High Jump, Men
| Date | 1 September 1960 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Stadio Olimpico, Roma |
| Participants | 32 from 23 countries |
The heavy favorite was American John Thomas. In 1960, he had bettered the world record five times, moving it up to 2.22 (7-3¾) at the US Olympic Trials. The next best jumper on height was Soviet Valery Brumel at 2.17 (7-1½). The two other Soviet jumpers, Robert’ Shavlaq’adze and Viktor Bolshov, were considered slight threats, as was defending champion Charlie Dumas, but Thomas may have been the heaviest favorite in any athletics event at Roma. In the final, he led early, clearing 2.00, 2.06, and 2.09, with passes at 2.03 and 2.12. At 2.12 (6-11½), Shavlaq’adze and Bolshov had first jump clearances, and Brumel went over on his third attempt. Bolshov was leading as he had not yet missed. That was a PR for Shavlaq’adze who had previously jumped only 2.11 (6-11). At 2.14 (7-0¼) the three Soviets and Thomas got over, but only Shavlaq’adze did so on his first attempt moving into the lead. With the bar at 2.16 (7-1), Shavladq’adze cleared on his first attempt to win the gold medal, Brumel having one miss. Thomas and Bolshov failed to make the height and Thomas had to settle for the bronze medal.
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Qualifying Round | Final Round | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 572 | Robert' Shavlaq'adze |  URS | 2.00 (=4) | 2.16 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 573 | Valery Brumel | URS | 2.00 (=13) | 2.16 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 424 | John Thomas |  USA | 2.00 (1) | 2.14 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 571 | Viktor Bolshov | URS | 2.00 (=2) | 2.14 (4) | |||
| 5 | 351 | Stig Pettersson |  SWE | 2.00 (=2) | 2.09 (5) | |||
| 6 | 422 | Charlie Dumas | USA | 2.00 (=15) | 2.03 (6) | |||
| =7 | 289 | Theo Püll |  GER | 2.00 (11) | 2.03 (=7) | |||
| =7 | 352 | Kjell-Åke Nilsson | SWE | 2.00 (=4) | 2.03 (=7) | |||
| =7 | 154 | Jiří Lanský |  TCH | 2.00 (=4) | 2.03 (=7) | |||
| 10 | 132 | Robert Kotei |  GHA | 2.00 (=4) | 2.03 (10) | |||
| 11 | 216 | Cornel Porumb |  ROU | 2.00 (=4) | 2.03 (11) | |||
| 12 | 479 | Mahamat Idriss |  FRA | 2.00 (17) | 2.03 (12) | |||
| 13 | 202 | Sándor Noszály |  HUN | 2.00 (=4) | 2.03 (13) | |||
| 14 | 480 | Maurice Fournier | FRA | 2.00 (=4) | 2.00 (14) | |||
| 15 | 531 | Piotr Sobotta |  POL | 2.00 (12) | 2.00 (15) | |||
| 16 | 649 | Gordon Miller |  GBR | 2.00 (=13) | 2.00 (16) | |||
| 17 | 423 | Joe Faust | USA | 2.00 (=15) | 1.95 (17) | |||
| 18 r1/2 | 377 | Kuniyoshi Sugioka |  JPN | 1.95 (18) | – | |||
| =19 r1/2 | 503 | Eero Salminen |  FIN | 1.95 (=19) | – | |||
| =19 r1/2 | 291 | Werner Pfeil | GER | 1.95 (=19) | – | |||
| =19 r1/2 | 226 | René Maurer |  SUI | 1.95 (=19) | – | |||
| =22 r1/2 | 92 | Helmuth Donner |  AUT | 1.95 (=22) | – | |||
| =22 r1/2 | 371 | Jón Pétursson |  ISL | 1.95 (=22) | – | |||
| =24 r1/2 | 648 | Crawford Fairbrother | GBR | 1.95 (=24) | – | |||
| =24 r1/2 | 290 | Peter Riebensahm | GER | 1.95 (=24) | – | |||
| 26 r1/2 | 319 | Đorđe Majtan |  YUG | 1.95 (26) | – | |||
| 27 r1/2 | 16 | Charles Porter |  AUS | 1.95 (27) | – | |||
| 28 r1/2 | 51 | Samuel Igun |  NGR | 1.90 (28) | – | |||
| 29 r1/2 | 695 | Gurbachan Singh Randhawa |  IND | 1.90 (29) | – | |||
| AC r1/2 | 26 | Mohamed Abdul Razzak |  IRQ | – ( | – | |||
| AC r1/2 | 73 | Sylvain Bitan |  TUN | – ( | – | |||
| AC r1/2 | 665 | Çetin Şahiner |  TUR | – ( | – |
Qualifying Round (1 September 1960 — 9:00)
All those clearing 2.00 metres advanced to the final.
Final Round (1 September 1960 — 15:15)
| Pos | Athlete | NOC | Height | Misses | Total Misses | Total Attempts | 1.90 m | 1.95 m | 2.00 m | 2.03 m | 2.06 m | 2.09 m | 2.12 m | 2.14 m | 2.16 m | 2.18 m | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert' Shavlaq'adze | URS | 2.16 | 0 | 1 | 8 | - | - | xo | o | o | o | o | o | o | xxx | |||
| 2 | Valery Brumel | URS | 2.16 | 1 | 5 | 12 | - | o | - | o | o | xo | xxo | xo | xo | xxx | |||
| 3 | John Thomas | USA | 2.14 | 1 | 1 | 5 | - | - | o | - | o | o | - | xo | xxx | – | |||
| 4 | Viktor Bolshov | URS | 2.14 | 1 | 1 | 7 | - | o | - | o | o | o | o | xo | xxx | – | |||
| 5 | Stig Pettersson | SWE | 2.09 | 2 | 4 | 8 | o | - | o | - | xxo | xxo | xxx | – | – | – | |||
| 6 | Charlie Dumas | USA | 2.03 | 0 | 0 | 2 | - | - | o | o | - | xxx | – | – | – | – | |||
| =7 | Theo Püll | GER | 2.03 | 0 | 0 | 4 | o | o | o | o | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| =7 | Kjell-Åke Nilsson | SWE | 2.03 | 0 | 0 | 4 | o | o | o | o | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| =7 | Jiří Lanský | TCH | 2.03 | 0 | 0 | 4 | o | o | o | o | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 10 | Robert Kotei | GHA | 2.03 | 1 | 1 | 4 | o | - | o | xo | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 11 | Cornel Porumb | ROU | 2.03 | 1 | 1 | 5 | o | o | o | xo | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 12 | Mahamat Idriss | FRA | 2.03 | 1 | 3 | 6 | - | xo | xo | xo | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 13 | Sándor Noszály | HUN | 2.03 | 2 | 3 | 7 | o | o | xo | xxo | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 14 | Maurice Fournier | FRA | 2.00 | 0 | 0 | 2 | - | o | o | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 15 | Piotr Sobotta | POL | 2.00 | 0 | 0 | 3 | o | o | o | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 16 | Gordon Miller | GBR | 2.00 | 2 | 2 | 5 | o | o | xxo | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| 17 | Joe Faust | USA | 1.95 | 0 | 0 | 2 | o | o | xxx | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |