Athletics at the 1960 Summer Olympics
At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, 34 events in athletics were contested, 24 by men and 10 by women. There were a total number of 1016 participating athletes from 73 countries.
Medal summary
Men
Women
Medal table
Records broken
During the 1960 Summer Olympic Games, 28 new Olympic records and 4 new world records were set in the athletics events.Men's Olympic and world records
| Event | Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Result | OR | WR |
| 100 metres | August 31 | Final | Armin Hary | 10.2 s | OR | ||
| 200 metres | September 3 | Semi-Final | Livio Berruti | 20.5 s | OR | ||
| 400 metres | September 6 | Final | Otis Davis | 44.9 s | OR | WR | |
| 800 metres | September 2 | Final | Peter Snell | 1:46.3 | OR | ||
| 1,500 metres | September 6 | Final | Herb Elliott | 3:35.6 | OR | WR | |
| 10,000 metres | September 8 | Final | Pyotr Bolotnikov | 28:32.2 | OR | ||
| 4x400 metre relay | September 8 | Final | Jack Yerman Earl Young Glenn Davis Otis Davis | 3:02.2 | OR | WR | |
| 400 metre hurdles | September 2 | Final | Glenn Davis | 49.3 s | OR | ||
| 3,000 metre steeplechase | September 3 | Final | Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak | 8:34.2 | OR | ||
| Marathon | September 10 | Final | Abebe Bikila | 2:15:16.2 | OR | ||
| 50km walk | September 7 | Final | Don Thompson | 4:25:30.0 | OR | ||
| High jump | September 3 | Final | Robert Shavlakadze Valeriy Brumel | 2.16 m | OR | ||
| Long jump | September 2 | Final | Ralph Boston | 8.12 m | OR | ||
| Triple jump | September 6 | Final | Józef Szmidt | 16.81 m | OR | ||
| Pole vault | September 7 | Final | Don Bragg | 4.70 m | OR | ||
| Shot put | August 31 | Final | Bill Nieder | 19.68 m | OR | ||
| Hammer throw | September 3 | Final | Vasily Rudenkov | 67.10 m | OR | ||
| Decathlon | September 6 | Final | Rafer Johnson | 8,392 points | OR |
Women's Olympic and world records
| Event | Date | Round | Name | Nationality | Result | OR | WR |
| 100 metres | September 2 | Semi-Final | Wilma Rudolph | 11.3 s | OR | ||
| 200 metres | September 3 | First Round | Wilma Rudolph | 23.2 s | OR | ||
| 800 metres | September 7 | Final | Lyudmila Shevtsova | 2:04.03 | OR | ||
| 80 metre hurdles | August 31 | Semi-Final | Irina Press | 10.6 s | OR | ||
| 4x100 metre relay | September 7 | First Round | Martha Hudson Lucinda Williams Barbara Jones Wilma Rudolph | 44.4 s | OR | WR | |
| High jump | September 8 | Final | Iolanda Balaş | 1.85 m | OR | ||
| Long jump | August 31 | Final | Vera Krepkina | 6.37 m | OR | ||
| Discus throw | September 5 | Final | Nina Romashkova | 55.10 m | OR | ||
| Shot put | September 2 | Final | Tamara Press | 17.32 m | OR | ||
| Javelin throw | September 1 | Final | Elvīra Ozoliņa | 55.98 m | OR |