P 2600 years have passed since Rome conquered Greece, and now Olympic Games take place in Rome. Thus, in the camp of the victor, the eternal hymn to culture, defeated yesterday and triumphant today, was sung.

C The grand opening ceremony of the Games took place on August 25, 1960 at the Foro Italico stadium. On the eve of St. Peter's Square in Rome, in front of a huge majestic cathedral, an exceptional spectacle unfolded. Thousands of athletes of all races and colors, atheists and adherents of various religions, some out of curiosity, some sincerely believing, came for the blessing of the pope. And the pope blessed these Games, once destroyed by the church for their pagan character. Truly the paths of history are difficult and confusing! For the first time, the West Indies Federation, Morocco, San Marino, Sudan, Tunisia were represented at the Games. At the XVII Olympic Games, 74 Olympic records were set, of which 27 exceeded the world records.

Athletes of the USSR, who competed in all types of the program, except for football and field hockey, retained the lead in the overall unofficial team standings, gaining 682.5 points. The runner-up team from the United States of America was more than 200 points behind. Soviet athletes won 103 medals - 43 gold, 29 silver and 31 bronze. The best sportsman The Roman Olympics was recognized as the strongest man on the planet, the Soviet weightlifter, who set Olympic records for heavyweight athletes in all three movements and in the amount of classical triathlon. In the clean and jerk and all-around, his records were at the same time world records.

The harmonious development of Yuri Vlasov, his versatile talent attracted the closest attention to him, making him a favorite sports hero for many. During his performances, Vlasov set several dozen records. But for sports fans, he was and remains the Olympic champion, the triumphant of Rome, the strongest man on the planet, who opened the way to this title for both Leonid Zhabotinsky and Vasily Alekseev. Vlasov is the most ordinary person, and it was this quality that distinguished him from his heavyweight colleagues. Vlasov, this truly Russian hero, but by no means a "superman", jumped over a horse completely freely during training. Moreover, while still studying at the Suvorov School, Yuri studied athletics, swimming, chess, boxing, wrestling, gymnastics, played everything sport games. And in almost all these sports he had sports ranks. Doesn't this speak of versatility and harmonious development human? And millions of people all over the world fell in love with him, not only because he lifted fantastic weights at that time, but above all because everyone saw in him the personification of the athlete of the future: a man of great physical strength and powerful intellect, a beautifully built and highly intelligent person. .

After graduating from college, Vlasov entered the academy, where he began to seriously engage in weightlifting. But let's give the floor to Yuri Petrovich himself: - I grew up in the Suvorov military school, among strong and healthy boys. Strength and prowess were especially valued and respected by us. We gradually engaged in wrestling, boxing, athletics. All together - book characters, the desire to move, fight, win - gave rise to a love for sports in us. Therefore, when I graduated from college and entered the first year of the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy, I no longer thought of myself outside of sports. And if a blind chance led me to the kettlebell gym, then it was no longer a chance that made me fall in love with this seemingly uninteresting and truly difficult sport.

It took only three and a half years for Vlasov to become one of the strongest weightlifters in the country. In the spring of 1957, he improved the USSR record in the clean and jerk, then in the snatch. Two years later, at the championship of the Armed Forces in Leningrad, he sets his first world record: he lifts 196.5 kilograms in the clean and jerk! In the same year he becomes the world and European champion, in May of the sixtieth, Olympic year wins the championship of the continent in Milan, and, finally, the road led him to the Eternal City.

Rome. Foro Italico Stadium. Opening ceremony of the XVII Olympic Games. Ahead of the Soviet delegation is a tall athlete. He carefully carries a huge red cloth - the flag of the Land of the Soviets. This is Yuri Vlasov. It was he who was entrusted with the high honor of carrying the Soviet flag across Olympic Stadium. The agonizing days of waiting dragged on. Only on the fourteenth day of the Games weightlifters entered the fight. And the heavyweights, among them Yuri Vlasov, waited another three days.

And here is September 10th. The Olympic village is half empty. The games are almost over. A huge crowd of spectators is only at the Palazzeto dello Sport, where weightlifters compete. Competitions are held at night, so, in addition to the struggle with pre-start excitement, we also have to deal with drowsiness. It is somehow unusual to lift a heavy barbell at two or three in the morning, usually at this time you already see the tenth dream. And in the hall, many spectators are dozing. They are transformed only when either a weightlifter in a red tights - Yuri Vlasov, or one of the athletes in a white tights - American black James Bradford and Norbert Shemansky enters the platform. The whole struggle of the heavyweights on the platform came down to the duel of these three giants. The rest faded into the background.

On September 10, all the evening Roman newspapers came out with large headlines: “A battle of colossi is coming in the Palazzeto dello Sport.” And everyone was looking forward to this battle. kg less. When a year later the Negro athlete arrived in Moscow and came home to Yuri Vlasov, they, of course, remembered the Roman duel. squeezed and 185, - answered Vlasov, - and, I must admit, the result of 180 kilograms, on the one hand, made me happy, because he was not inferior to yours, but on the other hand, made me worry. I thought: "What if in every movement I will Lose 5 kilos?

