# 1960 United States Olympic trials (track and field)

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 and 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 (27 °C) 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 at 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.
The women's Olympic trials were held separately in Abilene, Texas between July 15 and 16.

## Men's results

Key: ≠ Athlete without "A" standard, not selected.

### Men track events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 meters | Ray Norton | 10.4 | Frank Budd | 10.4 | Dave Sime | 10.4 |
| 200 meters | Ray Norton | 20.5 =WR | Stone Johnson | 20.8 | Les Carney | 20.9 |
| 400 meters | Jack Yerman | 46.3 | Earl Young | 46.5 | Otis Davis | 46.7 |
| 800 meters | Tom Murphy | 1:46.7 | Jerry Siebert | 1:46.8 | Ernie Cunliffe | 1:47.5 |
| 1500 meters | Dyrol Burleson | 3:46.9 | Jim Grelle | 3:47.4 | Pete Close | 3:49.0 |
| 5000 meters | Jim Beatty | 14:13.6 | Bill Dellinger | 14:13.8 | Bob Soth | 14:18.6 |
| 10,000 meters | Al Lawrence Australia Max Truex | 30:11.4 30:16.3 | Doug Kyle Canada Pete McArdle | 30:12.6 30:22.0 | Bob Soth | 30:26.5 |
| 110 m hurdles | Lee Calhoun | 13.4 =NR | Willie May | 13.5 | Hayes Jones | 13.5 |
| 400 m hurdles | Glenn Davis | 49.5 | Dick Howard | 49.8 | Cliff Cushman | 49.9 |
| 3000 m s'chase | George Young | 8:50.6 | Phil Coleman | 8:51.0 | Deacon Jones | 8:52.5 |
| 20K racewalk | Rudy Haluza | 1:34:12 | Alex Oakley Canada Ron Zinn | 1:34:55 1:35:58 | Bob Mimm | 1:36:07 |
| 50K racewalk | Ron Laird | 4:40:09 | John Allen | 4:41:36 | Bruce MacDonald | 4:45:42 |
| Boston Marathon | Paavo Kotila Finland Gordon McKenzie | 2:20:54 2:22:18 | Jim Green | 2:23:37 | Al Confalone | 2:26:30 |
| Yonkers Marathon | John J. Kelley | 2:20:13.6 | Gordon McKenzie | 2:23:46 | Alex Breckenridge | 2:32:41 |

### Men field events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| High jump | John Thomas | 2.23 m (7 ft 3+3⁄4 in)WR | Joe Faust | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)=WJR | Charles Dumas | 6 ft 11 in (2.1 m) |
| Pole vault | Don Bragg | 4.80 m (15 ft 8+3⁄4 in)WR | Ron Morris | 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) | Dave Clark | 4.65 m (15 ft 3 in) |
| Long jump | Ralph Boston | 8.09 m (26 ft 6+1⁄2 in)w | Anthony Watson | 7.85 m (25 ft 9 in) | Irv Roberson | 7.75 m (25 ft 5 in) |
| Triple jump | Ira Davis | 16.18 m (53 ft 1 in) | Herm Stokes | 15.82 m (51 ft 10+3⁄4 in)w | Bill Sharpe | 15.79 m (51 ft 9+1⁄2 in)w |
| Shot put | Dallas Long | 19.74 m (64 ft 9 in) | Parry O'Brien | 19.25 m (63 ft 1+3⁄4 in) | Dave Davis | 19.45 m (63 ft 9+1⁄2 in) |
| Discus throw | Rink Babka | 58.61 m (192 ft 3 in) | Al Oerter | 57.38 m (188 ft 3 in) | Dick Cochran | 55.45 m (181 ft 11 in) |
| Hammer throw | Al Hall | 65.41 m (214 ft 7 in) | Hal Connolly | 64.71 m (212 ft 3 in) | Ed Bagdonas | 62.76 m (205 ft 10 in) |
| Javelin throw | Al Cantello | 84.61 m (277 ft 7 in) | Bill Alley | 82.18 m (269 ft 7 in) | Terry Beucher | 78.00 m (255 ft 10 in) |
| Decathlon | Rafer Johnson | 8683 WR | C. K. Yang Taiwan Phil Mulkey | 8426 =AR 7652 | Dave Edstrom | 7530 |

## Women's results
### Women track events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 meters | Wilma Rudolph | 11.5 =NR | Barbara Jones | 11.6 | Martha Hudson | 11.7 |
| 200 meters | Wilma Rudolph | 23.9 | Lucinda Williams | 24.3 | Ernestine Pollards | 24.5 |
| 800 meters | Pat Daniels | 2:15.6 NR | Rosie Lovelace | 2:15.7 | Doris Severtsen | 2:17.6 |
| 80 m hurdles Wind aided | Shirley Crowder | 11.4w | Jo Ann Terry | 11.4w | Irene Robertson | 11.4w |

### Women field events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| High jump | Naomi Rogers | 5 ft 4 in (1.62 m) | Barbara Brown | 5 ft 23⁄4 in (1.59 m) | Jean Gaertner | 5 ft 23⁄4 in (1.59 m) |
| Long jump | Willye White | 6.21 m (20 ft 4+1⁄4 in) NR | Sandra Smith | 5.69 m (18 ft 8 in) | Anna Smith | 5.64 m (18 ft 6 in) |
| Shot put | Earlene Brown | 15.49 m (50 ft 9+3⁄4 in) | Sharon Shepherd | 13.97 m (45 ft 10 in) | Cecilia Rutledge | 13.23 m (43 ft 4+3⁄4 in) |
| Discus throw | Earlene Brown | 53.90 m (176 ft 10 in) NR | Olga Connolly | 52.54 m (172 ft 4 in) | Pamela Kurrell | 48.36 m (158 ft 7 in) |
| Javelin throw | Karen Anderson Oldham | 49.82 m (163 ft 5 in)NR | Peggy Scholler | 47.89 m (157 ft 1 in) | Karen Mendyka | 43.79 m (143 ft 8 in) |