Sicily, and the northern coast of Africa. The Greeks were attracted to the Olympics by the feeling of common Greek unity, the opportunity to touch a great culture, hear a familiar speech, and admire the spectacle itself. Meanwhile, the Olympic Games also performed an important socializing function, were an important element in the formation of a common Greek mentality, polis ideology and patriotism. It should be noted that the Games were a form of peaceful communication between peoples, because at the time of the competition a “sacred truce” was declared. All wars and conflicts were prohibited, violation was considered a grave sin. The general humane significance of the Games also lies in the fact that, having survived the centuries of oblivion and prohibition, they were revived and became the greatest sporting and cultural event for mankind.
The Olympic Games are named after their location - the sacred region of Olympia in the Peloponnese, and not from the name of Mount Olympus. They were dedicated to the supreme god of the Greek pantheon Zeus, held in late July and early August for 5 days. They were held every 4 years. As you know, the first Game dates back to 776 BC. Many associate its holding with the name of the great hero Hercules, who established them after the victory over the same king Augeas, the 12 feat of Hercules. There were other myths associated with the exploits of the mythical Pelops and even with the myth of the overthrow of his father Crohn by Zeus. From the 6th century. BC. following the example of the Olympic Games, other general Greek competitions for athletes began to be held: the Pythian Games, the Isthmian Games and the Nemean Games, also dedicated to various ancient Greek gods. But the Olympics were the most prestigious among these competitions. The Olympic Games are mentioned in the works of Plutarch, Herodotus, Pindar, Lucian, Pausanias, Simonides, and other ancient authors. From the Olympic Games 776 BC among the Greeks there was a special "Olympic chronology" introduced by the historian Timaeus. The Olympic holiday was celebrated in the "holy month" beginning on the first full moon after the summer solstice.
In 394 A.D. The Olympic Games were banned - as a "relic of paganism" - by the Roman emperor Theodosius I, who forcibly implanted Christianity. Soon after the ban of the Olympic Games, all the Olympic buildings were burned by the order of Emperor Theodosius II (in 426 AD), and a century later they were finally destroyed and buried by strong earthquakes and river floods. The Games were revived only at the end of the 19th century. In 1894, on the initiative of a public figure, teacher Pierre de Coubertin, the International Olympic Committee was created in Paris, which began to prepare for the games.
After the heralds proclaimed the "sacred truce" throughout Rome, all soldiers stopped and citizens rushed to Olympia for the Games. On the first day, the judges and leaders of the competition - Hellenodics, as well as athletes, sacrificed to Zeus and other gods. Athletes swore a solemn oath to fight honestly for the glory of the almighty gods and their native city-states. Olympic rule read: "every Greek born free, not tainted by the atrocity and curse of the gods, can take part in the games." Slaves were not even allowed as spectators, as were women. After the legendary story of the woman Callipateira, who entered the stadium to see her son's triumph, a rule arose: all athletes, their coaches and spectators should be naked. The name of the modern word "gymnastics" comes from the ancient Greek "gymos", that is, "naked", "naked." An exception was made only for the priestess of the goddess Demeter: a special marble throne was erected for her at the stadium, in the most honorable place.
After the announcement of the rules, there was a drawing of lots. Before the competition, everyone who wanted to participate in it drew lots to determine the order in which they would go to fight, after which the herald publicly announced the name and country of the competitor.
Sports competitions began on the second day. At first, there was only a stadium in the program of the Olympic Games - a one-stage run (192.27 m). Then the number of Olympic disciplines increased. At 14 Olympic Games (724 BC) diaulos is included in the program - a run in 2 stages. Athletes run through the stadium, turn around the pole and return to the start. Later, a dolichodrome (endurance run) also appeared, the distance of which ranged from 7 to 24 stadia. There was also a running in the heavy armor of a hoplite. Oddly enough, but this did not contradict the peaceful nature of the Games, because they were a kind of test of the combat readiness of the citizens of the policy, who made up the army of the state. The Spartans were the most successful in this discipline, because military education was part of the ideology of this polis.
At 18 Olympic Games, wrestling and pentathlon (pentathlon) competitions were held for the first time, which included, in addition to wrestling and a stadium, jumping, as well as javelin and discus throwing. Aristotle believed that pentathlon develops the body of an athlete most harmoniously.