In the second movement - snatch - all three favorites lift 150 kg. In the second approach, Vlasov asks to add another 5 kg and calmly raises the barbell. And now he is ahead by 5 kg. But this is too small a gap to be complacent. And those one and a half hours that separated the jerk from the third movement - the push - Yuri was very worried. A year later, sitting in the Moscow apartment of Yuri Vlasov, Bradford admitted: - Oddly enough, but after the bench press and the snatch, I laid down my arms. I realized that, without a reserve, to fight further against Vlasov in the clean and jerk is a utopia. All I needed now was second place. I decided to push just as much as necessary so that Shemansky wouldn't pass me. The five hours of fighting were extremely exhausting. I was thrown into sweat several times, and you saw me in a strange dress - wrapped in a warm blanket. - Yes, it puzzled me, - Yuri answered. - On the contrary, I was drawn to the fresh air.
Fatigue and confidence in second place only set me up for 182.5kg in clean and jerk. And you pushed 20 kg more! I was happy that I was present at the greatest moment in the history of the sport and that my opponent and friend lifted a gigantic weight.

It was truly the greatest moment in the history of the sport. When Bradford pushed 182.5 kg and left the platform, Vlasov was left alone. All participants have already finished the competition, and he fought alone. However, he still had one opponent. It was Paul Anderson, or rather, not himself, but his records. The official world record in triathlon, owned by an American, was 512.5 kg, but in domestic competitions in Texas, Anderson lifted a total of 533 kg in classic triathlon.

It was with this opponent that Vlasov had to fight. First he pushes 185 kg. There is a new world record in triathlon - 520 kg! Vlasov asks to install 10 kg more on the bar - 195. And just like that, without visible effort, he deals with this huge weight. Another world record - 530 kg! There remains a third attempt. And Vlasov claims 202.5 kg. What's going on in the hall! An avalanche of applause, enthusiastic shouts, strangers hugging, kissing ... When a Soviet athlete appears on the platform, silence instantly falls in the hall. “I am slowly gathering my strength,” says Vlasov. “I carefully rub my neck and chest with magnesia so that the heavy bar does not slip off. How quiet it is. So quiet that, it seems, you can hear in the tenth row how my heart beats anxiously, how my lungs inhale the hot, stuffy air. Rosin crunches deafeningly underfoot. And then everything moves away somewhere far away. Now the whole world has narrowed for me to the size of a barbell lying motionless on the platform. Well... The projectile, hanging in the air for a moment, falls on my chest. Another effort ... I get up, staggering slightly under the record weight of the bar. A few seconds pass. It's time! The bar breaks away from the chest on which it rested, and begins its upward movement. All this happens in a fraction of a second. Automatically, without control of consciousness, hands instantly pick it up, hold it ... And suddenly, from somewhere far away, it grows louder and louder, a many-voiced one falls: "A-a-u-u!" Because of the noise, I can’t hear the command of the fixing judge, the American Terpak. But I see his desperate go-ahead. The bar can be lowered. At that moment, when she falls on the floor, bending the boards, three white bulbs flash above me at once. The attempt was counted by the judges unanimously. And here it is approved by the audience. The hall roars with delight. And for me now there is no more beautiful music than this roar ... Listening to it, I get drunk, peer into people's faces. First, second, third rows ... And beyond the sea of ​​raised hands, nothing is visible. And suddenly, unexpectedly pushing everyone aside, a man deftly jumped onto the stage, and other spectators rushed after him. Many hands reach out to me, squeeze, push. People I don't know kiss and hug me. A dream in reality! Intoxicated with irrepressible joy, I suddenly take off into the air, and then I fly down, just like in a dream. No, this is not a dream. These are people from different countries rejoicing at my victory. They picked me up in their arms and carried me out of the hall...

He was carried out of the hall in his arms, like a Roman triumphant. For a long time people chanted the name of the winner and congratulated each other on the birth of a phenomenal world record. "Tsar-record" Anderson fell. After the end of the competition at a press conference, Vice President International Federation Weightlifting Finn Bruno Nyberg said: - It was the most fantastic Olympic Games I have ever seen. No one has ever achieved such an advantage as the Soviet weightlifters. The young weightlifting professor Vlasov is amazing. His polished technique crowns phenomenal power. For some, the result of Vlasov is a disaster. It's no secret that many heavyweight lifters are a bit obese and awkward. We in Finland call Vlasov a real athlete, not a cutlet. He is elegant, amazingly complex, his performance is a joy for everyone.

In addition to Vlasov, five more Soviet weightlifters returned home with Olympic medals. Moskvich Evgeny Minaev, Alexander Kurynov from Kazan, Gorky Victor Bushuev And Arkady Vorobyov from Sverdlovsk won gold medals, and a Muscovite Trofim Lomakin- silver.

Soviet gymnasts performed excellently in Rome. By a wide margin, they won the team championship, and lost only one in the individual gold medal Czechoslovakian gymnast Eva Bosakova in beam exercises.
All other medals - gold, silver, and bronze - Russian athletes shared among themselves. She became the absolute champion of the Games, as at last Olympics, the second in the all-around was a Muscovite Sofia Muratova, the third - from Kiev Polina Astakhova. vault won Margarita Nikolaeva from Odessa, exercises on uneven bars - Polina Astakhova, floor exercises -. After the award ceremony, Latynina was surrounded by journalists, questions poured in. Someone asked: - What are your plans for the future?
In the eyes of Larisa, crafty lights flashed: - It would be nice to become ... the absolute champion of the Union.
Yes, the two-time absolute champion of the Olympic Games, the two-time winner of the world championships in the all-around never managed to become the number one gymnast in her country. Sofya Muratova, then Tamara Manina, then Lidia Kalinina, then Polina Astakhova were ahead of her ... But the dream of the heroine of Melbourne and Rome came true. A year after the Roman interview, Larisa Latynina became the absolute champion of the country. True, she had to share this title with Tamara Lyukhina.

