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Was a freshman in high school in 1968. The Mexico City Olympics started on Oct. 12 1968, later than usual. Closing ceremonies, Oct.27.
What I remember:
It was the 1st summer olympics to have mass coverage, 44 hours, the sports television era having come of age and there wasn't a substantial time difference so most events were covered live.
In the high altitude of Mexico City, Bob Beamon setting the long jump world record by over "(2) feet" at 29 ft 2 1/2 in. which stood for 23 years.
Lee Evans setting the 400 meter world record of 43:86, the first man to break the 44 sec. barrier. His record stood for over 20 years and anchoring the 4 x 400 relay team setting a world record of 2:56:16 which stood for over 34 years! This was one of the surest bets in sports history. At that time the U.S. had the top (8) 400 meter runners in the world.
And George Foreman waving the small American flag after he won the gold medal in heavyweight boxing. He was called an Uncle Tom at the time by some black athletes/activists, but I liked George, even before he transformed himself into America's favorite burger cooker, but I always liked Muhammad Ali more, but George was ok, I digress.
Of course, racial tensions were extremely high in 1968. Martin Luther King assassinated, race riots, LBJ deciding not to run for a second term, Bobby Kennedy assassinated and then the olympics, when supposedly the world comes together as one. 1968, not so much and then on Oct. 16, 1968, Tommie and John raising their fists in silent protest for 400 years of American oppression against African-Americans and being banished from the olympics by pro nazi racist, Avery Brundidge ~ oh the irony, hopefully Brundidge is rotting in hell!
1968 Summer Olympics
Controversies
On October 2, 1968, ten days before the start of the 1968 Summer Olympics the Plaza de las Tres Culturas was the scene of the Tlatelolco massacre, in which more than 300 student protesters were killed by army and police. After the event, the International Olympic Committee held an urgent meeting to consider cancelling the games.
Main article: 1968 Olympics Black Power salute
On October 16, 1968, an action by two Black US sprinters at the Mexico City Olympics shook the sporting world.
Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the gold and bronze medalists in the men's 200-meter race, took their places on the podium for the medal ceremony barefooted and wearing civil rights buttons, lowered their heads and each defiantly raised a black-gloved fist as the Star Spangled Banner was played. Both of them were members of the Olympic Project for Human Rights.
Some people (particularly IOC president Avery Brundage) felt that a political statement had no place in the international forum of the Olympic Games. In an immediate response to their actions, Smith and Carlos were suspended from the U.S. team by Brundage and banned from the Olympic Village. Those who opposed the protest said the actions disgraced all Americans. Supporters, on the other hand, praised the men for their bravery.
Peter Norman, the Australian sprinter who came second in the 200 m race, and Martin Jellinghaus, a member of the German bronze medal-winning 1600-meter relay team, also wore Olympic Project for Human Rights buttons at the games to show support for the suspended American sprinters.
In another incident, while standing on the medal podium after the balance beam event final, Czechoslovakian gymnast Věra Čáslavská quietly turned her head down and away during the playing of the Soviet national anthem. The action was Čáslavská's silent protest against the recent Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, and was repeated when she accepted her medal for her floor exercise routine. While Čáslavská's countrymen supported her actions and her outspoken opposition to Communism (she had publicly signed and supported Ludvik Vaculik's "Two Thousand Words" manifesto), the new regime responded by banning her from both sporting events and international travel for many years.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
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