In wrestling, strikes were prohibited by the rules, but shocks were allowed. The Greek language had many terms for different techniques and positions. The fight was divided into two main positions: in a stance and on the ground, or rather soft ground sprinkled with sand. Athletes rubbed their bodies with oil to make it easier to slip out of the opponent's grip. To win, it was enough to lay the enemy on the shoulder blades three times.
Jumping was very different from modern jumps. Athletes jumped with weights in their hands, throwing them back when jumping. This was believed to increase the jump range. This jumping technique required good coordination.
Javelin throwing was also different from the modern one: at the end of the javelin there was a leather strap, which sat on the wrist and had to be pulled together during the throw. The javelin and disc were thrown from a small elevation. In this case, the spear was thrown not at range, but at accuracy: the athlete had to hit a special target. This technique demanded attention and clarity from the athlete. The throwing discs were not just shells, but real works of art: they were decorated with carvings, drawings, magic signs, family coats of arms, even scenes from myths. The discs were made of iron, but stone was also mentioned. At the 23 Olympic Games (688 BC), fist fighting was included in the competition program, which was notable for cruelty. To enhance the blow, the fighters wrapped their hands with leather belts, on which metal plaques were attached. If the fighters got tired, a break was allowed for rest. If, after the rest, the winner was not revealed, then the athletes exchanged the agreed number of blows without defending themselves. The fight ended with the surrender of the opponent, the defeated raised his hand when he was unable to resist. Ancient healers considered boxing to be a good remedy for chronic headaches. Frequent injuries and even death were the companions of this bloody type of competition.
Later, such a type of competition as pancrarius appeared - a combination of wrestling and fist fighting. Strangulation was allowed, bites and eye exposure were prohibited. This type of competition was introduced into the Olympic Games in honor of the mythical founder of the games Hercules, who managed to defeat a huge lion, only strangling him, because the lion's skin was invulnerable to weapons.
Chariot racing, an expensive and dangerous sport, took a long time to enter the game roster. First, at the 25th Olympiad (680 BC), quadriga races were introduced. In races, the quadrigi made 12 laps on the hippodrome, often the chariots overturned at turns, crippling the drivers. Unlike running and martial arts, only wealthy Greeks and royalty, who were able to keep horses, could take part in the races. It was the horse owners, not the drivers, who were considered the winners. Among the winners in the quadriga races were the Macedonian king Philip II and the Roman emperors.
Music was not only an important part of the daily life of the Greeks. At the 96th Olympiad (396 BC), competitions between trumpeters and heralds were introduced into the Olympic Games, as a logical consequence of the combination of sports and aesthetic pleasure in the views of the Hellenes. It is known that during the Games, artists exhibited paintings to the audience, and writers read their creations aloud.
As you know, women were prohibited from attending the Olympic Games. However, the liberal-minded authorities decided to hold special women's sports games. The winner received an olive wreath and food, particularly meat. Such games were called heres, they were held in honor of the goddess Hera. The most famous athletes were, of course, the Spartans, because physical education girls in Sparta were no less important than the upbringing of boys. Such Games were allowed to be attended by men who could choose a bride for themselves.
Winner's reward ceremony.
The winner of the Olympic Games received universal recognition along with the olive wreath (this tradition began in 752 BC, then they were also awarded with laurel wreaths and apples) and purple ribbons. He became one of the most respected people in his city (for the inhabitants of which the victory of his countryman at the Olympics was also a great honor), he was often freed from state duties, and given other privileges. Among these privileges was also a free visit to the theater, in which the Olympian, the winner of the Olympics, was given a place of honor. Posthumous honors were also given to him in his homeland, he was even equated with the host of "little gods". And according to the introduced in the VI century. BC. In practice, the three-time winner of the Games could have erected his statue in Altis, a sacred grove in Olympia. Sculptors from all over Greece competed for the right to sculpt a statue of the winner; some monuments were erected in the main squares of the city. Commemorative coins were sometimes minted in honor of the winners.
The first Olympian we know of was Korab of Elis, the chef who triumphed in one stage race in 776 BC. The most famous - and the only athlete in the history of the ancient Olympic Games who won 6 Olympics, was "the strongest among the strong", the wrestler Milon from Croton. He was also a multiple winner of the Pythian, Isthmian, Nemean Games and many local competitions. Mentions about him can be found in the writings of Pausanias, Cicero and other authors.
