Games of the XIX Olympiad

Host city	Mexico City, Mexico
Nations participating	112
Athletes participating	5,530 (4,750 men, 780 women)
Events	172 in 20 sports
Opening ceremony	October 12
Closing ceremony	October 27
Officially opened by	President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz
Athlete's Oath	Pablo Garrido
Olympic Torch	Norma Enriqueta Basilio de Sotelo
Stadium	Estadio Olímpico Universitario

The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country (followed in 1992 in Barcelona, Spain). It is the first Games ever held in Latin America, and it was the second after 1964 Summer Olympics to be hosted outside of Europe, Australia, or the United States. It was also the third Olympic Games to be held in autumn, then followed by the 1988 Summer Olympics.The Mexican Student Movement of 1968 happened concurrently and the Olympic Games were correlated to the government's response.

Host city selection[link]

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.^[1]

1968 Summer Olympics bidding result[2]
City	Country	Round 1
Mexico City	Mexico	30
Detroit	United States	14
Lyon	France	12
Buenos Aires	Argentina	2

Olympic torch[link]

American sculptor James Metcalf, an expatriate, won the commission to forge the Olympic torch for the 1968 Summer Games.^[3]

Highlights[link]

• In the medal award ceremony for the men's 200 meter race, African-American athletes Tommie Smith (gold) and John Carlos (bronze) took a stand for human 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. As punishment, the IOC banned Smith and Carlos from the Olympic Games for life, and Norman was left off of Australia's Olympic team in 1972.
• 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 Summer Olympic Games before or since have been held at high elevation. Although a performance reducer for endurance athletes, the thin air contributed to many record-setting jumps, leaps, vaults, and throws, as well as all of the men's track events of 400 meters and less. As a reminder of this fact, one of the promotional articles of these Olympics was a small metallic box labeled "Aire de México" (Air of Mexico), that was "Especial para batir records" (Special for breaking records).
• 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 didn't 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. Beethoven's Ode to Joy was played when East and West Germany arrived in the stadium.
• Al Oerter of the U.S. 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 of the U.S. lept 8.90 m (29.2 ft) in the long jump, an incredible 55 cm (22 in) improvement over the previous world record. It remains the Olympic record and stood as the world record for 23 years, until broken by American Mike Powell in 1991. American athletes Jim Hines and Lee Evans also set long-standing world records in the 100 m and 400 m, respectively.
• In the triple jump, the previous world record was improved five times by three different athletes.
• Dick Fosbury of the U.S. 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.
• Debbie Meyer of the U.S. 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.
• American swimmer Charles Hickcox won three gold medals (200m IM, 400m IM, 4x100m 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).
• John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania became internationally famous after finishing the marathon, in last place, despite a dislocated knee.
• This was the first of three Olympic participations by Jacques Rogge. He competed in yachting and would later become the eighth 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.
• It was the first games where the closing ceremony was transmitted in color to all the world.

Controversies[link]

Tlatelolco massacre[link]

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. Kate Doyle had confirmed the death of forty four people including a soldier named Pedro Gustavo López Hernández.^[4] Avery Brundage, president of the IOC, decided not to cancel the games. In the immediate aftermath of the massacre most prominent Mexicans, with the exception of Octavio Paz and Carlos Fuentes, condemned the violence but blamed the students for the massacre. As a response, during the opening ceremony, students flew a bird-shaped kite over the presidential box to shape a black dove as a silent protest for the repression.

Black Power salute[link]

On October 16, 1968, black sprinters 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 wearing black socks without shoes and civil rights badges, 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 4x400-meter relay team, also wore Olympic Project for Human Rights badges 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.

Venues[link]

• 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 – 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
• Insurgentes Ice Rink – 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
• Revolution Ice Rink – Volleyball
• Satellite Circuit – Cycling (individual road race, road team time trial)
• University City Swimming Pool – Water polo
• Vincente Suárez Shooting Range – Modern pentathlon (shooting), Shooting
• Virgilio Uribe Rowing and Canoeing Course – Canoeing, Rowing
• Zócalo – Athletics (marathon start)

Medals awarded[link]

See the medal winners, ordered by sport:

Demonstration sports[link]

• 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.

Calendar[link]