Winner's medal issued for an athletics event at the Rome 1960 Summer Olympics. Silver, 68 mm, 110 gm (216 gm with chain), by Giuseppe Cassioli; manufactured by Artistice Fiorentini. The front depicts a victorious athlete being carried by several jubilant athletes; the reverse, inscribed, "Giochi Della XVII Olimpiade Roma MCMLX," features a 'Seated Victory' with the Colosseum in the background. The medal is set in its original cast bronze bezel, engraved at the bottom with the name of the sport in Italian, "Atletica,” and suspends from its beautiful bronze winner’s chain with 20 olive leaf links. Includes its rare original red leather presentation case, 20.25˝ x 4.5˝ x 1˝, designed by Stabilimenti Artistici Fiorentini of Florence, which is slightly warped, features wear to edges, and the inner velvet lining detached but present. The winner's medals issued for the 1960 Rome Olympics were the first designed to be worn around the neck and the first for any Summer Games to feature the name of the specific sport.
The consignor notes that this silver medal was won by United Team of Germany athlete Jo (Johannes) Kaiser in the 4 x 400-meter relay race. Kaiser ran the third leg together with teammates Hans-Joachim Reske, Manfred Kinder, and Carl Kaufmann, achieving a time of 3:02.7 min., which was a European record and a close second to the USA Team’s world record gold. For this achievement, Kaiser was also awarded the Silver Laurel Leaf on December 9, 1960, the highest sporting award presented by the Federal Republic of Germany.
