Rome 1960
25th Aug 1960 – 11th Sep 1960
About
Rome 1960 brought the Games to a city that had been awarded them in 1908 before the event was transferred to London.
The marathon was famously run along the Appian Way at night, won by the barefoot Ethiopian Abebe Bikila. Cassius Clay, eighteen years old, announced himself to the world by winning light-heavyweight boxing gold.
Ronnie Delany, Ireland's reigning Olympic 1500m champion from Melbourne 1956, carried the Irish flag at the Opening Ceremony and competed in defence of his title. Ireland fielded its largest ever Olympic boxing squad of ten, with several boxers winning bouts before losing to eventual medallists. George Carpenter competed in the fencing at the age of 51, the oldest competitor at the Games. Ireland competed across eight sports.
