![]() ![]() ![]() And civil rights and anticolonialism became conspicuous themes as charismatic black athletes-supercharged sprinter Wilma Rudolph, brash boxing phenom Cassius Clay, barefoot Ethiopian marathoner Abebe Bikila-grabbed the limelight while the IOC sidestepped the apartheid issue. The code of genteel amateurism-one weight-lifter was forbidden to accept free cuts from a meat company-began crumbling in the face of lavish Communist athletic subsidies and under-the-table shoe endorsement deals. Steroids and amphetamines started seeping into Olympian bloodstreams. ![]() The games showcased Cold War propaganda ploys as the Soviet Union surged past the U.S. Overshadowed by more flamboyant or tragic Olympics, the 1960 Rome games were a sociopolitical watershed, argues journalist Maraniss ( Clemente ![]()
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