Boris Shakhlin, a wonderful Soviet athlete from Kiev, also became the absolute champion of the Gymnastics Games. He alone won more medals than the entire French Olympic delegation - four gold, two silver and one bronze. Exercises on the rings were won by Albert Azaryan from Yerevan. The strongest men's team was the gymnastic squad of Japan.

Athletes Soviet Union for the first time in terms of the number of points in the unofficial team standings, they surpassed the US athletes. Muscovites got gold medals Petr Bolotnikov in the 10,000 meters run, Vladimir Golubnichy from the Ukrainian city of Sumy - walking for 20 kilometers, Tbilisi Robert Shavlakadze, who violated the hegemony of the Americans in the high jump, a resident of Kiev Viktor Tsibulenko- in javelin throw and Muscovite Vasily Rudenkov- in hammer throwing.

New Zealand athlete Murray Halberg was sixteen years old when, while playing rugby, he suffered a severe injury that caused partial paralysis. Doctors suffered a lot to pull him out of the tenacious embrace of death. Halberg was rescued, but his withered left hand became someone else's forever. It was impossible to play sports. However, Halberg did not give up, directing all his efforts, all his energy to remain a full-fledged person, so as not to part with the sport.

With furious tenacity, Murray Halberg trained on the cinder track. And he achieved good results in running. At the 1956 Olympics, Halberg reached the 1.5-kilometer final and placed eleventh. But he dreamed of an Olympic medal, which was supposed to mark his complete victory over the disease.

At the Games in Rome, Halberg decided to compete in the five-kilometer distance. He became a champion of a new tactic: he tried to stun his rivals with a stormy spurt three laps to go, break away from them, and then, having given everything, make it to the finish line. In the final race, when 3700 meters were behind, Halberg was the last. And then he made an unprecedented breakthrough, leaving behind the leading group of runners. Halberg raced as if his life depended on it.

Gradually, he began to slow down, his strength was running out. Stayer from the GDR Hans Grodotsky caught up with Halberg. But he did not manage to catch up with him to the finish line. With a margin of seven or eight meters, the twenty-seven-year-old teacher from Auckland crossed the finish line and sank exhausted onto the grass. He did win the gold Olympic medal, which became his reward not only for great sportsmanship, but also for unprecedented perseverance in the fight against a serious illness.

Women won six gold medals out of ten Soviet athletes. The best were: Ludmila Shevtsova from Dnepropetrovsk - in the 800 meters race, a distance included in the Olympic program after a thirty-two-year break; Leningradka Irina Press- in the 80m hurdles and her sister Tamara- in shot put; from Kiev Vera Krepkina- long jump Muscovite Nina Ponomareva- in the discus throw (it was her second Olympic gold medal); Leningradka Elvira Ozolina- in javelin throwing. All Soviet athletes - winners of the Roman Olympics in athletics set new Olympic records.

Among women at the Games in Rome, there was no more popular athlete than a black runner. She won both the 100m and 200m sprints by a wide margin. Wilma won her third gold medal in the 4 x 100 meters relay. "Perhaps the most amazing, sensational event of the XVII Olympic Games in Rome was the run of a Negro girl who was paralyzed until the age of eight and grew up in a large family. All this needs to be known in order to understand what a triumph this girl's brilliant victory over her rivals was who had superiority over her in property status, education and social opportunities "- this is how the famous West German writer Rudolf Hagelstange wrote about Wilma Rudolph.

The Black Gazelle, as Wilma was dubbed by journalists, literally conquered Rome, and when she visited Sweden, the Swedish newspapers stated: "Overnight the country fell in love with her". "Black Gazelle" fascinated everyone who saw her both on the track and outside the stadium.

As a child, she ran very fast, overtaking all the boys in her neighborhood, and someone advised her to take up athletics. She immediately agreed. After a few years of study came a tremendous success in Rome. At the hundred meters Wilma showed the result of 11.0 seconds. Englishwoman D. Hyman, who came running second, managed to show only 11.3 seconds. An even greater gap was at a distance of 200 meters. Wilma Rudolf finished her run brilliantly in 24.0 seconds, and J. Heine from Germany, the silver medalist, was at the finish line in just 0.4 seconds.

Wilma won her third gold medal in the 4 x 100 meters relay. Largely thanks to her efforts, the American relay team was able to set a new world record.

After the Olympics, Wilma, returning home, went to college, and after graduating from it, she began to teach black children in her town of Clarksville.

It has become a tradition to see among the Olympic champions in cycling representatives of Italy, France, Belgium, Holland. Therefore, the real sensation in Rome was made by the Soviet racer, who broke this tradition.
In the north of Rome, three kilometers from Foro Italico and from the Olympic village, a group cycling track was laid. It passed through three narrow suburban streets - Flaminia, Grottarossa and Cassia. Since the longest leg of this triangle was Grottarossa Street, the entire ring was called the Grottarossa track. She was not only sinuous, but also a rather complex profile. Suffice it to say that the riders had to climb twelve times (a distance of 175 kilometers 380 meters long consisted of twelve laps) on a three-kilometer stretch, or rather, climb - you can’t pick another word - on a mountain whose height was more than a hundred meters. After a two-kilometer descent - again take off almost fifty meters up.

