For the 17th Olympiad held in Rome in 1960, the Italians imbued the Games with an ancient feel by holding certain events at historical sites throughout the city.

The continued success of a number of athletes at the Games also gave audiences a sense of old times as Denmark's Paul Elystrom won the single-handed dinghy event for the fourth straight time, Aladar Gerevich of Hungary garnered his sixth straight gold in the sabre team competition, and Gert Fredriksson of Sweden paddled his way to his sixth career gold in canoeing.

For all its connections with the past, however, one thing about the Games was decidedly different from any other Olympics held previously. The Rome Games featured the first African medal winner in Ghanaian boxer Clement Quartey, who earned a silver medal in the sport's light-welterweight division, and the first African gold medal winner in Ethiopian runner Abebe Bikila, who won the marathon five days after Quartey's conquest in the ring. The U.S.S.R. earned its second consecutive victory in the medal count, winning 103-71 over the U.S.