City selection
Squaw Valley became the capital of the VIII Winter Olympics in large part because the American millionaire, burning with the idea of getting the largest winter competition in four years, showed considerable perseverance and made every effort. In the 60s, Squaw Valley was a little-known humble ski resort with three ski lifts as its main attraction and one hotel with 50 beds. And Cushing was, in fact, the only permanent inhabitant of the town and its, one might say, the sole owner.
He actively joined the fight for the Olympics. He acted energetically and decisively, established contacts with the right people, including in the Olympic committees of South American countries, which, in general, were of little interest in the Winter Olympic Games, and as a result achieved what he wanted. For the right to host the 1960 Winter Games, Squaw Valley won in a two-round vote the popular European resorts of St. Moritz, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Innsbruck, which was considered the main favorite. The IOC was criticized mercilessly for this decision - firstly, because of the difficult climatic conditions - Squaw Valley is located at an altitude of 1889 meters above sea level - and the most difficult terrain of ski and ski slopes, and secondly, because of the terribly inconvenient location of the new Olympic capital, thirdly, for the almost complete lack of infrastructure. But the fact remains.
Preparing for the Games
We must pay tribute to Cushing: he tried his best. An indoor winter stadium was built in Squaw Valley, which could accommodate 11,000 spectators, along with a 400-meter track with artificial ice for skating competitions. For the first time, the Olympic village functioned.
Also, it was in Squaw Valley that the first introduced information system based on computer technology greatly facilitated the holding of competitions.
The main sports facility for the figure skating, ice hockey and speed skating competitions at the VIII Olympic Winter Games was the arena built in Squaw Valley in 1959. This facility was a very beautiful modern multifunctional complex with 8500 seats for spectators, but when the matches took place hockey tournament between the national teams of the USA and the USSR, as well as between the USA and Czechoslovakia, the number of spectators was about 10,000 people. The creators of this beautiful Olympic venue, the Blyth Memorial Arena, won an architecture competition in 1958.
For the first time in the history of the modern Winter Games, the Olympic Village was built in Squaw Valley - a modern residential neighborhood, the basis of which was the Athletes Center (housing, stadiums, canteen and cafeterias, telegraph, post office, bank, sauna, theater halls, administrative offices, translation bureau) , information and medical centers, dry cleaning, hairdresser, beauty salon, shops, etc.). It was created as a single architectural complex located in the immediate vicinity of sports facilities. For housing, four three-storey hotels were built (one of the hotels was equipped to accommodate women participating in the Games), in which official delegations of more than 30 participating countries (about 1200 people) were accommodated.
But the organizer of the Games in the Indian Valley (this is how the name of the resort is translated from English) did not consider it necessary to spend money on the construction of a bobsleigh track, so there were no bobsleigh races in Squaw Valley.
Games Emblem
The Games emblem depicts 3 triangles stylized to resemble the American flag and the Olympic rings. The figures are made in three-dimensional format and resemble a star or a snowflake in shape.
Official Games Poster
The plot of the Olympic poster is quite simple - it is the emblem of the Squaw Valley games against the background of snow. Size 91 x 61 cm. Circulation about 60,000 copies in 5 languages.
Sports
After 40 years, the former ski patrol competition returns to the main program. As mentioned earlier, due to the lack of a track, I left the Games for the first time.
USSR at the 1960 Winter Games
The USSR team, which took part in the 1960 Winter Olympics, consisted of 62 athletes from 15 cities and towns of the three Union republics. Representatives of the Soviet Union national team participated in all types Olympic program, except for men's alpine skiing disciplines and singles figure skating on skates. The athletes won 21 medals (7 gold, 5 silver and 9 bronze), having won by a wide margin in.
The Soviet national team won gold medals in two sports - and, for the first time, Olympic awards were won in and (in bronze). The result of performances in speed skating - 6 gold medals - is the most successful for the USSR national team in this sport.
Torch relay
During the VIII Winter Olympic Games in 1960, according to the established tradition, one of the rituals of the modern Olympic Games was performed - the torch relay.
The torch of the 1960 relay had a classic shape - a handle, a rim and a bowl, on which the Olympic rings and the official emblem of the Games were engraved, as well as an inscription in English: “VIII Olympic Winter Games. 1960 ", in the second line (along the lower frame of the bowl) -" Squaw Valley ".