Before the start of the race, the main character of the newspaper pages was the weather. The heat was unbearable. The head of the French team, Robert Houbron, looked at the bright sun: - The competition threatens to turn into a knockout race - too hot!
There are 142 athletes from 42 countries at the start. And only the most persistent, strong and patient fighters, people of great tactical wisdom and unbridled impulse will be able to compete for the gold medal.
...More than 130 kilometers are already behind us. Here it is, finally, the apogee of the race. What happened, no one expected, no one could foresee. Viktor Kapitonov looked back at his rivals and suddenly rushed to the side of the road to cut off his pursuers. No one had time to react to his jerk, and he alone went ahead. Eight kilometers he walks alone. But suddenly his main competitor is Italian Livio Trape- got worried: after all, the gap is more than forty seconds.

Trape rushed after him. Victor was informed about this, and he slowed down: it is easier for two to go, and it is still far to the finish line, they will have time to settle scores. And as soon as the pair of leaders connected, they sharply increased their speed, and the gap separating them from the main group began to increase. As always in such cases, Kapitonov did not cheat, did not try to save his strength at the expense of another. Once it was decided to "work as an artel," then go to the full force. Moreover, he had enough strength.
The leaders had to go through the last ring to the finish line. And suddenly ... Victor, as he later told, about four hundred meters before the finish line began to hesitate. Is it the end of the race now or is there another lap to go? There was no time to think. And Kapitonov decides to go on the attack. Viktor rises in the saddle and begins the long finish spurt. Trape next. Only a few meters remain. Only at the very finish line, the Soviet athlete outperforms the Italian. Victor throws up his hands. Victory! He looks around happily. He sees the audience applauding him. And suddenly he meets the eyes of the head coach of the Soviet national team Leonid Sheleshnev. The coach with energetic gestures shows:
"Go-go!" - Wrong! Sheleshnev screams. - Another circle!

Kapitonov grabs the steering wheel and rushes forward again. All this happened within a few seconds. But the stands were in a daze and waited a long time for a radio message from a distance. Trape, also taken aback by surprise, lagged behind a little. But Kapitonov, on the rise of Kassa, waited for the Italian. And they went at high speed, honestly, taking turns cutting through the oncoming air with their chests, with their whole bodies. Sitting on the "wheel" is easier: he is already in a rarefied atmosphere. There was very little left before the finish line, and at the decisive moment Trape gave up the collective struggle. He tried to save his strength. Victor also decided not to come forward, to keep the most dangerous opponent in front of him in order to see all his maneuvers and deliver a counterattack in time. The Italian ace was nervous, offered the Russian to come forward, but he showed that it would be nice for the Italian to work. So they traded until the finish line was not even three hundred meters away. A cavalcade of cyclists appeared behind us. Now it was nerves. Whoever breaks first, he lost, because he himself will lead the opponent to a decisive breakthrough "from the wheel."

Trape was the first to fail, he made a breakthrough, trying to press his opponent to the audience. But Kapitonov, who was closely following him, is ahead of him and makes a powerful finishing throw. It was a truly masterful finish of a self-confident athlete, up to last second cold-bloodedly aware of what he was doing.

Both of them cried at the finish line - Viktor Kapitonov and Livio Trape. Victor had bright tears of joy in his eyes, while Livio was choked with bitter sobs. Directly from the track, one of the French journalists reported:
"With Kapitonov's victory, Russia enters through the front door into big international cycling."

The same words can be said about our horsemen. The first gold Olympic medal for the Soviet Union in equestrian sport was won by a Moscow officer Sergey Filatov. He was the best in the Olympic Grand Prix in dressage.

The rower Vyacheslav Ivanov repeated his Melbourne success - he won the gold medal in singles. In the coxswain rowing, Soviet rowers from Leningrad Valentin Boreiko and Oleg Golovanov were the first to finish the distance. Muscovite Antonina Seredina won two gold medals in kayaking. Our canoeists from Belarus Sergey Makarenko and Leonid Geyshtor won the 1000 meters race. The outstanding Swedish kayaker Gert Fredriksson received his sixth gold medal. It was his fourth Olympics. At the first, in 1948, he won two gold medals, in 1952 - one gold and one silver, in 1956 - two gold and in 1960 - one gold and one bronze.

Three gold medals were won by Soviet wrestlers classical style. Minsker became champions Oleg Karavaev, Tbilisi Avtandil Koridze and a resident of Kiev Ivan Bogdan.

For the first time in the Roman Olympic ring, the future world champion in professional boxing, one of the outstanding boxers of our time is an American Cassius Marsellus Clay. He won a medal in lightweight. Shortly after his victory in the Olympic ring, Cassius Clay turned pro. Four years later, he adopted the Islamic faith and his current name is Mohammed Ali.

Of the Soviet boxers, only Muscovite Oleg Grigoriev was the first in the bantamweight division.

Soviet fencers performed well. The women's and men's teams of foil fencers for the first time at the Olympics won victories. BUT personal tournament in rapier fencing was won by a student from Leningrad. In the final, he did not lose a single fight. But this does not mean that all the fights were very easy for him. He spent his penultimate meeting with an Englishman B. Hoskins. If Victor won, he got the gold medal ahead of schedule. The Leningrader was the first to inflict an injection. Then he brought the score to 2:0. And then he made a tactical mistake - he decided not to risk too much. The opponent immediately took advantage of this. Two attacks follow - and the score is 2:2.

The Italians are great lovers and experts in fencing. What was going on in the hall of the Roman Palace of Congresses, placed at the disposal of the masters of edged weapons! How passions raged! On the one hand, this Russian newcomer has already fallen in love with many. On the other hand, what fan does not expect a sensation, does not hope that the favorite will lose?

Opponents again exchange injections. At first, our athlete achieves success, then the Englishman. But there was nothing more Hoskins could do. Victor "pierces" the Englishman twice more and achieves victory.

Already in the rank of Olympic champion, he had another fundamental duel. Against him on the track was a two-time Olympic champion Christian d "Auriola. It was not only a dispute between the outgoing champion and the current champion. Representatives of two schools met: classical, French, and Soviet, who creatively reworked the achievements of the French, Italians, Hungarians - former trendsetters. Zhdanovich won this principled battle with a score of 5: 3.

Hungarian saber fencers, who have not lost a single Olympics since 1928, were the first this time. In the individual championship, the gold and silver medals also went to the Hungarians - Rudolf Karpathy And Zoltan Horvath.

Famous Italian swordsman Eduardo Mangiarotti put in his piggy bank a gold medal for winning the team championship in sword fencing and a silver medal in foil fencing. It was his fifth Olympics. In Rome, the outstanding fencer celebrated his quarter-century anniversary of active life in sports. Maestro Manjarotti is the owner of the largest collection of awards among fencers. In twenty-five years of performances on the fencing track, he won thirteen Olympic medals - six gold, five silver and two bronze - and twenty world championship medals, of which thirteen gold, five silver and two bronze.

Russian yachtsmen also won the first gold Olympic medal. In the Gulf of Naples, Muscovites were the best in the Zvezdny class Timir Pinegin And Fedor Shutkov. After four races, they had 1857 points of advantage. To become owners of a gold medal, it was enough for them to win at least one third place in one of the three remaining races. And in the fifth race they took third place.
The most pleasant thing for Pinegin, the helmsman of the Soviet yacht, was the assessment of his victory, which was given to him by the third prize-winner, the helmsman of the American "star" William Parke:
I don't want to put too much emphasis on luck, but Pinegin was in the right place at the right time.
It was said clearly and honestly. Pinegin really managed to be in the right place at the right time every time. And, of course, it's not about happiness. Pinegin won because for many years he went "against the wind", stubbornly fought against failures, bad luck and did not lose heart. He knew that his hour would come. And so, in the expanses of the Mediterranean Sea, Pinegin came in handy with the experience that he received in his youth, on a reservoir near Moscow, and later, when, together with his permanent sailor, he participated in international competitions. He spared neither time nor effort to unravel the speed of the Stars. And in the end, this painstaking work revealed to him the secret of the secret in the nature of the "stars", the secrets of which until recently only the Americans owned.

Swimming was dominated by Australian and US athletes. Both medals in women's diving were won by a remarkable athlete from the GDR, Ingrid Kremer. She took first place in ski jumping and platform jumping. Kremer competed as part of the United German Team. GDR athletes who played for the Unified Team won three gold, nine silver and seven bronze medals, more than many of the leading sports powers.

T The celebration of the closing of the XVII Olympic Games was solemn and memorable. Ninety thousand spectators who gathered at the Foro Italico greeted the flag bearers with the national flags of the countries participating in the Games with thunderous applause. Then the President of the IOC, Animals Brundage, takes the podium and makes a short traditional speech in Italian, declaring the XVII Olympiad closed. The military band, located on both sides of the bowl, where the Olympic flame burns, performs a solemn march. Ten trumpeters raise their fanfare. Sharp calls are heard, and the choir of the National Academy of Santa Zicilia sings the Olympic anthem. At this time, the flame of the Olympic flame, which burned for eighteen days and nights, begins to slowly fade away. With the last chords of the melody, it goes out completely, only to flare up again four years later as a symbol of peace and friendship between athletes from different countries, as a symbol of true camaraderie and noble wrestling.

It's evening. A white Olympic banner with five intertwined rings slowly slides down the flagpole. The roar of guns located on the slopes of Monte Mario is heard - these are five volleys of farewell salute.

The moment was exciting when athletes from all countries participating in the Games took to the field hand in hand. They walked embracing, greeting the audience, and this procession marked the great brotherhood of peoples, showed that the athletes of all countries, united Olympic Movement, won here in Rome, first of all, not titles and medals, but strong unbreakable friendship. As the Bulgarian newspaper "Narodna Mladez" wrote well:
"All participants in the Olympic Games won the most expensive medal for humanity. This medal is an atmosphere of camaraderie and friendship between young people of different races and countries, different political and social systems."

Slowly, as if unwillingly, the Olympic flame withered in the lamp. The spotlights went out. For a moment concrete bowl the stadium plunged into darkness. And suddenly a bright light flashed in the darkness. Then a second, a third, a fourth... Soon tens of thousands of small home-made torches were blazing over the stands. It was the spectators who burned newspapers, programs, specially brought with them paper. It seemed that this oscillating, sparkling sea of ​​lights flared up from the Olympic flame. In a single impulse, people rose from their seats and raised reddish flames high above their heads. The Olympic Games are over. But the Olympic flame, as if spilling from the bowl of the lamp over the stands of the stadium, continued to burn, warming the hearts of people, kindling the spirit of camaraderie in them.

City selection

Squaw Valley became the capital of the VIII Olympic Winter Games, largely because the American millionaire, on fire with the idea of ​​​​getting the biggest winter competition of four years, showed considerable perseverance and made every effort. In the 60s, Squaw Valley was a little-known humble ski resort with three lifts as the main attraction and one hotel with 50 beds. And Cushing was, in fact, the only permanent inhabitant of the town and its, one might say, the sole owner.

