800 metres, Men

For the first time at the Olympics, the event was run in lanes for the first 100 metres. The favorite was Belgium’s Roger Moens, who had set the world record for 800 with 1:45.7 back in 1955. Injury kept him out of the Melbourne Olympics, but he had been undefeated in 1960 entering the Roma Olympics. Jamaica’s George Kerr, runner-up at the 1959 Pan-American Games, was expected to be his biggest challenger. New Zealander Peter Snell qualified for the final in Roma, but was an unknown quantity with a mediocre PR of 1:49.2y prior to the Olympics. But he won the second semi-final after Kerr won the first. The pace in the final was set by Swiss Christian Wägli, who had three metres on the field at 400, run in 51.9. Moens was second at the bell, with Snell well back, and boxed in. On the final straight, Moens took the lead with Kerr threatening him. He looked around on the straight several times and when seeing that Kerr was beaten, he relaxed. But then Snell burst by him on the inside and Moens had no answer, Snell winning gold, Moens silver, and Kerr bronze. Though he was an unknown, within a few years, Snell would be considered the greatest middle distance runner in the world, and one of the greatest ever.