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1968  Mexico City Summer Olympics

1968 Summer Olympics - About the Games

1968 Summer Olympics

 

 

Host City: Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico (October 12, 1968 to October 27, 1968)
Opening Ceremony: October 12, 1968 (opened by President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz)
Lighter of the Olympic Flame: Enriqueta Basilio
Taker of the Olympic Oath: Pablo Garrido (athlete)
Closing Ceremony: October 27, 1968
Events: 172 in 20 sports

Participants: 5,558 (4,775 men and 783 women) from 112 countries
Youngest Participant: PUR Liana Vicens (11 years, 327 days)
Oldest Participant: ESA Roberto Soundy (68 years, 229 days)
Most Medals (Athlete): URS Mikhail Voronin (7 medals)
Most Medals (Country): USA United States (107 medals)

 
 

The 1968 Summer Olympics (Spanish: Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City, Mexico, from October 12th to the 27th.

These were the first Olympic Games to be staged in Latin America and the first to be staged in a Spanish-speaking country. They were the first Games to use an all-weather (smooth) track for track and field events instead of the traditional cinder track.

The 1968 Games were the third to be held in the last quarter of the year, after the 1956 Games in Melbourne and the 1964 Games in Tokyo. The Mexican Student Movement of 1968 happened concurrently and the Olympic Games were correlated to the government's repression 
poster olympic games 1968
  

Overview by Sprorts-Reference.com

 

In 1963, the IOC awarded the Olympics to Mexico despite some warnings about the effects of competing at the altitude (2,134 metres) of Mexico City. The warnings would prove prophetic, both for good and bad, but also prominent at Mexico City was the first large-scale incursion of politics directly into the Olympic venues.

Political problems manifested themselves as protests by Mexican students before the Games. The students were upset that so much money was spent on the Olympics in the face of such widespread poverty in their country. As the protest movement gathered momentum leading up to the Games, the Mexican army took charge on the night of 2 October. As 10,000 people demonstrated in the Square of the Three Cultures in Mexico City, the army surrounded the crowd and opened fire. More than 250 people were killed and thousands were injured.

In the United States, Harry Edwards, a professor at San Jose State University, urged blacks to boycott the Olympics to protest the rampant racism of American society. The boycott never materialized. However, his efforts came to fruition in the victory ceremony of the [200 metres]. The race was won by [Tommie Smith] (USA) with the bronze medal going to [John Carlos] (USA). On the victory platform, as the Star Spangled Banner played in the background, almost unheard, the two black Americans stood barefooted, heads bowed, and raised a singled black-gloved fist in their own form of protest. The IOC banned the two from future Olympic participation and ordered them to leave the Olympic village immediately.

On a positive political note, the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) entered separate national teams for the first time.

The altitude severely affected many track & field events. [Bob Beamon] used the lesser gravity to set a stunning world record in the [long jump] of 8.90 (29’2½”). In the [100], 200, [400], [400 metre hurdles], [4×100 relay], [4×400 relay], and the [triple jump], all sprint events not requiring much oxygen, and aided by the lessened pull of gravity, new world records were set by the men. Many of these records would not be broken for years.

But the distance running events saw very slow times, as the runners gasped for the oxygen that was not there. In the [5,000 metres], the winning time was the slowest in 16 years. In the [marathon], [Mamo Wolde] (ETH) won in a time eight minutes slower than his countryman, [Abebe Bikila], had posted in Tokyo. Bikila ran in Mexico but was hampered by a stress fracture and withdrew at 17 miles.

The two saddest sights attributed to altitude were the men's [1,500 metres] and [10,000 metres]. In the 1,500 the race was seen as a dual between Kenya's [Kip Keino], who had grown up at altitude and trained there regularly, and America's [Jim Ryun]. Ryun had become the dominant miler in the world in the past few years, though he was slightly less so in 1968. Still, he was no match for Keino in the thin air of Mexico and had to settle for the silver medal. It is possible that Keino would have won at any altitude but there is no way to know.

In the 10,000 metres, Australia's [Ron Clarke], one of the finest distance runners ever against the clock, was still searching for his first gold medal. He ran himself into exhaustion, but could finish only sixth. Through 8,000 metres, the lead pack was Clarke and [Naftali Temu] (KEN), Mamo Wolde (ETH), and [Mohamad Gammoudi] (TUN) – all altitude-trained Africans. Clarke was dropped at that point and finished 6th. At the finish he collapsed, ashen-faced, and lay unconscious, near death, for ten minutes as the Australian team doctor wept openly while administering to him. Clarke recovered fully, but he would never win a gold medal.

