Asia hosted its first Games and the crowds flocked to witness the competition after $3bn was spent on stadiums and transport facilities.
Judo was contested at the Games
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A cinder running track was used for the last time
South Africa no longer received an invitation, while Indonesia and North Korea were banned, but 14 nations made their Olympic debuts.
Volleyball and judo were new and Dutchman Antonius Geesink caused an upset when he won the open judo event.
Ethiopian Abebe Bikila successfully defended his marathon title.
Even more impressively, he did it only six weeks after having his appendix removed.
Mary Rand picked up Great Britain's first ever gold in women's athletics and her room-mate Ann Packer soon matched her achievement in the 800m.
The most successful athlete at the Games was American swimmer Don Schollander with four gold medals, while Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina celebrated her final Olympic appearance with two more golds and six medals in total.
At three Olympics (1956 to 1964) she finished on the podium on no fewer than 18 occasions.