Athletics at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Men's decathlon explained

Event:	Men's decathlon
Games:	1960 Summer
Venue:	Stadio Olimpico
Dates:	5–6 September
Competitors:	30
Nations:	20
Longnames:	yes
Win Value:	8392
Win Label:	Winning points
Gold:	Rafer Johnson
Goldnoc:	USA
Silver:	Yang Chuan-kwang
Silvernoc:	ROC
Bronze:	Vasili Kuznetsov
Bronzenoc:	URS
Prev:	1956
Next:	1964

The men's decathlon at the 1960 Summer Olympics took place between 5 September and 6 September at the Stadio Olimpico.^[1]

Summary

Despite the presence of previous world record holder Vasili Kuznetsov, the competition quickly became a battle between UCLA training partners Rafer Johnson and Yang Chuan-kwang, known as C.K. Yang. After two years of training together under "Ducky" Drake, each knew the other's abilities.

Yang's abilities lay in the speed events, building an almost 90 point lead in the first two events (100m and long jump). Johnson was superior in the throwing events. At the end of the first day, Johnson had a 55-point advantage.

The second day began with Yang speeding to a 180-point advantage in the 110 hurdles. Johnson countered with a 270-point gain in the Discus. Yang continued to dominate in the pole vault but Johnson set a personal record in the event, minimizing Yang's gain. Yang followed that by staying close to Johnson in the javelin, leaving the final event, Yang's best event, the 1500m to decide the competition. Both knew Yang would need to defeat Johnson by 10 seconds to win. Johnson did not break, finishing a mere 1.2 seconds behind Yang to claim the gold medal.^[2] Yang beat Johnson in seven of the ten events, but Johnson beat Yang by significant margins in the shot put and discus to win. The two warmly congratulated each other after the conclusion of the event and waved to the crowd.

Records

Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows:

Results

100m

Rank	Time	Points
1	10.7	1034
2	10.8	990
3	10.9	948
4	11.1	870
4	11.1	870
4	11.1	870
5	11.2	834
6	11.3	800
6	11.3	800
6	11.3	800
6	11.3	800
7	11.4	768
7	11.4	768
7	11.4	768
7	11.4	768
8	11.5	737
8	11.5	737
8	11.5	737
8	11.5	737
8	11.5	737
9	11.6	707
9	11.6	707
9	11.6	707
9	11.6	707
10	11.7	638
11	11.8	650
11	11.8	650
12	12.0	597
12	12.0	597

Long jump

Rank	1	2	3	Mark	Points
1	7.46	7.13	7.37	7.46	950
2	7.21	6.92	7.35	7.35	906
3	7.21			7.21	856
4	6.95	7.14		7.14	932
5	7.12	7.09	6.70	7.12	825
6	6.95	6.86	6.96	6.96	773
7	6.58	6.94		6.94	767
7	6.94	6.65	6.74	6.94	767
8	6.60	6.93	6.84	6.93	764
8	6.47	6.93		6.93	764
8	6.71	6.93		6.93	764
8	6.71	6.93	6.64	6.93	764
8		6.47	6.93	6.93	764
8	6.93			6.93	764
9	6.37	6.78	6.91	6.91	758
10	6.77	5.78	6.88	6.88	749
11	6.57	6.51	6.43	6.57	746
11	6.87			6.87	746
12	6.15	6.55	6.81	6.81	728
13	6.79		7.37	6.79	722
14	6.50	6.73		6.73	704
15	6.63	6.69	6.67	6.69	692
16	6.09	6.62		6.62	672
17	6.05	6.51	6.54	6.54	651
18		6.16	6.39	6.39	610
19	6.21	6.14	6.32	6.32	592
20	6.03	6.23	6.22	6.23	570
21			6.20	6.20	562
22	5.92		5.65	5.92	493
23				NM	0

