1960 United States Olympic Trials (track and field)

1960 United States Olympic Track And Field Trials
Host city	Stanford, United States
Date(s)	July 1-2
Main stadium	Stanford Stadium
Level	Senior
Type	Outdoor
← 1956 1964 →

The men's 1960 United States Olympic Trials for track and field for men were held at the Stanford Stadium at Stanford University in California, between July 1-2. The 20 kilometer walk trials were held in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 17, and the 50 kilometer walk trials were held on July 3 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Two marathon trials were held between two races, the AAU National Championships in Yonkers, New York, on May 22 and the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, on April 19. As it turned out, the three selectees were the top 3 at Yonkers, but that is because Gordon McKenzie was also the first American finisher at Boston.

The 10,000 meters was held during a heat wave in Bakersfield, California on July 24-25. Because of the temperatures, still 80°F at midnight, the race began at 11:58 p.m. on the 24th so the bulk of the race took place technically on the 25th. Several international athletes were allowed to participate in hopes of drawing the Americans to fast times, but the heat dashed those plans.

The decathlon was held a week after the trials, allowing athletes to make attempts in individual events. Rafer Johnson threw the javelin, Bob Gutowski tried to qualify in the pole vault, and Mike Herman attempted the long jump. While Herman failed to get a legal attempt in the long jump, a week later his World Decathlon Best 26'3" would have chased Ralph Boston and certainly would have been good enough to qualify. American resident, but Taiwanese citizen C. K. Yang was allowed to participate in the decathlon, where he pushed his college teammate Rafer Johnson to the world record, but his performance did not displace the American athletes in the trials. The process was organized by the AAU.

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