He actively joined the fight for the Olympics. He acted energetically and decisively, established ties with the right people, including in Olympic committees countries of South America, which, in general, had little interest in the Winter Olympics, and as a result achieved what they wanted. For the right to host the 1960 Winter Games, Squaw Valley won the popular European resorts of St. Moritz, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Innsbruck, which was considered the main favorite, in a two-round vote. The IOC was criticized mercilessly for this decision - firstly, because of the difficult climatic conditions - Squaw Valley is located at an altitude of 1889 meters above sea level - and the most difficult terrain of ski and ski slopes, and secondly, because of the terribly inconvenient location of the new Olympic capital, thirdly, for the almost complete lack of infrastructure. But the fact remains.

Preparing for the Games

We must pay tribute to Cushing: he tried his best. In Squaw Valley, an indoor winter stadium was built with a capacity of 11,000 spectators, next to it a 400-meter track was laid with artificial ice for speed skating competitions. For the first time, the Olympic village functioned.

It was also in Squaw Valley that the first computer-based information system was introduced, which greatly facilitated the conduct of the competition.

The main sports facility during the competitions in figure skating, ice hockey and speed skating at the VIII Winter Olympic Games was the arena built in Squaw Valley in 1959. This facility was a very beautiful modern multifunctional complex, designed for 8500 seats for spectators, but when the matches took place hockey tournament between the US and USSR teams, as well as between the US and Czechoslovakia, the number of spectators was about 10,000 people. The creators of this beautiful Olympic facility- Blyth Memorial Arena - won the 1958 architecture competition.

For the first time in the history of the modern Winter Games, the Olympic Village was built in Squaw Valley - a modern residential microdistrict, the basis of which was the Athletes Center (housing, stadiums, canteen and cafeterias, telegraph, post office, bank, sauna, theater halls, administrative offices, translation agency , information and medical centers, dry cleaning, hairdresser, beauty salon, shops, etc.). It was created as a single architectural complex located in close proximity to sports facilities. Four three-story hotels were built for housing (one of the hotels was equipped for accommodation of women participating in the Games), which accommodated official delegations from more than 30 participating countries (about 1200 people).

But the organizer of the Games in the Valley of the Indians (that's how it is translated from English name resort) did not consider it necessary to spend money on the construction of a bobsleigh track, so there were no bean races in Squaw Valley.

Games emblem

The emblem of the Games depicts 3 triangles, stylized as the American flag and the Olympic rings. The figures are made in a three-dimensional format and resemble a star or a snowflake in shape.

Official poster of the Games

Plot Olympic poster very simple - this is the emblem of the games in Squaw Valley against the backdrop of snow. Size 91 x 61 cm. Circulation of about 60,000 copies in 5 languages.

Sports

After 40 years, it returns to the main program, previously referred to as competitions ski patrols. As mentioned earlier, due to the lack of a track, he left the Games for the first time.

USSR at the 1960 Winter Games

The USSR team that competed at the 1960 Winter Olympics consisted of 62 athletes from 15 cities and towns of three union republics. Representatives of the national team of the Soviet Union participated in all types Olympic program, except for men's ski disciplines and single figure skating on skates. Athletes won 21 medals (7 gold, 5 silver and 9 bronze), winning by a wide margin in.

The Soviet team won gold medals in two sports - and, for the first time, were won Olympic awards in and (for bronze). The result of performances in speed skating- 6 gold medals - is the most successful for the USSR national team in this sport.

torch relay

During the VIII Winter Olympic Games in 1960, according to the established tradition, one of the rituals of the modern Olympic Games was performed - the torch relay.

The 1960 relay torch had a classic shape - a handle, a rim and a bowl on which the Olympic rings and the official emblem of the Games were engraved, as well as an inscription on English language: “VIII Winter Olympic Games. 1960", in the second line (on the lower frame of the bowl) - "Squaw Valley".

Before the start of the Games, unknown attackers tried to steal the Olympic flame by attacking the car that accompanied the relay. However, the main torch was not there, and the robbers took with them only a few spare torches, as well as a film on which the relay path was captured.

The opening ceremony

The magnificent opening ceremony took place on February 18, and organized it, like everyone else public events during the Olympics, the most famous figure in Hollywood Walt Disney. The musical accompaniment of the show was provided by a choir of 2,645 voices and 1,285 instruments. The program also included the launch of 2000 pigeons, and the Olympic fireworks, and a salvo of guns.

The right to light the Olympic flame was entrusted to the skater Kenneth Henry, in Oslo. The Games were opened by the 37th President of the United States Richard Nixon.

Closing ceremony

After the completion of the Games on February 28, 1960, a solemn closing ceremony took place. To the sounds of the “Olympians Parade” march, all the athletes participating in the Games entered the arena as a single team and passed by the stands, which were occupied by 20 thousand spectators, and the flag bearers of the participating teams formed a semicircle near the stands for honored guests. After that, the national anthems of Greece, the USA and Austria, the host country, were played.

IOC President Avery Brundage addressed with a welcoming speech to the representatives of the participating countries of the Games and the audience, and then announced the closing of the VIII Winter Olympic Games in 1960. The Olympic flag was lowered, and an honor guard of eight athletes solemnly carried it to the center of the arena, to the sounds of the “Solemn Ode”. Has been repaid olympic fire, and thousands of colorful balloons soared into the sky.

