Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics

At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, 36 athletics events were contested, 24 for men and 12 for women. There were a total number of 1031 participating athletes from 93 countries.

These games were notable for a number of Olympic firsts and numerous world records, attributable to the high altitude of Mexico City. These included:

• Dick Fosbury introduced the Fosbury Flop to the High Jump by jumping over backwards, whereas the prevailing methods involved jumping forwards or sideways.

• The first African Gold Medallists in the 1500m and 3000m Steeplechase, as well as many other medals in middle and long distance events. Particularly symbolic of Africa's new found dominance was the victory by Kenyan athlete Kip Keino over American World Record Holder and hot favourite Jim Ryun in the 1500m final.

• Bob Beamon broke Ralph Boston's 1965 and Igor Ter-Ovanesyan's 1967 World Record in the Men's Long Jump by 55 cm (22 in). This record was not broken until 1991. It remains the second best "legal" jump in history.

• The World Record was broken in the Men's Triple Jump five times by three athletes, including the final jump of the event. Surprisingly the Top 6 jumpers in the final jumped further than the pre-Olympic world record.

• The Black Power salute: Tommie Smith and John Carlos wore black gloves and bowed their heads on the medal podium after their medals in the 200m, sparking huge controversy.

• Jim Hines became the first sprinter to officially break the 10-second barrier in the 100 metres.^[1]

This was the first Olympics to use an all weather track surface now used in every major international athletics competition.

Medal summary

Men

Women

Medal table

References

• International Olympic Committee results database
• Athletics Australia

External links

• Youtube video of 1968 Olympic Men's 100 final
• Youtube video of 1968 Olympic Men's 200 final
• Youtube video of 1968 Olympic Men's 1500 final

Athletics at the Summer Olympics 1896 1900 1904 (1906) 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 List of medalists men women List of Olympic records List of venues