Shot put

Rank	1	2	3	Mark	Points
1	14.55	15.82	15.26	15.82	976
2	14.29		14.96	14.96	872
3	14.55		-	14.55	827
4	14.41	14.46		14.46	817
5	14.18		13.11	14.18	788
6	14.10	13.77	13.82	14.10	780
7	12.51	13.97	13.83	13.97	767
8	13.49	13.89	13.80	13.89	759
9	13.76	13.57	13.71	13.76	746
10	13.68	13.25	13.34	13.68	738
11	13.59	13.54	13.10	13.59	729
12		13.58	13.36	13.58	728
13	12.93	13.42	13.24	13.42	712
14	12.42	13.33		13.33	703
15	12.55	13.22	13.21	13.22	692
16	13.19	12.84	11.20	13.19	689
17	12.68	13.10		13.10	681
18	13.32	12.21	12.74	13.32	648
19	12.24	11.86	12.65	12.65	640
20		11.75	12.42	12.42	619
21		12.30	8.27	12.30	609
22	12.06	11.74	11.79	12.06	587
23	10.83	12.03	11.45	12.03	584
24	11.11	11.49	11.78	11.78	562
25	10.68	11.38	11.44	11.44	535
26	11.35	11.24	10.57	11.35	528
27	10.26	10.77	11.77	11.77	505
28	10.65	10.85	10.67	10.85	488
29		9.74	10.59	10.59	467
30	9.20	9.49	9.71	9.71	406

High jump

Rank	Mark	Points
1	1.90	900
1	1.90	900
2	1.85	832
2	1.85	832
2	1.85	832
3	1.83	806
3	1.83	806
3	1.83	806
3	1.83	806
4	1.80	770
4	1.80	770
4	1.80	770
4	1.80	770
4	1.80	770
4	1.80	770
5	1.75	711
5	1.75	711
5	1.75	711
5	1.75	711
5	1.75	711
6	1.73	689
6	1.73	689
6	1.73	689
7	1.70	656
7	1.70	656
7	1.70	656
8	1.65	605
8	1.65	605
8	1.65	605
-	-	-

400m

Rank	Time	Points
1	48.0	1015
2	48.1	1005
3	48.3	985
4	49.5	884
5	50.0	844
6	50.2	828
7	50.5	807
7	50.5	807
7	50.5	807
7	50.5	807
8	50.7	793
9	51.0	772
10	51.1	765
10	51.1	765
11	51.2	758
12	51.3	751
12	51.3	751
13	51.8	716
13	51.8	716
14	52.0	702
15	52.2	690
16	53.0	642
17	53.2	630
18	53.6	606
19	53.9	588
20	54.1	576
21	54.3	565
-	-	Retired
-	-	Retired

110m hurdles

Rank	Time	Points
1	14.6	923
2	14.7	894
3	14.9	840
4	15.0	813
5	15.3	740
5	15.3	740
5	15.3	740
6	15.5	694
7	15.6	673
7	15.6	673
8	15.7	652
8	15.7	652
8	15.7	652
9	15.8	632
10	15.9	612
11	16.0	593
12	16.1	575
13	16.2	557
14	16.4	523
15	16.9	443
15	16.9	443
16	17.1	413
17	17.3	385
18	18.1	283
18	18.1	283
19	18.4	250
-	-	Did not start

Discus throw

Rank	1	2	3	Mark	Points
1	44.34	45.05	50.52	50.52	972
2	48.98	47.94	49.58	49.58	935
3	44.54	48.24	48.49	48.49	894
4	43.27	42.93	45.67	45.67	797
5	45.48	44.22	45.63	45.63	795
6	44.93	43.32	44.37	44.93	773
7		42.52	44.31	44.31	753
8	31.33	40.77		40.77	648
9	36.30	38.25	40.49	40.49	640
10	38.59	28.98	40.12	40.12	630
11	39.83	37.91	36.59	39.83	622
12	38.78	39.50	36.87	39.50	612
13	39.18	39.09	38.07	39.18	603
14	36.92	37.95	39.08	39.08	601
15		37.94		37.94	571
16	37.87	36.47	35.18	37.87	569
17		37.02	37.69	37.69	564
18		31.24	37.66	37.66	563
19	34.14	36.61	37.55	37.55	561
20	34.33	37.35	36.67	37.35	555
21	35.54	34.40	37.03	37.03	547
22	33.07	34.14	34.68	34.68	487
23	34.06	33.98	34.28	34.28	477
24		34.12		34.12	473
25	31.79	30.63	30.94	31.79	418
-	-	-	-	DNP	-

