Best Olympic moments No.8: Milkha Singh misses historic Bronze by split-second in 1960 Rome Olympics

Milkha Singh may have finished fourth in the 400m final of the 1960 Rome Olympics, but he set a national record that day which stood for nearly 40 years.

Singh's journey is a classic example to all that it is never too late to make the right decisions in life. (Image Credit: Twitter/@joybhattacharj)
By Arnab Mukherji | Jul 23, 2021 | 4 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Legendary athlete Milkha Singh, who was also known as the ‘Flying Sikh’ breathed his last in Chandigarh a few days back on 18 June, having contracted COVID-19 nearly a month back. Singh was the first Indian track and field athlete to win a gold medal in the then British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff in 1958. The sportsperson further won four Asian Games gold medals: 200m and 400m in 1958, and 4*400m relay in 1962. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on social media platform Twitter, stating that the nation had lost a “colossal sportsperson”.

“In the passing away of Shri Milkha Singh Ji, we have lost a colossal sportsperson, who captured the nation’s imagination and had a special place in the hearts of countless Indians. His inspiring personality endeared himself to millions. Anguished by his passing away,” his message read.

When Milkha Singh missed out on Olympic medal by a whisker

While Singh’s journey as an athlete has involved its fair share of intriguing moments, the most memorable of those arguably was registered in the 1960 Rome Olympics. The Indian track and field athlete finished fourth in the 400m final in a photo-finish, setting a national record timing of 45.6 seconds. The extremely tight race witnessed the eight finalists being separated by one second. Otis Davis won gold over Carl Kauffmann by a hundredth of a second. Malcolm Spence further beat Singh to bronze by one-tenth of a second.

The athlete pushed himself throughout the course of the race, keeping his pace up for much of the first part of the run. Singh seemed like a strong contender for a podium finish, which would have been a historic feat for India in the history of the Olympics.

However, the track and field athlete made an error in judgement by slowing down before the final turn, providing Spence with an opportunity to close down.

“After the death of my parents, that is my worst memory”

“Since it was a photofinish, the announcements were held up. The suspense was excruciating. I knew what my fatal error was: After running perilously fast in lane five, I slowed down at 250 metres. I could not cover the lost ground after that, and that cost me the race. After the death of my parents, that is my worst memory. I kept crying for days,” said Singh in an interaction with Rediff back in 2000.

The athlete further termed the pressure and weight of expectations going into the finals as a major factor, that played a crucial role in determining the final result.

“There was a gap of 2 days between the semi-finals and the finals. For those two days, I was under a lot of -pressure. I was thinking that the world was watching me and I had to win. The pressure was building up and I could not sleep for 2 days. Before going to Rome, everyone, the whole world was saying Milkha Singh will win the 400m race. I was leading the race. I covered the first 200m in just 21 seconds,” said Singh in an interaction with India Today.

Even today, young athletes might not be able to cover 200m in 21s. I thought I might not be able to complete the race at the speed with which I was running, so I dropped my speed. Once you drop rhythm, it is very difficult to get it back. The same thing happened to me. Absolutely (hurting memory). I cannot forget this till my death, my 15 years of hard work had gone to waste. It was not my bad luck, it was India’s bad luck,” he added.

True inspiration for one and all

While Singh was deeply hurt by his inability to win a historic bronze, the significance of the athlete’s inspirational surge for glory went way beyond the conventional parameters of a sport. For a nation starved of success in the field of athletics, it was a message that nothing was off-limits if the sportsperson adopted the principles of hard work, dedication and will-power to the hilt.

Singh’s journey is a classic example to all that it is never too late to make the right decisions in life. The athlete lived on a railway platform for a month, went to jail for travelling on a train without a ticket, even considered life as a dacoit during his formative years. However, he eventually turned to his true love: running which Singh used to great effect during his childhood just to get to and from the school, ten kilometres one side.

Singh expressed a desire to witness an Indian athlete winning a medal in the track and field category, at every stage of his life. PT Usha came extremely close to fulfilling this wish, missing the bronze in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics by 1/100th of a second in the 400 m hurdles category.

“What a performance it was in the Rome Olympics. He showed what could be achieved with sheer willpower and dedication. He was a trailblazer. His dedication was amazing and he showed the way to youngsters with his performances. He always used to tell aspiring athletes that if they were dedicated, they could achieve anything,” she said in an interaction with PTI, indicating the role Singh played in her success.

A fine performance by the Indian track and field athletes in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics would certainly emerge as the perfect tribute to the legendary sportsman.