Host city selection

On October 18, 1963, at the 60th IOC Session in Baden-Baden, West Germany, Mexico City finished ahead of bids from Detroit, Buenos Aires and Lyon to host the Games
1968 Summer Olympics bidding result
CityCountry Round 1
Mexico City  Mexico 30
Detroit  United States 14
Lyon  France 12
Buenos Aires  Argentina 2

Olympic torch relay

The 1968 torch relay recreated the route taken by Christopher Columbus to the New World, journeying from Greece through Italy and Spain to San Salvador Island, Bahamas, and then on to Mexico. American sculptor James Metcalf, an expatriate in Mexico, won the commission to forge the Olympic torch for the 1968 Summer Games.

Highlights

  • In the medal award ceremony for the men's 200 meter race, black American athletes Tommie Smith (gold) and John Carlos (bronze) took a stand for civil rights by raising their black-gloved fists and wearing black socks in lieu of shoes. The Australian Peter Norman, who had run second, wore an American "civil rights" badge as support to them on the podium. In response, the IOC banned Smith and Carlos from the Olympic Games for life, and Norman's omission from Australia's Olympic team in 1972 was allegedly as punishment.
  • George Foreman won the gold medal in heavyweight boxing division by defeating Soviet Ionas Chepulis via a second-round TKO. After the victory, Foreman waved a small American flag as he bowed to the crowd.
  • The high elevation of Mexico City, at 2,240 m (7,350 ft) above sea level, influenced many of the events, particularly in track and field. No other Summer Olympic Games before or since have been held at high elevation.
  • In addition to high elevation, this was the first Olympics to use a synthetic all-weather surface for track and field events; the "Tartan" surface was originally developed by 3M for horse racing, but did not catch on. The tracks at previous Olympics were conventional cinder.
  • For the first time, East and West Germany competed as separate teams, after being forced by the IOC to compete as a combined German team in 1956, 1960, and 1964.
  • Al Oerter won his fourth consecutive gold medal in the discus to become only the second athlete to achieve this feat in an individual event, and the first in track & field (athletics).
  • Bob Beamon leapt 8.90 m (29.2 ft) in the long jump, an incredible 55 cm (22 in) improvement over the previous world record. It remained the Olympic record and stood as the world record for 23 years, until broken by American Mike Powell in 1991. Jim Hines, Tommie Smith and Lee Evans also set long-standing world records in the 100 m, 200 m and 400 m, respectively.
  • In the triple jump, the previous world record was improved five times by three different athletes. Winner Viktor Saneev also won in 1972 and 1976, and won silver in 1980.
  • Dick Fosbury won the gold medal in the high jump using his unconventional Fosbury flop technique, which quickly became the dominant technique in the event.
  • Věra Čáslavská of Czechoslovakia won four gold medals in gymnastics and protested the Soviet invasion of her country.
  • Debbie Meyer became the first swimmer to win three individual gold medals, in the 200, 400 and 800 m freestyle events. The 800 m was a new long-distance event for women. Meyer was only 16 years old, a student at Rio Americano High School in Sacramento, California. Meyer was the first of several American teenagers to win the 800 m.
  • American swimmer Charlie Hickcox won three gold medals (200m IM, 400m IM, 4 × 100 m medley relay) and one silver medal (100m backstroke).
  • The introduction of doping tests resulted in the first disqualification because of doping: Swedish pentathlete Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall was disqualified for alcohol use (he drank several beers just prior to competing).[citation needed]
  • John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania became internationally famous after finishing the marathon, in the last place, despite a dislocated knee.
  • This was the first of three Olympic participation by Jacques Rogge. He competed in yachting and would later become the president of the IOC.
  • Norma Enriqueta Basilio de Sotelo of Mexico became the first woman to light the Olympic cauldron with the Olympic flame.
  • It was the first games at which there was a significant African presence in men's distance running. Africans won at least one medal in all running events from 800 meters to the marathon, and in so doing they set a trend for future games. Most of these runners came from high-altitude areas of countries like Kenya and Ethiopia, and they were well-prepared for the 2240 m elevation of Mexico City.
  • Kipchoge Keino of Kenya, competing in spite of unexpected bouts of severe abdominal pain later diagnosed as a gall bladder infection, finished the 10,000 meters in spite of collapsing from pain with two laps to go, won silver in the 5000, and won gold in the 1500 meters.
  • It was the first Olympic games in which the closing ceremony was transmitted in color to the world, as well as the events themselves.

