The men's coxless fours competition at the 1960 Summer Olympics took place at Lake Albano, Italy, from August 31 until September 3, 1960. The event featured 64 competitors from 16 nations.
Venue and Format
The competition was held on Lake Albano, a volcanic crater lake in Castel Gandolfo, approximately 20 kilometers southeast of Rome, Italy. All races were conducted over a distance of 2,000 metres.
The competition consisted of three rounds: heats, a repechage round, and a final. In the heats, three races were held with five or six boats each. The winner of each heat advanced directly to the final, while all other boats entered the repechage. The repechage consisted of three heats, with the top boat in each advancing to the final. The final featured six boats.
Medalists
| Medal | Nation | Rowers |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | United States | Arthur Ayrault, Ted Nash, John Sayre, Rusty Wailes |
| Silver | Italy | Tullio Baraglia, Renato Bosatta, Giancarlo Crosta, Giuseppe Galante |
| Bronze | Soviet Union | Igor Akhremchik, Yuriy Bachurov, Valentin Morkovkin, Anatoly Tarabrin |
Results
Heats
Heat 1 – Winner advanced to final (Q); others to repechage (R)
| Rank | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Britain | 6:28.18 | Q |
| 2 | United States | 6:29.67 | R |
| 3 | Poland | 6:34.20 | R |
| 4 | Hungary | 6:34.90 | R |
| 5 | Denmark | 6:44.20 | R |
| 6 | Finland | 7:08.95 | R |
Heat 2
| Rank | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Czechoslovakia | 6:36.65 | Q |
| 2 | Romania | 6:43.45 | R |
| 3 | South Africa | 6:46.58 | R |
| 4 | Australia | 6:49.83 | R |
| 5 | Canada | 6:56.32 | R |
Heat 3
| Rank | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soviet Union | 6:29.41 | Q |
| 2 | Italy | 6:31.84 | R |
| 3 | United Team of Germany | 6:36.81 | R |
| 4 | Switzerland | 6:43.48 | R |
| 5 | Argentina | 6:52.32 | R |
Repechage
Repechage Heat 1 – Winner advanced to final (Q)
| Rank | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 6:24.84 | Q |
| 2 | United Team of Germany | 6:27.61 | |
| 3 | Canada | 6:44.77 | |
| 4 | Australia | 6:45.25 |
Repechage Heat 2
| Rank | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland | 6:42.19 | Q |
| 2 | Romania | 6:47.04 | |
| 3 | Poland | 6:48.50 | |
| 4 | Argentina | 6:56.35 | |
| – | Finland | DNS | Did not start |
Repechage Heat 3
| Rank | Nation | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy | 6:37.79 | Q |
| 2 | Hungary | 6:43.44 | |
| 3 | Denmark | 6:49.75 | |
| 4 | South Africa | 6:50.32 |
Final
| Rank | Nation | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | United States | 6:26.26 |
| Silver | Italy | 6:28.78 |
| Bronze | Soviet Union | 6:29.62 |
| 4 | Czechoslovakia | 6:34.30 |
| 5 | Great Britain | 6:36.18 |
| 6 | Switzerland | 6:38.81 |
The United States crew won the gold medal with a time of 6:26.26, ahead of the Italian silver medalists (6:28.78) and the Soviet bronze medalists (6:29.62).
