X-Nico

29 unusual facts about 1968 Summer Olympics


1969–70 NBA season

The 7'2 230-pound center had caused controversy in boycotting the 1968 Summer Olympics, urging Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld and Bob Lanier to do the same.

1984 Canadian Mens Rowing Eight

The team, coached by Neil Campbell (a rowing Olympian in 1964 and 1968), came together in 1984 and won the gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, warding off a furious last minute challenge from the home-crowd favourites, the team from the USA.

Alan Gowling

Gowling represented the British Olympic side at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

Asterix at the Olympic Games

Serialized in Pilote issues 434-455 in 1968 (to coincide with the Mexico City Olympics), it was translated into English in 1972 (to coincide with the Munich Olympics).

Clarksville, Texas

Tommie Smith set the world and Olympic records with a time of 19.83 seconds and became the 200-meter Olympic champion at the 1968 Summer Olympics, which were held in Mexico.

David Schmoeller

Fluent in Spanish, he was briefly an interpreter for ABC Sports during the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.

Dorfmark

Bronze medal winner in the decathlon at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo; silver medal winner in the decathlon at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.

Eckart Wagner

Eckart Johannes Wagner (born 4 July 1938 in Kiel) is a German former sailor who competed in the 1960 Summer Olympics, in the 1964 Summer Olympics, and in the 1968 Summer Olympics.

First Quarter Storm

Tlatelolco massacre, violent student protests in 1968 Mexico just before the Summer Olympics held in Mexico City

Fritz Kopperschmidt

Fritz Kopperschmidt (born 22 December 1939 in Hamburg) is a German former sailor who competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics and in the 1968 Summer Olympics.

Gerald Hylkema

In 1968, he was part of the Dutch field hockey team at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

Harald Stein

Harald Stein (born 4 August 1942) is a German former sailor who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics.

Honor Glide

He was purchased for $31,000 at the 1995 Fasig-Tipton July yearling sale by Robert G. Schaedle III on the advice of 1968 Summer Olympics Equestrian Gold Medalist and Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame trainer, Jim Day.

Jack Bacheler

That same year, Bacheler trained for a spot on the U.S. track team going to the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where the high altitude and "thinner air" would present a challenge to distance runners.

Joe Burk

In 1968 the Penn crew (with the addition of some alumni) came within four one-hundredths 4/100 of a second of beating Harvard in the finals of the Olympic trials for the right to go to the 1968 Summer Olympics.

Julian Pearce

In 1964 he went to Tokyo Olympics with Eric where Australia managed a bronze medal and in 1968 at Mexico City won silver with Eric and Gordon.

Karl-August Stolze

Karl-August Stolze (born 28 August 1920) is a German former sailor who competed in the 1960 Summer Olympics and in the 1968 Summer Olympics.

Ken Stirling

His sister, Glenda, represented New Zealand in swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics and he is related to former New Zealand cricket captain Daniel Vettori.

Klaus Dumke

He competed for East Germany in the individual and team épée events at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

Lothar Matthes

Lothar Matthes (born 23 July 1947) is a German former diver who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics and in the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Olympische Hymne

This score was located after the war by the German National Olympic Committee, and copies were made for the organizers of the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City and for IOC President Juan Samaranch in 1997 for the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.

Paul L. Montgomery

He also wrote stories about the difficulties of life in the slums of Ecuador and coverage of clashes between federal soldiers and protesters in the Tlatelolco Massacre that took place on October 2, 1968, in Mexico City, ten days before the 1968 Summer Olympics and left an estimated 200 to 300 deaths.

Rüdiger Henning

Henning won a gold medal in coxed eights at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, as a member of the rowing team from West Germany.

Rudolf Harmstorf

Rudolf Harmstorf (born 25 December 1922) is a German former sailor who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics.

Sükhbaataryn Sürenjav

The IOC database incorrectly lists Sürenjav as bronze medalist in the Freestyle wrestling Flyweight category at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico.

Sydney University Boat Club

Boat club members (and club alumni rowing at other Sydney clubs) represented at Olympic level at Helsinki 1952, Rome 1960, Mexico City 1968 and Montreal 1976 (see below).

Tartu Ülikool Korvpallimeeskond

A new rise started in the late 1960s with players like Anatoli Krikun (Olympic bronze 1968) and Aleksei Tammiste.

Werner Christoph

Werner Christoph (born 13 January 1943) was a German sailor who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics and in the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Willi Gutmann

He was the artist representing Switzerland at the 1968 Summer Olympics Route of Friendship in Mexico City.


