Opening Date 25 Aug 1960 Closing Date 11 Sep 1960 Country of the host city Italy

Candidate cities Lausanne (SUI), Detroit (USA), Budapest (HUN), Brussels (BEL), Mexico City (MEX) and Tokyo (JPN)

Information

A return to Europe saw the greatest distribution of medals among the sailing nations. For the first time since 1900, not country won more than one gold with 15 medals shared by 11 nations. Denmark finished with three, a gold and two silver; the USSR a gold and silver; the USA a gold and bronze. Belgian Andre Nelis won bronze in the Finn to add to the silver he'd won four years before. Timir Pinegin's gold in the Star was the USSR's first in sailing, his boat built by Skip Etchells in Old Greenwich Connecticut, USA.

Elvstrom won his third gold in the Finn and fourth successive gold; an achievement still without compare. Greece issued a stamp to commemorate Crown Prince Constantine's victory in the Dragons, settled with a fourth in the seventh and final race. It was his country's first-ever yachting medal and, remarkably the 20-year old prince had sailed the class only since February. His mother, Queen Fredericka, embraced her son at the close of the competition and then playfully pushed him into the water in front of King Paul. Constantine's grandfather had been one of those who worked tirelessly with de Coubertin to bring the modern Olympics to life.

Though Rome was host city, the sailing event took place in the south in the Bay of Naples. The 5.5-Metres were won by American George O'Day, a former Harvard football player, and later a famous boat maker. O'Day had won the US trials in an Einar Ohlson-designed boat but when she was destroyed by a runaway truck, her purchased Minotaur, designed by Ray Hunt, who was the father of his bowman. O'Day scored five 1sts and two 2nds. Peder Lunde Jr, scion of Norway's most famous family, won gold in the newly introduced Flying Dutchman two-man dinghy with Hans Fogh, then sailing for Denmark before his move to Canada, taking the silver.