Pole vault

Rank	Mark	Points
1	4.30	915
2	4.20	855
3	4.10	795
3	4.10	795
4	4.00	745
5	3.90	695
5	3.90	695
6	3.80	645
6	3.80	645
6	3.80	645
7	3.70	596
7	3.70	596
8	3.60	556
8	3.60	556
8	3.60	556
9	3.50	516
10	3.40	476
11	3.30	438
11	3.30	438
11	3.30	438
11	3.30	438
12	3.20	400
12	3.20	400
13	NM	0
-	-	Retired

Javelin throw

Rank	1	2	3	Mark	Points
1	71.44	62.88	70.03	71.44	1031
2	71.20	61.62	62.12	71.20	1024
3	69.76	67.04	63.90	69.76	980
4	65.90	68.22	65.11	68.22	937
5	57.70	59.54	65.30	65.30	858
6	63.63	58.78	-	63.63	817
7	55.81	61.44	55.31	61.44	764
8	58.48		60.81	60.81	750
9	60.50	59.93	56.37	60.50	743
10	49.23	59.86	58.46	59.86	729
11	45.40	57.49	49.91	57.49	677
12	56.69	54.20	57.45	57.45	676
13	50.74	55.74	50.64	55.74	641
14	48.39	50.94	52.61	52.61	578
15	51.74			51.74	561
16	51.15			51.15	549
17	50.38	50.66	50.55	50.66	540
18	50.40	45.66	50.20	50.40	536
19	48.60	48.09	-	48.60	503
20	47.33	46.74	-	47.33	480
21	42.57	42.81	44.71	44.71	434
22	38.99	42.62	43.36	43.36	411
23		38.44		38.44	330
-	-	-	-	-	Retired

1500m

Rank	Time	Points
1	4:22.8	582
2	4:23.3	575
3	4:27.0	536
4	4:27.6	530
5	4:27.7	528
6	4:30.6	500
7	4:37.7	434
8	4:40.0	414
9	4:40.6	409
10	4:43.6	384
11	4:44.2	379
12	4:48.5	345
13	4:49.2	340
14	4:49.3	339
15	4:49.7	336
16	4:53.8	306
17	4:55.0	297
18	4:55.4	294
19	4:57.5	279
20	4:59.6	265
21	5:04.8	231
22	5:21.4	137
23	5:25.2	116

Final standings

The best scores in each event are highlighted in yellow. These scores were split between six competitors, with the gold medallist Rafer Johnson achieving the best result in the shot put by 104 points.