Before the start of the Games, unknown attackers tried to steal the Olympic flame by attacking the car that was accompanying the relay. However, the main torch was not there, and the robbers took with them only a few spare torches, as well as a film on which the path of the relay was captured.
The opening ceremony
The magnificent opening ceremony took place on February 18, and, like all public events during the Olympics, the famous Hollywood figure organized it Walt Disney... The musical accompaniment of the show was provided by a choir of 2 645 voices and 1285 instruments. Also, the program provided for the launch of 2,000 pigeons, and the Olympic fireworks, and a volley of guns.
The right to light the Olympic flame was entrusted to the skater Kenneth Henry, in Oslo. The Games were opened by the 37th President of the United States Richard Nixon.
Closing ceremony
After the end of the Games, on February 28, 1960, the closing ceremony took place. To the sounds of the Olympians' Parade march, all the athletes participating in the Games entered the arena as a single team and walked past the stands with 20 thousand spectators, and the standard bearers of the participating teams formed a semicircle at the stands for the guests of honor. After that, the national anthems of Greece, the USA and Austria, the host country, were played.
IOC President Avery Brandage addressed with a welcoming speech to the representatives of the countries participating in the Games and the audience, and then announced the closure of the VIII Winter Olympic Games in 1960. The Olympic flag was lowered, and a guard of honor of eight athletes solemnly carried it to the center of the arena, to the sound of the "Solemn Ode". The Olympic flame was extinguished, and thousands of colorful balloons soared into the sky.
The 1960 Winter Olympics are the first to officially involve women. not counting - speed skating among women was then in the program of demonstration sports.
Twenty-four cities in nine US states took part in the philatelic propaganda of the Squaw Valley Olympics. As for the stamps, the US Post Office limited itself to only one miniature with a stylized image of a snowflake. But the post offices of other countries issued 35 stamps, among them 5 stamps of the USSR.
Bells were ringing every day in Squaw Valley. He summoned athletes and guests to the awards ceremony for the winners of the competition.
During the slalom competition, the judges could not fix the missing gate by one of the skiers. The judges approached CBS-TV and asked them to show the recording. After that, the practice of video replay became the norm.
5348 athletes from 83 countries took part in the Games. 151 gold medals were competed in 20 types.
27 world and 74 Olympic records have been set. The Games ended with an outstanding victory for Soviet athletes, who were significantly ahead of the US athletes. USSR - 43 gold, 29 silver, 31 bronze medals, 682.5 points in the unofficial team event; USA 78 34 gold, 21 silver and 16 bronze medals, 463, -5 points. - 3rd place - the combined team of the GDR and FRG - 42 medals and 280.5 points.
The protagonist of the Games was the Soviet weightlifter Yuri Vlasov, who set Olympic records in all triathlon movements for athletes in the heavy weight category.
75 Leningraders performed in Olympic Rome. They won 28 medals: in individual competitions - 5 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze; in the team - 3 gold, 5 silver, 9 bronze, received 110.15 points in the team standings - 18.12 percent of the total points of the entire delegation of the USSR.
For the first time in the track and field athletics competition, the victory was won by the Soviet squad, who scored 21 medals, including 11 gold ones. A noticeable contribution to this success of the athletes of Leningrad.
Irina Press - world record holder in pentathlon - did not perform in her "crown" form. Then the pentathlon was not yet in the program of the Olympic Games.
In Rome, Irina fought for victory in the 80 meters hurdles. She won the preliminary race with a score of 10.7 seconds, repeating the Olympic record. The athlete won the semi-final in 10.6 seconds, repeating the world achievement. The final took place in the most intense struggle. And although the Leningrad woman did not manage to improve the result shown in the semifinals, her victory was indisputable and very impressive.
The very next day, her older sister Tamara won the highest award. In the shot put competition, the victory of Tamara Press, perhaps, was not in doubt. She, the only one in the world, then managed to send a cannonball beyond the 17-meter line. In addition to Tamara, two more women from Leningrad competed in this sport - Zinaida Doinikova and Galina Zybina. The first attempt brought the athlete from the GDR I. Lüttge to the top - 16 meters 21 centimeters. In the second attempt, the German woman added another 38 centimeters to her result. But Tamara, pushing the projectile 17 meters 32 centimeters, put everything in its place.
