Jungwirth suffered from health problems in 1958 and only placed 8th at the European Championships, even though his time of 3:44.4 was a second faster than his bronze medal performance in 1954. He lost his world record on 28 August 1958, when Australia's Herb Elliott ran 3:36.0 in Göteborg; Jungwirth himself placed second in that race in 3:39.0. Jungwirth's health problems continued in 1959 and 1960 and he was unable to take part in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. He retired from athletics as a result.