Beamon effort - 1968 Olympics
The year 1968 is marked for student unrest through out the world. The year has witnessed Ted offensive in Vietnam which turned the tide of Vietnam War against the Mighty U.S. The year saw the assassination of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. The world saw many upheavals and political uncertainties. Many students took to streets in Paris in support of anti –Vietnam War.
Students in Mexico revolted against oppressive policy of Mexican rulers. As a part of the revolt the students gathered at Tlatelolco in Mexico City to organize yet another rally on 2nd of October 1968. The crowd swelled to hundreds and thousands. The Oppressive government become impatient and sends in the army to quell it. The army started killing indiscremently. The count of dead reached more than 400. It happened just 10 days before the start of Mexican Olympics. In spite of Tlateloco massacre the Olympics was started just in time. There were no qualms of conscience from any quarters.
Mexican Olympics could not be remembered with out the name of Bob Beamon springing up.Beamon broke the long jump records in the Olympics not by inches but by feet. Generally a previous record is broken in long jump by half an inch or by few inches. But Beamon broke the world record by more than 2 feet. The entire athletic fraternity sighed in disbelief. Mexico is situated in high altitude. The thin air in the atmosphere aided him. His record subsequently was broken by Mike Powel in 1991 in the Tokyo world Athletics Championships but his Olympics record is still there waiting to be broken.
Dick Fosbury is another athlete who won the gold in High Jump is still remembered. He introduced a new technique that came to be known as Fosbury Flop.The method used is to sprint diagonally towards the bar, jump off the outside foot, then curve and leap head-first, back-downwards over the bar in a rolling motion keeping as much of the body as possible below the bar.
Mexican Olympics also became the platform to send a political statement. Two african americans John Carlos and Tommie Smith bend down their heads during medal cermony when American national anthem was played. Similarly Czechoslovakian gymnast Vera Caslavska standing on the podium turned her head away when Soviet national anthem was played in protest against soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia during medal cermony.
In Hockey Pakistan won the gold defeating Australia in the Final. Thus Indian domination of hockey in olympics practically ended save for one more time.India took bronze.
The firest three places in medal tally.
|
Rank
|
Nation
|
Gold
|
Silver
|
Bronze
|
Total
|
|
1
|
45
|
28
|
34
|
107
|
|
|
2
|
29
|
32
|
30
|
91
|
|
|
3
|
11
|
7
|
7
|
25
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
“If I win, I am American, not a black American. But if I did something bad, then
they would say I am a Negro. We are black and we are proud of being black. Black America will understand what we did tonight."
Tommie Smith
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