Three days later, Tamara Press challenged the championship among the world's strongest discus throwers. A successful shot of the Romanian L. Manoliu brought her to the top. The press threw the disc 51 meters 64 centimeters. Second try. Muscovite Nina Ponomareva sent a disc at 52 meters 42 centimeters and moved from 11th place to 1st. In the fifth Attempt, Ponomareva consolidated her victory by setting a new Olympic record - 55 meters 10 centimeters. Tamara Press was in 2nd place - 52 meters 59 centimeters. Manoliu is on the 3rd. There, in Rome, a week later, participating in international competitions, Tamara Press threw a disc 57 meters 15 centimeters, improving the world record.
Sisters Press ... For thirteen years of performances in big sports, they have improved the records of the USSR and the world about 30 times, they have repeatedly won major competitions and championships. Tamara graduated from the Leningrad Civil Engineering Institute, the Higher Party School under the Central Committee of the CPSU. Irina and Tamara are candidates of pedagogical sciences.
And another Leningrad athlete - javelin thrower Elvira Ozolina was the undisputed leader in her kind of program in Rome. In the spring of the same year, she broke the world record of the Australian athlete A. Pacera. There were many eminent throwers among those who really claimed medals - Olympic champion D. Zatopkova (Czechoslovakia), A. Patsera (Australia), silver medalist of the Games in Melbourne, thrower M. Arena (Chile) ...
And in the final competitions, the first attempt revealed the champion. Ozolina not only set a new Olympic record with a throw of a spear at 55 meters 98 centimeters, but also practically did not leave any chances to her competitors.
For the third time, Soviet athletes participated in Olympic competitions - and for the third time they became silver medalists in the 4X100 meters relay. True, in individual competitions our sprinters in those years did not manage to rise to the podium.
In the relay, first of all, the high technique of passing the baton, a sense of collectivism, helped out. In Rome, our quartet consisting of G. Kosanov from Chisinau, L. Bartenev from Kiev, Yu. Konovalov from Baku and E. Ozolin from Leningrader ran a circle around the stadium in 40.1 seconds and won silver medals, losing gold to the combined team of the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany.
At the time, American shot putters were vastly superior to European ones. The world record of the American U. Nieder was 1.5 meters higher than the best achievement of the athletes of our continent. Overseas athletes confirmed their advantage in Rome, having won three first places. Among the throwers of the rest of the continents, the best was the Leningrader Viktor Lipsnis, who took 4th place.
Muscovite Pyotr Bolotnikov became one of the main heroes of the Rome Olympiad. He conquered everyone who was fortunate enough to witness his wonderful run at a distance of 10,000 meters. Three Soviet athletes started here - P. Bolotnikov, Muscovite A. Desyatchikov and Leningrader E. Zhukov. It was assumed that Zhukov would set the pace of the run and achieve the breakaway together with Bolotnikov, the main striking force of our team. And Evgeny immediately went into the lead, dragging Bolotnikov and several other strong runners along with him. The rest (32 people started) began to lag behind. On the second kilometer, keeping a high pace, Bolotnikov stepped forward. From the middle of the distance, the run was led by the third Soviet runner - Alexander Desyatchikov. The struggle for leadership went on almost until the last lap, when Bolotnikov took the lead. Zhukov, although he took only 16th place, received the team's gratitude for being loyal to its interests.
Leningrader Viktor Zhdanovich won 2 gold medals - in individual and team foil fencing competitions. Before the tournament in Rome, the highest Olympic awards in this sport were almost always awarded only to representatives of Italy and France.
V. Zhdanovich, Muscovite M. Midler and Saratov citizen Y. Sisikin confidently passed the first hurdle, then the second, third, semi-finals. All of our three reached the final group, where, in addition to Soviet fencers, there were five more applicants - two from France and representatives of the USA, Poland and Great Britain. Victor, gaining one victory after another, won alternately against seven opponents. How convincing the success of the Leningrader was is evidenced by the fact that he was ahead of his closest competitor, Yuri Sisikin, by three wins.
The Soviet foil fencers confirmed their high class in team competitions as well. Having won the preliminary matches between the athletes of Japan, Poland, the combined team of the GDR and the FRG, our quartet reached the final, where it was to meet with the Olympic champions, the athletes of Italy. After three laps, the score in this match was 8: 4. And here on the path Zhdanovich and the Italian Pellegrino. Now only one "one" in the standings is needed for team success. Victor's third fight in this tournament, and his third victory! For the first time, the team of Soviet foil fencers became the strongest in the Olympic tournament.
