Venue Stadio Olimpico Competitors 30 from 20 nations | Dates 5–6 September | |
The men's decathlon at the 1960 Summer Olympics took place between 5 September and 6 September at the Stadio Olimpico.
Contents
Analysis
Despite the presence of previous world record holder Vasili Kuznetsov, the competition quickly became a battle between UCLA training partners Rafer Johnson and Yang Chuan-kwang, known as C.K. Yang. After two years of training under "Ducky" Drake, each knew the other's abilities.
Yang's abilities lay in the speed events, building an almost 90 point lead in the first two events (100m and Long Jump). Johnson was superior in the throwing events. The weather also became a factor as a thunder storm drenched the stadium making the shot put harder to manage for the smaller Yang. Johnson gained 270 points. The muddy track further hindered Yang's speed advantage in the 400m but he continued to chip away at Johnson's lead. At the end of the first day, Johnson had a 55 point advantage.
The second day began with Yang speeding to a 180 point advantage in the 110 hurdles. Johnson countered with a 270 point gain in the Discus. Yang continued to dominate in the Pole Vault but Johnson set a personal record in the event, minimizing Yang's gain. Yang followed that by staying close to Johnson in the Javelin, leaving the final event, Yang's best event, the 1500m to decide the competition. Both knew Yang would need to defeat Johnson by 10 seconds to win. Yang also knew the competitive fire of his friend and rival. Predictably, Johnson shadowed Yang for 3 laps then Yang took off in a desperate sprint to shake Johnson. Johnson did not break, finishing a mere 1.2 seconds behind Yang to claim the gold medal. Yang beat Johnson in seven of the ten events, but Johnson beat Yang by significant margins in the Shot Put and Discus to win.
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows: