Squaw Valley 1960

Olympic Winter Games Squaw Valley 1960 Medals

Front: Profile of young woman with profile of young man in background, symbolizing the youth of America and the world. Inscription "VIII Olympic Winter Games" surrounds youth.

Back: Olympic rings within legend, "Citius, Altius, Fortius" with sport noted at bottom.

Medals were presented in a square wooden case made from California Redwood.

Designer: Herff Jones Co.
Mint: Herff Jones Co., Indianapolis, Indiana

The United States men's ice hockey team defeated the Soviet Union in the semifinal match and went on to defeat Czechoslovakia in the final and earn its first gold medal. Not as well publicized as the miracle of 1980, the U.S. victory in 1960 was equally astonishing.

Herb Brooks, coach of the 1980 men's ice hockey team, and member of the 1964 and 1968 ice hockey teams, was the last player cut from the gold-medal-winning 1960 team.

Squaw Valley was the first Winter Games where the name of the sport appeared on the medal in accordance with International Olympic Committee Rule 41, which stated that after June 1956 all winners' medals must contain the name of the sport.

Squaw Valley marked the first use of "instant replay" when officials, unsure if a skier had missed a gate in the men's slalom, asked CBS-TV if they could review a videotape of the race.