The 1960 Winter Olympics were the first to officially feature women. not counting - speed skating among women was then in the program of demonstration sports.

Twenty-four cities in nine US states took part in the philatelic promotion of the Squaw Valley Olympics. As for stamps, the US Post Office limited itself to only one miniature with a stylized image of a snowflake. But the postal departments of other countries issued 35 stamps, among them 5 stamps of the USSR.

Bells rang every day in Squaw Valley. He called the athletes and guests to the awards ceremony for the winners of the competition.

During the slalom competition, the judges were unable to record the passage of the gate by one of the skiers. The judges approached CBS-TV and asked them to show the tape. After that, the practice of video replays became the norm.

Soviet writer, author of the novel How the Steel Was Tempered. Both Ostrovsky's main novel, depicting the formation of a revolutionary, and the personality of the author (who wrote despite a serious illness, paralysis and blindness) in the Soviet Union were surrounded not only by an official cult, but also by sincere popularity and reverence by many readers. N.A. Ostrovsky was born in the village of Viliya, Ostrozhsky district, Volyn province (now Ostrozhsky district, Rivne region, Ukraine) in the family of a distillery worker Alexei Ivanovich Ostrovsky and a cook. He was admitted ahead of schedule to the parochial school “because of his outstanding abilities”; He graduated from school at the age of 9 (1913) with a certificate of merit. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to Shepetovka. There, Ostrovsky, since 1916, worked for hire: in the kitchen of a station restaurant, as a cube-maker, a worker in material warehouses, and as an assistant stoker at a power plant. At the same time he studied at a two-year, then higher primary school (1917-1919). He became close with the local Bolsheviks, during the German occupation he participated in underground activities, was a liaison officer of the Revolutionary Committee. July 20, 1919 joined the Komsomol, August 9 went to the front as a volunteer. He fought in the cavalry brigade of G.I. Kotovsky and in the 1st Cavalry Army. In August 1920 he was seriously wounded in the back near Lvov (shrapnel) and demobilized. Participated in the fight against the insurgent movement in the special forces (CHON). In 1921 he worked as an electrician's assistant in the Kiev main workshops, studied at the electrical engineering school, and at the same time was the secretary of the Komsomol organization. In 1922, he built a railway line for the delivery of firewood to Kyiv, while he caught a bad cold, then fell ill with typhus. After recovery, he was commissioner of the Vseobuch battalion in Berezdovo (in the region bordering Poland), was secretary of the Komsomol district committee in Berezdovo and Izyaslav, then secretary of the Komsomol district committee in Shepetovka (1924). In the same year he joined the CPSU (b). Ostrovsky's state of health was affected by injury and difficult working conditions. His joints hurt. The final diagnosis of N. Ostrovsky - Progressive ankylosing polyarthritis, gradual ossification of the joints. In the autumn of 1927, he began writing the autobiographical novel The Tale of the Kotovtsy, but six months later the manuscript was lost during shipment.


From the end of 1930, using the stencil he invented, he began to write the novel How the Steel Was Tempered. The manuscript sent to the journal "Young Guard" received a devastating review: "the derived types are unrealistic." However, Ostrovsky managed to get a second review of the manuscript, which was given the direction of the party organs. After that, the manuscript was actively edited by Mark Kolosov, deputy editor-in-chief of the Young Guard, and executive editor Anna Karavaeva, a well-known writer of that time (writer Yuri Buida even attributes the real authorship of the novel to her). Ostrovsky acknowledged the great participation of Karavaeva in working with the text of the novel; he also noted the participation of Alexander Serafimovich, who "gave me whole days of his rest." In TsGALI there are photocopies of the manuscript of the novel, which recorded the handwriting of 19 people. It is officially believed that Ostrovsky dictated the text of the book to "voluntary secretaries." Professor V.V. Musatov claims that "the very process of creating the text of the novel was of a collective nature." At the same time, he refers to the testimony of M.K. Kuprina-Iordanskaya, who transmitted the words of the literary critic Heinrich Lenoble (died in 1964), who called himself one of the co-authors of the novel. According to her, Lenoble said “that the novel“ How the Steel Was Tempered ”was made by seven people. The author's version of the novel was completely unreadable. Kuprina-Iordanskaya asked Lenoble: “Why did you go for this deception?”, To which he replied: “It doesn’t matter if it wasn’t for me, someone else did it.” This is just a fantasy that does not correspond to reality. N. Ostrovsky in his letters tells in detail about his work on the novel, there are memoirs of contemporaries - witnesses of the writer's work on the book. Textual studies confirm the authorship of N. Ostrovsky. In April 1932, the magazine Molodaya Gvardia began publishing Ostrovsky's novel; in November of the same year, the first part was published as a separate book, followed by the second part. The novel immediately gained great popularity.

