1960 United States Olympic trials (track and field) explained

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 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.^[1]

Men's results

Key:.

Men track events

100 meters		10.4		10.4		10.4
200 meters		20.5 =		20.8		20.9
400 meters		46.3		46.5		46.7
800 meters		1:46.7		1:46.8		1:47.5
1500 meters		3:46.9		3:47.4		3:49.0
5000 meters		14:13.6		14:13.8		14:18.6
10,000 meters		30:11.4 30:16.3		30:12.6 30:22.0		30:26.5
110 m hurdles		13.4 =	Willie May	13.5		13.5
400 m hurdles		49.5		49.8		49.9
3000 m s'chase		8:50.6		8:51.0		8:52.5
20K racewalk		1:34:12		1:34:55 1:35:58		1:36:07
50K racewalk		4:40:09		4:41:36		4:45:42
Boston Marathon		2:20:54 2:22:18	Jim Green	2:23:37		2:26:30
Yonkers Marathon	John J. Kelley	2:20:13.6	Gordon McKenzie	2:23:46		2:32:41

Men field events

High jump				=
Pole vault
Long jump		w
Triple jump				w		w
Shot put
Discus throw
Hammer throw
Javelin throw
Decathlon		8683		8426 = 7652		7530

Women's results

Women track events

100 meters		11.5 =		11.6		11.7
200 meters		23.9		24.3		24.5
800 meters		2:15.6		2:15.7	Doris Severtsen[2]	2:17.6
80 m hurdles Wind aided		11.4w		11.4w		11.4w

Women field events

High jump
Long jump			Sandra Smith
Shot put			Sharon Shepherd
Discus throw
Javelin throw

Notes and References

1. Web site: Archived copy . 2019-12-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120620000346/http://usatf.org/statistics/champions/OlympicTrials/HistoryOfTheOlympicTrials.pdf . 2012-06-20 . dead .
2. Web site: Response: The Seattle Pacific University Magazine. spu.edu. 1 May 2017.