The Olympic shooting competitions also ended with a convincing victory for the USSR national team. In terms of the number of medals and points won, our team, which included 5 Leningraders, was noticeably ahead of the American shooters who took 2nd place.
In small-bore rifle shooting, each of the Olympians had to make 120 shots at the target. In the first exercise - prone shooting - Leningrader Viktor Shamburkin, having knocked out 394 points out of 400 possible, shared the 1-3rd places. Shamburkin knocked out 386 points from his knee and took the lead on aggregate. He fired confidently while standing and, retaining the advantage, scored 1149 points in total. New world and Olympic records!
Great hopes were pinned on the Leningrader Mikhail Itkis, who fired from an arbitrary rifle at a distance of 300 meters - a "combat standard". But the strongest wind intervened in the course of the wrestling. He kicked up dust, obscuring the target. And Itkis fired at one of the extreme - the most "uncomfortable" - targets. The champion and record holder of the country was content with only 5th place, having received a total of 1124 points.
As in Melbourne, our fellow countryman, military doctor Mahmud Umarov and Muscovite Alexei Gushchin, performed in shooting from a small-caliber pistol. In the first series, three shooters - Gushchin, Umarov and Finn P. Linnosvuo - knocked out 94 points out of 100 possible. From the second series, the Muscovite became the sole leader and did not concede the championship until the end of the competition, knocking out 560 points. Equal result - 552 points - were shown by Umarov and Japanese I. Ioshikava. For the majority of "ten", the 2nd place and a silver medal were awarded to Mahmoud by the referees.
Leningrader Alexander Zabelin hoped for success in high-speed shooting from a small-caliber pistol at silhouettes. However, after the first day with a score of 291 points out of 300 possible, he took only 9th place, 5 points behind the leader. At the cost of great efforts, Alexander showed the next day best result and caught up with the leaders. When the shooting was over, it turned out that three shooters - American W. Macmillan, Finn P. Linnosvuo and A. Zabelin - had knocked out 587 points each. An additional competition was appointed, and the American shooter had the advantage. The Leningrader took 3rd place.
Things were different for another Leningrader - Sergei Kalinin, who spoke at the trench stand. Kalinin fired successfully on the first day and became the leader. But, unfortunately, I could not keep the leading position in the final competitions. Apparently, excitement prevented. However, Kalinin has already secured a prize for himself on the Olympic podium: hitting 190 targets (only 2 less than the winner of the competition Romanian shooter I. Dumitrescu), Kalinin took 3rd place.
The fight in modern pentathlon for Olympic medals was led by 61 athletes from 23 countries. As in Melbourne, the main contenders for the team championship were the pentathletes from the USA, Hungary, Finland and the Soviet Union. Our team included Igor Novikov from Yerevan, Nikolay Tatarinov from Leningrad, and Hanno Selg from Tartu. The races were successful. Tatarinov took 5th place with 1138 points. Somewhat lower were the results of his teammates. The leadership was taken by the Mexican team, our athletes took only the sixth line in the standings. Fencing disappointed: only 5th place (over 400 points lost to Hungarian athletes). The pistol shooting did not improve the team's position either. And then the prize-winning place became almost unrealistic. But still, after the competition in the swimming pool, the guys were able to move to 3rd place - behind the pentathletes of Hungary and the USA. The final type of competition is a 4 km run. To reach 2nd place, it was necessary to win back almost 500 points from the American pentathletes. Showing extraordinary willpower and courage, the Soviet “athletes won back 609 points. The Hungarian pentathletes became the champions in the team event. Novikov, Tatarinov and Selg received silver medals. In the individual championship, the Hungarian F. Nemeth became the best, Novikov took 5th place, Tatarinov - 6th.
The Olympic rowing championship was played only among male crews, on seven types of vessels. In Rome, Soviet rowers for the first time, and so far, unfortunately, the only time, won a team victory, gaining the most points. Of the 26 rowers who were part of the national team of the country, 21 athletes are graduates of the rowing clubs of the city on the Neva. 8 of them returned home with Olympic medals.
The crew of the swing two - Oleg Golovanov and Valentin Boreiko. Our guys in Rome did not let down their fast boat called "Aphrodite". In the semifinals, however, they lost a little to the Austrian double, but the main calculation of the athletes was for the final. 6 strongest crews entered the start, having overcome the three previous stages of qualifying competitions. After the first 400 meters, the Soviet crew had some advantage, but after a hundred meters the Austrian duo was already ahead. The Leningrad rowers stepped up their already high pace and were the first to cross the finish line.