Venues

  • Agustín Melgar Olympic Velodrome – Cycling (track)
  • Arena México – Boxing
  • Avándaro Golf Club – Equestrian (eventing)
  • Campo Marte – Equestrian (dressage, jumping individual)
  • Campo Militar 1 – Modern pentathlon (riding, running)
  • Club de Yates de Acapulco – Sailing
  • Estadio Azteca – Football (final)
  • Estadio Cuauhtémoc – Football preliminaries
  • Estadio Nou Camp – Football preliminaries
  • Estadio Olímpico Universitario – Athletics (also 20 km and 50 km walk), Ceremonies (opening/ closing), Equestrian (jumping team)
  • Fernando Montes de Oca Fencing Hall – Fencing, Modern pentathlon (fencing)
  • Francisco Márquez Olympic Pool – Diving, Modern pentathlon (swimming), Swimming, Water polo
  • Arena Insurgentes – Wrestling
  • Insurgentes Theatre – Weightlifting
  • Jalisco Stadium – Football preliminaries
  • Juan de la Barrera Olympic Gymnasium – Volleyball
  • Juan Escutia Sports Palace – Basketball, Volleyball
  • Municipal Stadium – Field hockey
  • National Auditorium – Gymnastics
  • Arena Revolución – Volleyball
  • Satellite Circuit – Cycling (individual road race, road team time trial)
  • University City Swimming Pool – Water polo
  • Vicente Suárez Shooting Range – Modern pentathlon (shooting), Shooting
  • Virgilio Uribe Rowing and Canoeing Course – Canoeing, Rowing
  • Zócalo – Athletics (marathon start)

Sports

The 1968 Summer Olympic program featured 172 events in the following 18 sports:

  • Aquatics
    • Diving (4)
    • Swimming (29)
    • Water polo (1)
  • Athletics (36)
  • Basketball (1)
  • Boxing (11)
  • Canoeing (7)
  • Cycling
    • Road (2)
    • Track (5)
  • Equestrian
    • Dressage (2)
    • Eventing (2)
    • Jumping (2)
  • Fencing (8)
  • Football (1)
  • Gymnastics (14)
  • Field hockey (1)
  • Modern pentathlon (2)
  • Rowing (7)
  • Sailing (5)
  • Shooting (7)
  • Volleyball (2)
  • Weightlifting (7)
  • Wrestling
    • Freestyle (8)
    • Greco-Roman (8)

Demonstration sports

  • Basque pelota
  • Tennis

The organizers declined to hold a judo tournament at the Olympics, even though it had been a full-medal sport four years earlier. This was the last time judo was not included in the Olympic games.

Participating National Olympic Committees

East Germany and West Germany competed as separate entities for the first time in at a Summer Olympiad, and would remain so through 1988. Barbados competed for the first time as an independent country. Also competing for the first time in a Summer Olympiad were British Honduras (now Belize), Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (as Congo-Kinshasa), El Salvador, Guinea, Honduras, Kuwait, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Sierra Leone, and the United States Virgin Islands. Singapore returned to the Games as an independent country after competing as part of the Malaysian team in 1964. Suriname and Libya actually competed for the first time (in 1960 and 1964, respectively, they took part in the Opening Ceremony, but their athletes withdrew from the competition.)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/1968_Summer_Olympic_games_countries.png

