100 metres, Men

Going into the 1960 Olympics, the sprint favorite for both races was American Ray Norton, who had won the 100 and 200 at the Olympic Trials, and had an outstanding series of marks throughout the year. The other top American was Dave Sime, whose best year was 1956, but an injury kept him off the Olympic team. They were joined by Villanova’s Frank Budd and it was expected that the 100 gold medal would remain in American hands. But there was a European threat. Germany’s Armin Hary had won the 1958 European Championships, and was known for his outstanding starts. In June 1960 he became the first man to run 100 metres in 10 seconds flat. That mark was equaled in July by Canada’s Harry Jerome. Jerome did not get thru the Olympic semi-finals, but Hary, Sime, Budd, and Norton did, joined in the final by Britain’s Peter Radford and Cuba’s Enrique Figuerola. In the final, Hary false started but despite this, he again got off to a superb start. He led throughout the race, but Sime closed quickly, after trailing badly at 50 metres. But he could not quite catch Hary, who won the gold medal with Sime in second, and Peter Radford winning the bronze medal. Ray Norton came in last in the final and the Roma Olympics were not kind to him. He also finished last in the 200 final, and in the 4x100 metre relay, he and Frank Budd passed the baton out of the zone, leading to a USA disqualification.