Olympic Games of 1968
The 1968 Olympic Games, held in Mexico City from October 12 to 27, marked a significant moment in sports history, as it was the first Olympics hosted in Latin America and the highest altitude (7,347 feet) for any Summer Games. The event featured over 5,500 athletes from 112 nations and was notable for its political undertones, particularly surrounding the exclusion of South African athletes due to the apartheid regime, sparking threats of boycotts from African American athletes. The Games were also characterized by significant student unrest in the host city, which resulted in tragic violence days before the opening ceremony.
Athletes from the United States dominated the medal count, accumulating 114 medals in total, including 46 golds, and setting numerous world records, particularly in sprint events. Iconic moments included U.S. sprinter Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising their fists in a Black Power salute during the medal ceremony, which drew both support and backlash. Additionally, the competition showcased remarkable performances, such as Bob Beamon's groundbreaking long jump that set a world record, which stood for decades.
Overall, the 1968 Olympics served as a platform for political expression and social issues while simultaneously highlighting athletic achievements, leaving a lasting impact on both sports and society.
Olympic Games of 1968
Date: Winter Games, February 6-18; Summer Games, October 12-27
Politicized Olympic Games in a watershed year. The Olympics, particularly the Summer Games, featured great performances by U.S. athletes and striking political statements that challenged many people’s notions of the connection between sports and society.
Origins and History
By the 1968 Olympics, the Cold War issue had faded somewhat, eclipsed by the question of whether athletes from South Africa, where apartheid was practiced, should be allowed to compete. African Americans threatened to boycott the Games if South Africans participated, and the International Olympic Committee was forced to rescind its invitation to athletes from that nation. In addition, shortly before the start of the event, student unrest erupted in Mexico City, the host city for the Summer Games. More than two hundred people were killed during the rioting. The 1968 Olympics also brought expanded television coverage, as networks and marketers began to realize the potential for exploitation. Olympic products flooded stores, and athletes increasingly lent their names to product endorsements.
The Summer Games took place at an altitude of 7,347 feet, leading to eighteen new world records in the sprint events and generally poor performances in endurance events. U.S. athletes captured 114 medals (46 gold, 33 silver, and 35 bronze) in events ranging from figure skating to boxing, more than any other nation.
The Winter Games
The tenth Winter Games were held in Grenoble, France, a four-time Olympic host, February 6-18. More than twelve hundred competitors representing thirty-seven nations participated. The events were televised and viewed by millions of people worldwide.
The two most famous athletes to emerge from the competitions in Grenoble were U.S. figure skater Peggy Fleming and French alpine skier Jean-Claude Killy. Both dominated their events thoroughly. Fleming established a commanding lead during the compulsory figures part of the competition and expanded it. She captured all nine of the judges’ first-place votes on her way to the gold medal. Killy, competing near his hometown of Val d’Isère, won gold medals in all three alpine events, the downhill, slalom, and giant slalom. In addition to Fleming’s gold, Americans won six medals, five silver and one bronze.
The Summer Games
The nineteenth Summer Olympics were held in Mexico City, Mexico, October 12-27. More than fifty-five hundred athletes representing one hundred and twelve nations participated. Mexico City’s altitude, the highest for any Summer Games, dampened the speeds of the endurance events and played a role in establishing most of the eighteen world records, especially those set in track and field sprints and horizontal jumps, events where the thin air is advantageous. U.S. athletes set eight of the eleven marks while winning the men’s 100-, 200-, 400-meter dashes and the 400-and 1,600-meter relays. U.S. women also set records in winning the 100-meter dash and the 400-meter relay. Three of the records, those set in the men’s 400-meter dash, the 1,600-meter relay, and long jump, are particularly noteworthy. Lee Evans came to Mexico City holding the world record in the 400 meters, 44.0 seconds, which he lowered to 43.86 seconds, and the silver medalist, Larry James, posted a 43.97, also faster than the old record. The Americans swept the 400-meter event, with Ronald Freeman taking the bronze. Their success led spectators to have great expectations for the U.S. 1,600-meter relay team: Evans, James, and Freeman, joined by Vincent Matthews, won the race in 2:56.16, an improvement of more than two and one-half seconds over the old record. In spite of those accomplishments, many sport scholars regard the men’s long jump competition as the most amazing of all the summer events. In his first jump of the competition, Bob Beamon produced the greatest jump of his career, leaping to a new record of 8.90 meters (29.2 feet). With this single jump, Beamon moved the record 55 centimeters (21.8 inches), even though the world record had moved only 22 centimeters (8.5 inches) between 1935 and 1968.
Two track and field athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who won gold and bronze medals, respectively, for their performance in the 200-meter dash, staged a protest at the awards ceremony. The pair, who had been part of the group opposed to participation by South Africans, raised clenched fists and wore only black socks on their feet to demonstrate their support of black power. They were sent home after this display.
In swimming, the United States won 73 out of a possible 104 medals. Debbie Meyer won gold medals in the 200-, 400-, and 800-meter freestyle events, as did Claudia Kolb in the 200-and 400-meter individual medley events. Another double gold medalist was Mike Burton, who was victorious in the 400-and 1,500-meter freestyle events, and Charles Hickcox won gold medals in the 200-and 400-meter individual medley events and a silver in the 100-meter backstroke event. Jan Henne received a gold medal in one freestyle event and a silver in another, plus a bronze in an individual medley event. Other women taking home gold medals were Kaye Hall, Pokey Watson, and Sharon Wichman.
Swimmer Mark Spitz won four medals in 1968 (two gold in relays, one silver and one bronze). Four years later he would win seven gold medals while setting new world records in each event at the Munich Olympics in 1972. Other memorable U.S. Olympians included Al Oerter, who won the discus throw for the fourth consecutive time; Dick Fosbury, whose winning high jump technique (he went over the crossbar backward and head-first) revolutionized the event; and George Foreman, who won the Super Heavyweight boxing competition.
Impact
The success of the 1968 U.S. Olympic athletes affected both politics and sports. For some observers, the fact that U.S. athletes won more total medals at the Games than the Soviets did (114 to 104) and also more gold medals (46 to 34) demonstrated the superiority of U.S. political, economic, and social systems over those of the Soviet Union. In addition, the athletic records established in the thin air at the Mexico City Olympics remain very significant. Evans’s world record in the 400-meter dash lasted twenty years, Beamon’s long jump mark was not bested until 1991, and the 1,600-meter relay team’s record was not surpassed for thirty years.
The Summer Games, taking place during a turbulent year in the United States, were permeated by politics. Many spectators cheered the Czechoslovakian athletes, who had endured recent political turmoil in their country. Because of the student riots that had just taken place in Mexico City, guards were called in to protect the athletes and spectators during opening ceremonies. The controversy surrounding the participation of South African athletes raised awareness in the United States of the practice of apartheid. However, many people felt that the Olympics was not an appropriate venue for Smith and Carlos’s political statement. Despite the highly charged atmosphere, the Summer Games were not marred by the kind of politically based violence that resulted in the deaths of eleven Israeli athletes in Munich, Germany, in 1972.
Additional Information
The Complete Book of the Olympics, a publication produced by David Wallechinsky in the year before each Olympics, provides the most comprehensive coverage of the Olympic Games.