Participating National Olympic Committees

  •  Afghanistan (5)
  •  Algeria (3)
  •  Argentina (89)
  •  Australia (128)
  •  Austria (43)
  •  Bahamas (16)
  •  Barbados (9)
  •  Belgium (82)
  •  Bermuda (6)
  •  Bolivia (4)
  •  Brazil (76)
  •  British Honduras (7)
  •  Bulgaria (112)
  •  Burma (4)
  •  Cameroon (5)
  •  Canada (138)
  •  Central African Republic (1)
  •  Ceylon (3)
  •  Chad (3)
  •  Chile (21)
  •  Colombia (43)
  •  Democratic Republic of the Congo (5)
  •  Costa Rica (18)
  •  Cuba (115)
  •  Czechoslovakia (121)
  •  Denmark (64)
  •  Dominican Republic (18)
  •  Ecuador (15)
  •  Egypt (30)
  •  El Salvador (60)
  •  Ethiopia (18)
  •  Fiji (1)
  •  Finland (66)
  •  France (200)
  •  East Germany (226)
  •  West Germany (275)
  •  Ghana (31)
  •  Great Britain (225)
  •  Greece (44)
  •  Guatemala (48)
  •  Guinea (15)
  •  Guyana (5)
  •  Honduras (6)
  •  Hong Kong (11)
  •  Hungary (167)
  •  Iceland (8)
  •  India (25)
  •  Indonesia (6)
  •  Iran (14)
  •  Iraq (3)
  •  Ireland (31)
  •  Israel (29)
  •  Italy (167)
  •  Ivory Coast (10)
  •  Jamaica (25)
  •  Japan (171)
  •  Kenya (39)
  •  South Korea (54)
  •  Kuwait (2)
  •  Lebanon (11)
  •  Libya (1)
  •  Liechtenstein (2)
  •  Luxembourg (5)
  •  Madagascar (4)
  •  Malaysia (31)
  •  Mali (2)
  •  Malta (1)
  •  Mexico (275) (host)
  •  Monaco (2)
  •  Mongolia (16)
  •  Morocco (24)
  •  Netherlands (107)
  •  Netherlands Antilles (5)
  •  New Zealand (52)
  •  Nicaragua (11)
  •  Niger (2)
  •  Nigeria (36)
  •  Norway (46)
  •  Pakistan (15)
  •  Panama (16)
  •  Paraguay (1)
  •  Peru (28)
  •  Philippines (49)
  •  Poland (177)
  •  Portugal (20)
  •  Puerto Rico (58)
  •  Romania (82)
  •  San Marino (4)
  •  Senegal (21)
  •  Sierra Leone (3)
  •  Singapore (4)
  •  Soviet Union (312)
  •  Spain (122)
  •  Sudan (5)
  •  Suriname (1)
  •  Sweden (100)
  •  Switzerland (85)
  •  Syria (2)
  •  Republic of China (43)
  •  Tanzania (4)
  •  Thailand (41)
  •  Trinidad and Tobago (19)
  •  Tunisia (7)
  •  Turkey (29)
  •  Uganda (11)
  •  United States (357)
  •  Uruguay (27)
  •  Venezuela (23)
  •  Vietnam (9)
  •  Virgin Islands (6)
  •  Yugoslavia (69)
  •  Zambia (7)

Boycotting countries

North Korea withdrew from the 1968 Games because of two incidents that strained its relations with the IOC. First, the IOC had barred North Korean track and field athletes from the 1968 Games because they had participated in the rival Games of the New Emerging Forces (GANEFO) in 1966. Secondly, the IOC had ordered the nation to compete under the name "North Korea" in the 1968 Games, whereas the country itself would have preferred its official name: "Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Calendar

All dates are in Central Time Zone (UTC-6)
OC Opening ceremony Event competitions 1 Gold medal events CC Closing ceremony
October12th
Sat
13th
Sun
14th
Mon
15th
Tue
16th
Wed
17th
Thu
18th
Fri
19th
Sat
20th
Sun
21st
Mon
22nd
Tue
23rd
Wed
24th
Thu
25th
Fri
26th
Sat
27th
Sun
Events
Olympic Rings Icon.svg Ceremonies OC                             CC N/A
Athletics   1 4 4 7 6 5 2 7               36
Basketball       1         1
Boxing       11   11
Canoeing                     7     7
Cycling       1   1 1 1 2   1         7
Diving           1 1   1 1   4
Equestrian             2   1 1 1   1 6
Fencing       1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1     8
Field hockey     1   1
Football           1   1
Gymnastics                   2 2 4 6   14
Modern pentathlon   2                     2
Rowing       7                 7
Sailing       5             5
Shooting             2 1   1 1   2       7
Swimming           2 4 3 3 3 4 4 3 3   28
Volleyball       2   2
Water polo       1   1
Weightlifting   1 1 1 1 1 1 1                 7
Wrestling           8     8   16
Daily medal events 25691310172014512816341172
Cumulative total 2713223545628296101113121137171172
October12th
Sat
13th
Sun
14th
Mon
15th
Tue
16th
Wed
17th
Thu
18th
Fri
19th
Sat
20th
Sun
21st
Mon
22nd
Tue
23rd
Wed
24th
Thu
25th
Fri
26th
Sat
27th
Sun
Total events

Medal count

These are the top ten nations that won medals at the 1968 Games. Host Mexico won 9 medals in total.

 
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1  United States 45 28 34 107
2  Soviet Union 29 32 30 91
3  Japan 11 7 7 25
4  Hungary 10 10 12 32
5  East Germany 9 9 7 25
6  France 7 3 5 15
7  Czechoslovakia 7 2 4 13
8  West Germany 5 11 10 26
9  Australia 5 7 5 17
10  Great Britain 5 5 3 13
Totals (10 nations) 133 114 117 364

 

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