Barbados Olympic Association

Formed after the dissolution of the West Indies Federation in 1962, the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA) first competed at Olympic level at the 1968 Summer Olympics and has continued to compete at every Olympics since excluding the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.

Bob Braithwaite

Qualifying again for the 1968 Games in Mexico City his busy veterinary practice provided him with little time to travel to the few training grounds available.

Doug Roby

As president of the USOC during the 1968 Summer Olympics, he issued the order expelling African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos after their raised-fist Black Power salute during a medal ceremony.

Emily Silver

Silver is the niece of Larry Barbiere, a finalist in the men's 100-meter backstroke at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

Henk Schenk

Hendrik "Henk" Schenk (born 29 April 1945 in Wieringerwaard) is an American former wrestler who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics and in the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Igor Tselovalnikov

He competed at the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics in the 2000 m tandem sprint and finished in fifth and first place, respectively.

John Dominis

One of his best known pictures was shot during the 1968 Summer Olympics, when Dominis pictured Tommie Smith and John Carlos during their Black Power salute.

Juan Manuel Asensi

He was picked for the squads at the 1978 World Cup and UEFA Euro 1980 – his last international was played in the latter competition, also against Belgium (and also 1–2 defeat) – and also competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

Karen Moras

Karen Lynne Moras (born 6 January 1954 in Ryde, New South Wales), known after marriage as Karen Moras-Stephenson was an Australian distance freestyle swimmer of the 1960s and 1970s who won a bronze medal in the 400 m freestyle at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

Klaus Beer

Beer won the silver medal in the long jump at the 1968 Summer Olympics, well behind Bob Beamon's record setting performance – Beamon jumped 8.90 m, while Beer jumped 8.19 m.

Kunishige Kamamoto

Kunishige Kamamoto (釜本 邦茂 Kamamoto Kunishige, born April 15, 1944) is a former association football player from Japan, who won the bronze medal with the Japan national team at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico, finishing as the tournament's top scorer with seven goals.

Liberia at the Olympics

Liberia (LBR) has sent athletes to every Summer Olympic Games held since 1956 with the exception of 1968, 1976 and 1992, although the country has never won an Olympic medal.

Margitta Gummel

She competed for the Unified German team in the 1964 Summer Olympics, East Germany in the 1968 Summer Olympics, and East Germany again at the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Metro Candelaria

It also displays the architecture of Félix Candela, who designed the Candelaria station and also designed many buildings in Mexico, such as the San Lázaro metro station and the famous Palacio de los Deportes which served as a venue during the 1968 Summer Olympics.

Ng Joo Pong

Joe Ng Joo Pong (born June 19, 1946 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) is a Malaysian cyclist who represented Malaysia at the 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics and the 1966 Asian Games.

Reuben Jones

Reuben (Ben) Jones (born 19 October 1932 in Newport, Shropshire, England; died 3 January 1990 in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire) was an Olympic equestrian rider who competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

Richard Streeton

He remained at Reuters for over a decade, where his assignments included the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City; England cricket tours to Australia, New Zealand and the West Indies; and the Monte Carlo Rally.

Santa Clara del Cobre

Metcalf was commissioned to create the Olympic torch for the 1968 Olympic Games and Pellicer designed the jewelry that adorned the Statue of Liberty on its 100th anniversary.

Susan Shields

She represented the United States as a 16-year-old at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where she received a bronze medal for her third-place performance in the 100-meter butterfly, finishing behind Australian Lyn McClements and fellow American Ellie Daniel.

Uta Schmuck

Born in Limbach-Oberfrohna, Soviet Occupied Zone, she competed for East Germany in the 1968 Summer Olympics.

Wrestling at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 57 kg

The Men's Freestyle bantamweight at the 1968 Summer Olympics as part of the wrestling program were held at the Insurgentes Ice Rink.

Wrestling at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's Greco-Roman 52 kg

The Men's Greco-Roman flyweight at the 1968 Summer Olympics as part of the wrestling program were held at the Insurgentes Ice Rink.

Wrestling at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's Greco-Roman 57 kg

The Men's Greco-Roman bantamweight at the 1968 Summer Olympics as part of the wrestling program were held at the Insurgentes Ice Rink.

Yisha'ayahu Schwager

Schwager also played at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

Yutaka Katayama

His son Hiroshi was an Olympic bronze medalist in soccer in the 1968 Mexico City Summer Games.