Pos	100m	Long jump	Shot put	High jump	400m	110m hurdles	Discus throw	Pole vault	Javelin throw	1500m	Total points
	10.9 948	7.35 906	15.82 976	1.85 832	48.3 985	15.3 740	48.49 894	4.10 795	69.76 980	4:49.7 336	8392 (OR)
	10.7 1034	7.46 950	13.33 703	1.90 900	48.1 1005	14.6 923	39.83 622	4.30 915	68.22 937	4:48.5 345	8334
	11.1 870	6.96 773	14.46 817	1.75 711	50.2 828	15.0 813	50.52 972	3.90 695	71.20 1024	4:53.8 306	7809
4	11.4 768	6.93 764	13.97 767	1.80 770	51.1 765	15.6 673	45.63 795	4.20 855	71.44 1031	4:44.2 379	7567
5	11.3 800	7.21 856	13.76 746	1.80 770	51.1 765	14.9 840	44.31 753	3.80 645	57.49 677	4:43.6 384	7236
6	11.4 768	6.69 692	13.89 759	1.80 770	51.1 765	14.7 894	49.58 935	3.80 645	55.74 641	4:49.2 340	7195
7	11.5 737	6.93 764	14.55 827	1.75 711	50.5 807	15.9 612	44.93 773	3.60 556	60.50 743	4:22.8 582	7112
8	10.8 990	6.93 764	12.42 619	1.73 689	48.0 1015	16.9 443	40.12 630	3.70 596	60.81 750	4:27.0 536	7032
9	11.6 707	6.91 758	12.30 609	1.80 770	51.0 772	15.7 652	37.66 563	4.10 795	65.30 858	4:37.7 434	6918
10	11.4 768	6.79 722	12.03 584	1.85 832	50.5 807	16.1 575	37.69 564	3.90 695	63.63 817	4:27.6 530	6894
11	11.3 800	6.94 767	11.78 562	1.70 656	50.0 844	15.3 740	37.03 547	4.00 745	52.61 578	4:27.7 528	6767
12	11.1 870	6.94 767	14.96 872	1.83 806	51.8 716	15.6 673	37.94 571	3.50 516	59.86 729	5:04.8 231	6751
13	11.8 650	6.73 704	14.18 788	1.80 770	54.3 565	15.7 652	45.67 797	3.60 556	48.60 503	4:55.4 294	6283
14	11.8 650	6.93 764	13.58 728	1.75 711	51.8 716	16.2 657	39.50 612	3.30 438	57.45 676	4:40.6 409	6261
15	11.3 800	6.93 764	13.76 746	1.83 806	51.2 758	15.7 652	39.08 601	3.30 438	51.74 561	5:21.4 137	6206
16	11.3 800		13.68 738	1.83 806	49.5 884	16.0 593	39.18 603	3.70 596	47.33 480	4:30.6 500	6000
17	11.5 737	7.14 932	11.77 505	1.80 770	51.3 751	15.8 632	31.79 418	3.20 400	38.44 330	4:23.3 575	5950
18	11.5 737	6.62 672	11.44 535	1.75 711	50.5 807	15.5 694	34.28 477	3.30 438	44.71 434	4:40.0 414	5919
19	11.6 707	6.88 749	12.65 640	1.65 605	53.2 630	17.1 413	40.49 640	3.30 438	61.44 764	4:57.5 279	5865
20	11.1 870	6.81 728	13.42 712	1.75 711	54.1 576	16.9 443	40.77 648	3.20 400	51.15 549	5:25.2 116	5753
21	11.3 800	6.20 562	10.59 467	1.65 605	50.5 807	17.3 385	37.55 561	3.40 476	43.36 411	4:49.3 339	5413
22	12.0 597	5.92 493	13.32 648	1.70 656	53.0 642	18.4 250	37.35 555	3.60 556	50.40 536	4:59.6 265	5198
23	11.7 638	6.23 570	12.06 587	1.73 689	53.6 606	18.1 283	34.68 487	NM	50.66 540	4:55.0 297	4737
Did not finish
	11.6 707	7.12 825	13.22 692	1.85 832	50.7 793	15.3 740	37.87 569	3.80 645	-	-	5803
	11.5 737	6.57 746	14.10 780	1.83 806	52.2 690	18.1 283	34.12 473	-	-	-	4515
	11.6 707	6.87 746	11.35 528	1.90 900	52.0 702	16.4 523	-	-	-	-	4106
	11.2 834	6.93 764	13.10 681	1.70 656	53.9 588	-	-	-	-	-	3523
	11.5 737	6.54 651	9.71 406	1.73 689	-	-	-	-	-	-	2483
	12.0 597	6.32 592	10.85 488	1.65 605	-	-	-	-	-	-	2282
	11.4 768	6.39 610	13.59 729	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2107

External links

Notes and References

Web site: Athletics at the 1960 Rome Summer Games: Men's Decathlon . https://web.archive.org/web/20200417175447/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1960/ATH/mens-decathlon.html . dead . 17 April 2020 . 25 January 2018 . sports-reference.com.
Web site: 1960 Olympic Decathlon: A Duel for the Ages | Sports then and Now. 6 December 2009.