Peter Crinnion competed in the men’s road race at the 1960 Rome Olympic Games, cycling to Dublin Airport on his racing machine alongside Sonny Cullen to catch the early morning flight – attracting the curiosity of a Whitehall Garda before explaining they were bound for the Olympic Games.

On race day, Crinnion remained with the lead bunch through nine of the twelve laps before a heavy crash at the start of the tenth lap ended his serious challenge. He recovered and completed the course, despite his finishing position not appearing on the official IOC results list due to the chaotic finish caused by the Italian tifosi flooding the finishing area and dousing riders with water.

Team manager Sean Fox estimated him as finishing approximately 45th, 12 minutes behind winner Viktor Kapitonov of the USSR. He went on to serve as team manager of the Irish cycling team at the Seoul 1988 Olympics.