1960 Rome, Italy
The society of abundance
is a reality. The world looks at the future in sheer optimism. Italy one
of the defeated nations of WWII is once again approved by being awarded
the 1960 Olympic Games. These Games were believed to become the athletic
epitome of the cheerful era that the world was about to experience.
The athletes were following this new trend. An African athlete stated the presence of the Black Continent by winning the marathon barefoot. An 18 year -old African American wins the gold medal in boxing and begins his own revolution prior to becoming a King.
In these Olympic Games Greece manages to win a gold medal in yachting having as a crew the heir to the Greek throne. It was the first time that an American network pays transatlantic TV rights and the Games were shown in America for nearly USD 400.000. The media gave the Rome Olympics the tittle of "The Olympics of Organization". An Olympic Village was constructed that was later on donated to the Roman citizens. The new athletic stadiums, the new transportation infrastructure along with the massive presence of spectators resulted in a new economic dimension of the Games that is continued still to this day.
The newly constructed "Palazzo de Sport" hosted the Olympic boxing event from which a black athlete began his career and made him a legendary figure all around the world. He was Cassius Clay. The world had just met the most politically involved athlete in the history of sport. The "Palazzo" also hosted the first "Dream Team" that included the amateurs Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Jerry Lucas and many more.
The star of the track and field events at the "Olympia" was the Afro-American athlete Wilma Rudolf. Her nickname "Gazelle" justified her success in the three gold medals in 100m, 200m and 4X100m. This was an amazing effort from a person that walked with crutches due to the polio disease.
Abebe Bikila was another star of the Rome Olympics. He won the marathon without wearing shoes, an amazing success considering that he was running on a very hot surface due to the climatic conditions at the period of the Games. Bikila’s gold medal was the first gold medal for any African nation.