After the Roman Olympics, the two Golovanov - Boreiko won three times at the national championships, was the silver medalist of the European Championship.
And Yuri Tyukalov came to Rome for his third Olympics. As in Melbourne, the outstanding rower performed in doubles with Muscovite Alexander Berkutov. This time they had to face even stronger competitors. Yuri and Alexander started the final race sluggishly: they were fourth after the start. And only from the middle of the distance they were able to develop a high pace. But the victory went to the two of Czechoslovakia. The second were the Soviet rowers, who managed to literally snatch 0.1 seconds from the Swiss at the finish line.
Bronze medals were awarded to the Leningrad crew of the four without a helmsman - Valentin Morkovkin, Igor Akhremchik, Anatoly Tarabrin and Yuri Bachurov, who finished third after the crews of the USA and Italy.
In the most difficult group cycling race of 175 kilometers, Muscovite Viktor Kapitonov finished first, ahead of the popular Italian racer Livio Trape. The fourth in this difficult fight, where 142 athletes from 42 countries competed for Olympic medals, was Yuri Melikhov from Leningrad.
Cyclists also competed in the 100-kilometer team race: Kapitonov, Melikhov, Muscovite Evgeny Klevtsov and another Leningrader - Alexei Petrov. The gold medals went to the Italian racers. But the third place, taken by our four, was also considered a great success. After Rome, Melikhov and Petrov successfully performed at many international competitions, achieving high results in races on the track and especially on the highway.
The two medals won by the Leningrad cyclists on the highway were joined by three more awards received on the track. In the team pursuit for 4 kilometers, the USSR national team included three Leningraders - Stanislav Moskvin, Arnold Bel'gardt and Viktor Romanov, as well as from Kiev, Leonid Kolubmet. Our team confidently carried out the preliminary race and entered the top eight, which continued to fight for medals. In the quarterfinals, the Dutch quartet became her opponent. A fascinating duel brought success to Soviet cyclists with an advantage of ... one hundredth of a second. And this hundredth of a second opened the way to the fight for the prize. In the semifinals, the Italians, the winners of the two previous Olympics, became the opponents of the Soviet athletes. They took the lead at the finish line, setting a new Olympic record - 4 minutes 28.88 seconds. The Italians confirmed their high class in the final, where they confidently won the combined team of the GDR and the FRG. Our athletes in the fight for bronze medals had to compete with very strong cyclists in France. The exciting race ended with the victory of the Soviet four!
When recruiting the Soviet national team of boxers, there were many difficulties in identifying a representative in the light heavyweight category. That is why Melbourne's hero Gennady Shatkov, a true middleweight, was "transferred" to light heavyweights.
In his first fight, Gennady confidently defeated the Luxembourgian Raymond Sillen, knocking him down three times. In the quarterfinals, Shatkov's opponent was the young American Cassius Clay, an outstanding boxer who, just four years later, won the title of absolute world champion among professionals (in the 70s he changed his name and surname to Mohammed Ali). Shatkov, who was much shorter than him, had a very dignified meeting, but still lost on points. The competition in Rome was the last performance of our outstanding boxer in the ring. Having successfully defended his dissertation at Leningrad University, Shatkov received the title of candidate of legal sciences. Now Associate Professor Gennady Ivanovich Shatkov teaches at the PF Lesgaft Institute of Physical Education, advises coaches, and often acts as an arbiter.
An outstanding victory was achieved in Rome by Soviet gymnasts. They have won 26 Olympic medals, including 10 gold. In the men's competitions, the Kiev resident Boris Shakhlin, who became the owner of the title of absolute champion and, in addition, won 3 more gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medals in exercises on individual apparatus, especially distinguished himself. Leningrader Vladimir Portnoy played in the men's team. In addition to the silver medal for the team's 2nd place, Vladimir was also awarded a bronze medal for the 3rd place in the vault competition.
Raisa Gorokhovskaya is so far the only Leningrad woman who happened to take part in the Olympic Games in diving. In Melbourne, she took only 9th place in the platform jumping. In Rome, she slightly improved her result. After the preliminary competitions, she already took 6th place among 18 contenders for medals, and in the final moved to 5th place.
