Olympic Series

Olympics - 1968 Mexico

The world was in rebellion. In China, the Cultural Revolution was at its height. In the United States, activists were demanding an end to the intervention in Vietnam, and the black community was campaigning for civil rights. Student demonstrations had paralyzed France, Germany and Brazil. Czechoslovakia saw the Prague Spring crushed by the Soviet Union. Then, in Mexico, just ten days before the opening of the Games, government troops opened fire on students, leaving more than 250 lying dead in Mexico City’s celebrated Plaza of the Three Cultures.

The prospect of holding the Games at an altitude of 7,000 feet struck fear into the hearts of doctors, trainers and athletes alike. Other environmental factors characterized the Games: the track – synthetic – the wind, which remained strangely constant at 2 m/sec during the major finals. Other innovations combined to incite another revolution: in athletics, every record was broken up to 400 m, including the relays. Africans monopolized the distance events from 1500 m to the marathon. Dick Fosbury re – invented the high jump and Bob Beamon achieved the feat of the century with his giant long jump of 8.90 m. Never had the Games been so affected by their setting. These exploits, and the emotion they aroused, made Mexico a global stage, on which Black Americans made peaceful protests, just six months after the assassination of Martin Luther King. Tommie Smith and John Carlos handed out badges marked ‘Olympic Projects for Human Rights’ and raised black- gloved fists on the podium.

Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Expelled from the American Camp

After the 200 meters final, two Black American athletes took advantage of the Olympic stage to express anger at the ‘victimization’ of their community. Tommie Smith and John Carlos mounted the podium to receive their 200 meters medals. Both wore the famous button bearing the slogan ‘Olympic Projects for Human Rights’, a black glove, a black silk scarf and leotard under open jackets, black socks and no shoes. During the US national anthem they raised their gloved fists to the sky and looked down instead of up at the American flag. This was to protest against the shameful conditions Black people endured in the USA and elsewhere. Following this, the American Olympic Committee decided to suspend Smith and Carlos and asked them to leave the Olympic Village with the least fuss possible.

Beamon Out Of ThisWorld    

By pulling off 8.90 meters in the long jump, Bob achieved a jump from another time. And it is, without doubt, the achievement of the century. As the sky rolled overhead with heavy, thunderous clouds and the horizon passed vibrantly from blue to burgundy to purple; Beamon perfected his run – up and hit the take – off board with the precision of a laser guided missile. His take – off, the result of the perfect coincidence of power and speed, propelled him high into the air, and he performed an astonishing scissor movement with his unfeasibly long legs. Leaning over his lower limbs, he remained suspended between the sky and the earth, rocket like, for longer than seemed possible. Bob delayed his landing like a ski – jumper, and finally came down well beyond the range of the optical measuring device. Several verifications were necessary before Beamon, who had bounced twice after his terrific jump, performed a wild jig and finished up in the arms of fellow American Boston.

A shriek went up in the stand as the most fantastic result of these Games, and perhaps in athletics history, was displayed in fiery letters: 8.90 meters! Was there a mistake? No: with a legal tailwind of 2 meters/sec, Beamon had broken the world record by 55 cms.

Al Oerter Victorious On four Continents  

This American achieved an unprecedented four consecutive Olympic victories in Melbourne, Rome, Tokyo and now Mexico. He resembled a gladiator, with his blond locks plastered to his forehead and a bulging chest. The discuss throwers battled with the elements for over half an hour. Oerter nursed his own discuss in a white cloth like a new born child. Finally, the twelve competitors gave up and headed for the shelter of the stands, as the storm grew increasingly violent. When the contest resumed, the 6 ft 3 inch and 277 pounds Oerter, an electric engineer in an aeronautical company, threw the discuss to 64.78 meters and snatched victory.

Fosbury, Revolutionizes The High Jump

Four years after Valerie Brumel’s belly – roll, Dick Fosbury pioneered a new technique – to great success. Fosbury stood perfectly still, at a forty – five degree angle to the bar. He then carried out a number of bizarre series of movements to aid concentration, involving mysterious hand signals and a bending of his torso, almost to the point of losing balance. He then took off, racing towards the bar at top speed in a wide arc. He reached the bar as if to perform a scissors jump. But as he launched himself into the air, he twisted and flung his body backwards, passing over the bar in an almost horizontal position, before he brought his legs up towards his body as he landed on the other side. This had been a remarkable international debut for Dick Fosbury. It was none the less strange to witness this new technique which departed so abruptly from the Soviet ‘belly – roll’.

Jim Hines of USA won the 100 meters final, which had eight black athletes competing against each other for the first time and the race lived up to expectations. In women’s swimming, Debbie Meyer was a cut above the rest, as the young American’s explosive performance in the pool won her the Gold in 200, 400 and 800 meters freestyle. Vera Caslavska of Czechoslavakia, a woman gymnast who had won Gold in the all-round competition in Tokyo, repeated her victory in Mexico and followed it by marrying a fellow Czech athlete in the Olympic village. George Foreman of USA won the Gold in the Heavyweight boxing title fight and demonstrated his solidarity for the ‘Black Power’ movement – without forgetting to show that he was also competing as a US athlete.

The Games In Brief

Opening Ceremony                                              12 October 1968

Closing Ceremony                                                27 October 1968

Host Nation                                                          Mexico

Nations Participated                                            113

Athletes                                                                 5,531 (761 women, 4,750 men)

Sports                                                                   18 (7 open to women)

Events                                                                  172 (39 open to women)

Games Officially Opened By                              Diaz, President of Mexico

Olympic Flame Lit By                                        Enriqueta Basilio de Sotel (athletics)

Olympic Oath By                                                Pablo Garrido (athletics)

IOC President                                                    Avery Brundage (USA)

At 2,240 meters, the Olympic Games had never been held at such high altitude. The German Democratic Republic team competed under the name of East Germany. Winners had to undergo drugs testing for the first time ever and Swede Hans Gunther Liljenwall, an entrant in modern pentathlon was disqualified for testing positive for excessive alcohol.

In athletics, cycling, rowing, canoeing, swimming and equestrian sports, official timings were taken both manually and electronically, although the electronic readings were considered to be the true times.

PS -: Matter researched from the archives of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

+919410900051