The Japanese men's gymnastics team won the first of five successive golds, the last of which was won in 1976, in Montreal.
South Africa appeared in the Olympic arena for the last time under its apartheid regime. It would not be allowed to return until 1992, after the abandonment of apartheid and during the transition to majority rule.
Armin Hary won the 100 m in a world-record time of 10.2 seconds.
Pakistan broke India's dominance in Olympic Men's Field Hockey by becoming the first team in history to beat India in Olympic Field Hockey since 1928 and winning its first ever Olympic gold medal in the process. India had already won 6 previous hockey golds in the Summer Olympics.
Jeff Farrell of the United States won two gold medals in swimming after undergoing an emergency appendectomy six days before the Olympic Trials
Singapore competed for the first time under its own flag, which was to become its national flag after independence, as the British had granted it self government a year earlier. Coincidentally, it was the first time (and only time until 2008) an athlete from Singapore won an Olympic medal, when Tan Howe Liang won silver in the Weightlifting lightweight category.
CBS paid $394,000 for the right to broadcast the Games in the United States.[2].
A total of 84 nations participated at the Rome Games. Athletes from Morocco, San Marino, Sudan, and Tunisia competed at the Olympic Games for the first time.
Suriname also made its first Olympic appearance, but its lone athlete withdrew from competition, leaving a total of 83 nations that actually competed.
Athletes from Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago would represent the new West Indies Federation, but this nation would only exist for this single Olympiad. Athletes from East Germany and West Germany would compete as the United Team of Germany from 1956-1964.
(host nation)
Medal count
These are the top ten nations that won medals at these Games:
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