Athletics at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The men's 800 metres middle distance event at the 1960 Olympic Games took place between August 31 and September 2.[1] Fifty-one athletes from 35 nations competed.[2] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress.
Men's 800 metres at the Games of the XVII Olympiad | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Venue | Olympic Stadium | |||||||||
Dates | August 31 (heats and quarterfinals) September 1 (semifinals) September 2 (final) | |||||||||
Competitors | 51 from 35 nations | |||||||||
Winning time | 1:46.48 OR | |||||||||
Medalists | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
All three nations earning medals in 1960 were new to the podium in the event. The event was won by Peter Snell of New Zealand, the nation's first medal in the men's 800 metres. Snell would defend his title in 1964. Roger Moens took silver, earning Belgium's first medal. George Kerr took bronze for the British West Indies, one of only two medals that nation earned in its brief Olympic history (the 4 × 400 metres relay bronze a few days later would be the other). After four straight gold medals from 1936 to 1956, the United States failed to even make the final.