The XVII Olympiad was held in Rome in August and September and the Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California, in February. Over 7,000 athletes from 85 nations participated in the summer games, which were promoted as the most spectacular ever, staged at a cost of some $30 million. The Soviets won forty-three medals to thirty-four for the Americans, and in the point system, introduced by the media to measure performance, the Soviets won the games with 807.5 points to 564.5 for the United States, 319.25 points for the Germans, 270 points for the Italians, with Hungary, Australia, Japan, and Great Britain following, in that order.
The Americans were strongest in track and field, despite some disappointments. The men won eight of the twenty-four track and field events, but sprinters David Sime and Ray Norton, expected to win, lost in the 100- and 200-meter races,.....
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