As with all apparatus formats in 1960, this was a new format, with the all-around competition serving as a qualifying round for the final, with the top six performers advancing to the final round, where they again performed a compulsory and optional exercise to determine final placements. The event was won by Japan’s Nobuyuki Aihara, followed by Soviet Yury Titov. The bronze medal went to Italy’s Franco Menichelli, one of only two men’s individual gymnastics medals won by Italy in 1960, the other going to Giovanni Carminucci, who won a silver on the parallel bars. Menichelli would return in 1964 and win the gold medal in this event.