In 1935, Ostrovsky was awarded the Order of Lenin, he was presented with a house in Sochi and an apartment in Moscow, and was awarded the title of brigade commissar; for the past few months he has lived on the street of his name (formerly Dead Lane), hosting readers and writers at home. He undertook to write new novel"Born by the Storm" (under the same name as the lost early novel, but on a different plot) in three parts and managed to write the first part, but the novel was recognized as weaker than the previous one, including by Ostrovsky himself. The manuscript of the novel was typed and printed in record time, and copies of the book were presented to relatives at the writer's funeral. He died in Moscow on December 22, 1936. In 1940, the House Museum of Nikolai Ostrovsky was opened in Sochi and the Memorial Museum in Moscow. A street in the Railway District of Kursk is named after him. Ostrovsky's works have been translated into the languages ​​of the peoples of the USSR and many foreign languages. In 1935 Ostrovsky was awarded the military rank of brigade commissar. Awarded the Order of Lenin. Winner of the Lenin Komsomol Prize (1966). There are memorial museums of Ostrovsky in Moscow (since 1940) and Sochi (since 1937), where Ostrovsky lived in 1928-1936 (with interruptions), as well as in the writer's homeland. Compositions: Works. (Introductory article by V. Ozerov), volumes 1-3, Moscow, 1968; Works (Introductory article by S. Tregub), volumes 1-3, Moscow, 1969. Literature: Vengerov N., Nikolai Ostrovsky, 2nd edition, supplemented and corrected, Moscow, 1956; Timofeev L.I., O artistic features N. Ostrovsky's novel "How the Steel Was Tempered", 2nd edition, Moscow, 1956; Nikolai Ostrovsky, photographs, documents, illustrations, (text by S. Lesnevsky. Compiled by R. Ostrovskaya, E. Sokolova), Moscow, 1964; Tregub S., Zhivoi Korchagin, 2nd edition, Moscow, 1973; Anninsky A., "How the Steel Was Tempered" by Nikolai Ostrovsky, Moscow, 1971: Russian Soviet prose writers. Bio-bibliographic index, volume 3, Leningrad, 1964.

Bets on winnings during the ancient games in Rome were made by everyone: from the common people to legionnaires and emperors. Most of the entertainment programs the Romans borrowed from the Greeks. Competitions were held with the participation of wild animals, like Gladiator fights. In the late period, it becomes popular to show interest in the results sports competitions: boxing, racing, wrestling and olympic games.

Chessboard of Herodotus of the era of ancient Rome

Games known to ancient Rome

The entertainment of the inhabitants of the ancient civilization was diverse. The simplest were considered games for guessing objects in the hands of other people. By tossing coins, the Romans played "Head or Ship". The wish was fulfilled depending on the hidden side: with the image of a ship or the head of Janus from.

Among the soldiers of the Republican army, the game with bones came into use. Usually 3 - 4 dice were used, on each side they depicted marks - from 1 to 6. Even during military campaigns, the Romans found time for entertainment. In the New Testament of the Bible, you can find a story about how, after the execution of Jesus, the Roman legionnaires played the clothes of Christ in bones.

Romans playing dice, ancient Pompeii

The most gambling of the Romans was the legendary Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus, known as Gaius Caligula. He was distinguished by a despotic character and numerous groundless executions. Today you can try your luck by placing bets online on gaming portals, and the great emperor ordered the construction of a gaming establishment from his own palace, similar to a modern casino. To replenish the stakes, he ordered the guards to execute the rich. Their gold and property went under the hammer to the winner.

Caligula preferred to play big. The average bet was 400,000 sesterces of ancient Rome per roll of the die. He even wrote his own essay on the art of gambling. When traveling long distances, he moved in a wagon that did not sway during movement, which made it possible to throw dice with high accuracy.

A century after the victory of Olympia, two of the strongest earthquakes in history happened. Coastal rivers burst their banks and the city was wiped off the face of the Earth.

Olympic cup of ancient Rome

List of games about ancient Rome

Games contribute to a better understanding of the history and culture of the ancient civilization. Many popular entertainments today are available on computers, tablets or phones. The following modern Rome games are recommended for both children and adults:

1. Polemo.
2. Mesolithic.
3. Escilon: the era of the Stone Age.
4. gladiators.
5. Tentlan.
6. Romanum.
7. Grepolis.

Modern game about Rome "Romador"

Four years earlier, Italy hosted winter olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo and now it has become the capital of the Summer Olympic Games.

The Eternal City was chosen as the capital of the XVII Summer Olympic Games on June 15, 1955 at the 50th session of the IOC in Paris.
Rome's main competitor was the Swiss Lausanne, but in the final round of voting, the IOC members preferred the capital of Italy 35-24.

Election of the capital of the 1960 Summer Olympics
City	NOC	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3
Rome	Italy
Lausanne	Switzerland
Detroit	USA
Budapest	Hungary
Brussels	Belgium
mexico city	Mexico
Tokyo	Japan

Opening of the 1960 Rome Olympics

5348 athletes from 83 countries marched in front of the stands of the Stadio Olimpico.

The Games were opened by the President of Italy Giovanni Gronchi.

The Olympic flame was lit by Giancarlo Peris, who received this right by becoming the winner of special athletics competitions.

Competitions at the Olympic Games in Rome 1960

The main struggle unfolded between the teams of the USA and the USSR.

The Americans considered it a matter of honor to take revenge after the victory of the USSR team at the Olympic Games in Melbourne.

But the Soviet athletes performed even more powerfully. The USSR team ended up with 43 gold medals and 103 medals in total. The United States, respectively, has 34 and 71. All sports fans remember the performance of “the most strong man in the world" - Soviet weightlifter Yuri Vlasov.

Soviet gymnasts won 15 of the 16 medals played, with 6 of them (3 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze) going to Larisa Latynina.

The first gold Olympic medal for the Soviet Union in equestrian sport was won by Moscow officer Sergei Filatov. He was the best in the Olympic Grand Prix in dressage.

Weightlifter Arkady Vorobyov, a front-line soldier of the Great Patriotic War, also returned from Rome with another gold medal.

Interesting facts about the 1960 Olympics in Rome