The 1960 Winter Olympics were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort in Squaw Valley, California, United States. The resort was chosen to host the Games at the 1956 meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Squaw Valley was an undeveloped resort in 1955, so the infrastructure and all of the venues were built between 1956 and 1960 at a cost of US$80,000,000. The layout was designed to be intimate, allowing spectators and competitors to reach most of the venues on foot.
Alpine skiing at the 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley, California consisted of six events. Competitions took place at Squaw Peak, KT-22 and Papoose Peak.
Palisades Tahoe is a ski resort in the western United States, located in Olympic Valley, California, northwest of Tahoe City in the Sierra Nevada range. From its founding in 1949 until 2021, the resort was known as Squaw Valley, but changed its name due to the derogatory meaning of squaw to Native Americans and their allies. It was the host site for the 1960 Winter Olympics.
At the 1960 Winter Olympics six cross-country skiing events were contested. The competitions were held from Friday, 19 February, to Saturday, 27 February 1960. All the races took place at McKinney Creek Stadium, Tahoma, California, United States.
Nordic combined at the 1960 Winter Olympics consisted of one event, held from 21 February to 22 February. The ski jumping portion took place at Papoose Peak Jumps, while the cross-country portion took place at McKinney Creek Stadium.
Ski jumping at the 1960 Winter Olympics consisted of one event held on 28 February, taking place at Papoose Peak Jumps.
Maria Ivanovna Gusakova was a Soviet cross-country skier who competed from the late 1950s to the early 1960s for VSS Spartak. She won a complete set of Winter Olympic medals with a gold in the 10 km (1960), a silver in the 3 × 5 km relay (1960), and a bronze in the 10 km (1964). Gusakova also earned a complete set of medals at the 1962 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships with a gold in the 3 × 5 km relay, a silver in the 10 km, and a bronze in the 5 km. Her husband Nikolay Gusakov also competed at the 1960 Winter Olympics and claimed bronze in Nordic combined event.
Klas Ivar Vilhelm Lestander is a Swedish former biathlete who won a gold medal at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley.
Papoose Peak Jumps was a ski jumping hill located at Palisades Tahoe in the US state of California. The hill consisted of three jumps, with K-points of 80, 60 and 40 meters, respectively. Constructed upon the hill-side of Little Papoose Peak, it was built for the 1960 Winter Olympics; the 80-meter hill hosted the ski jumping event and the 60-meter hill the Nordic combined event. The jump was designed by Heini Klopfer and opened in 1958. After the Olympics the venue saw little use; it was renovated for the 1976 US National Ski Jumping Championships, but has since fallen into disrepair and demolished to make room for the Far East Express ski lift.
McKinney Creek Stadium was a temporary ski stadium located at Tahoma, California, in the United States. Built in 1959, it was used for cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, and biathlon at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley.
For the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California, in the United States, a total of five sports venues were used. Except for the Palisades Tahoe, all of the venues had to be constructed. For the first time in Winter Olympic history, a temporary venue was constructed at McKinney Creek for biathlon, cross-country skiing, and Nordic combined. A bobsleigh track was not constructed over the guarantees from the FIBT not being able to field the minimum twelve teams needed to compete, making it the only time bobsleigh has not been included in the Winter Olympics.
The Men's 20 kilometre individual biathlon competition at the 1960 Winter Olympics was held on 21 February, at McKinney Creek Stadium. The firing ranges were located at the following points on the 20-kilometer course: 6.5 km — 200 meter range, 9.5 km — 250 meter range, 12.5 km — 150 meter range and 15 km — 100 meter range. The first three series were fired from a prone position, the last standing. Each miss of the target cost two minutes.
The 15 kilometre cross-country skiing event was part of the cross-country skiing programme at the 1960 Winter Olympics, in Squaw Valley, California, United States. It was the second appearance of the event at its length of 15 km. The competition was held on Tuesday, February 23, 1960, at the McKinney Creek Stadium.
The 50 kilometre cross-country skiing event was part of the cross-country skiing programme at the 1960 Winter Olympics, in Squaw Valley, California, United States. It was the fifth appearance of the event at its length of 30 km. The competition was held on Saturday, February 27, 1960 at the McKinney Creek Stadium.
The men's 4 × 10 kilometre relay cross-country skiing event was part of the cross-country skiing programme at the 1960 Winter Olympics, in Squaw Valley, California, United States. It was the fifth appearance of the event. The competition was held on Saturday, February 27, 1960, at the McKinney Creek Stadium.
The 10 kilometre cross-country skiing event was part of the cross-country skiing programme at the 1960 Winter Olympics, in Squaw Valley, California, United States. It was the third appearance of the event. The competition was held on Saturday, February 20, 1960, at the McKinney Creek Stadium.
The women's 3 × 5 kilometre relay cross-country skiing event was part of the cross-country skiing programme at the 1960 Winter Olympics, in Squaw Valley, California, United States. It was the second appearance of the event. The competition was held on Friday, February 26, 1960, at the McKinney Creek Stadium.
