The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Olympic Games to be staged in Latin America, the first to be staged in a Spanish-speaking country, and the first to be staged in the Global South. Consequently, these games also marked the first time that there would be a gap of two Olympic Games not to be held in Europe. They were also the first Games to use an all-weather (smooth) track for track and field events instead of the traditional cinder track, as well as the first example of the Olympics exclusively using electronic timekeeping equipment.

The 1968 Games were the third to be held in the last quarter of the year, after the 1956 Games in Melbourne and the 1964 Games in Tokyo. The 1968 Mexican Student Movement was crushed days prior, hence the Games were correlated to the government's repression.

The United States won the most gold and overall medals for the last time until the 1984 Summer Games.

Host city selection

On 18 October 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.

+ 1968 Summer Olympics bidding results City CountryRound 1 Mexico City 30 Detroit 14 Lyon 12 Buenos Aires 2

Olympic torch relay The 1968 torch relay recreated the route taken by Christopher Columbus to the New World, journeying from Greece through Italy and Spain to San Salvador Island, Bahamas, and then on to Mexico. American sculptor James Metcalf, an expatriate in Mexico, won the commission to forge the Olympic torch for the 1968 Summer Games.

Visual identity The logo is viewed as a Mexican cultural icon. Inspired by the Olympic rings symbol, the five circles are incorporated into the year number 68 and unified with the word Mexico. The radiating parallel lines were extended to fit the poster format. This graphic design was printed in various vibrant colors and certain text with circular imagery. It was the subject of dispute between American designer Lance Wyman and Mexican architect Pedro Ramírez Vázquez over who originated the graphic concepts. Architect Eduardo Terrazas also worked under Ramirez's direction to develop the concept. A pink chacmool jaguar, which was sold in souvenir shops, is considered an unofficial mascot. The dove of peace was also a symbol of the Games, which was appropriated by student protesters with a bayonet piercing it.

Olympic venues

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 de Acapulco – 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 Arena Insurgentes – Wrestling Insurgentes Theatre – Weightlifting Jalisco Stadium – Football preliminaries Juan de la Barrera Olympic Gymnasium – Volleyball Juan Escutia Sports Palace – Basketball, Volleyball; the Sports Palace was completed time in 1968. Designed by Félix Candela, this sports venue allowed for the unashamed transmission of televised (TV) imagery. But venues of pre-Olympic origin were also designed into this sports event Municipal Stadium – Field hockey National Auditorium – Gymnastics Arena Revolución – Volleyball Satellite Circuit – Cycling (individual road race, road team time trial) University City Swimming Pool – Water polo Vicente Suárez Shooting Range – Modern pentathlon (shooting), Shooting Virgilio Uribe Rowing and Canoeing Course – Canoeing, Rowing Zócalo – Athletics (marathon start) Olympic Village – Villa Olímpica and Villa Coapa were constructed in 1968 to accommodate athletes and delegations and were later converted into residential complexesOfficial Report vol. 2, p. 187–195.

Highlights

In the medal award ceremony for the men's 200 metres race, Black American athletes Tommie Smith (gold) and John Carlos (bronze) took a stand for civil 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 "human rights" badge as a gesture of support to them on the podium. In response, the IOC banned Smith and Carlos from the Olympic Games for life, and Norman's omission from Australia's Olympic team in 1972 was allegedly as punishment. George Foreman won the gold medal in heavyweight boxing division by defeating Soviet Jonas Čepulis via a second-round TKO. After the victory, Foreman waved a small American flag as he bowed to the crowd. The high elevation of Mexico City, at above sea level, influenced many of the events, particularly in track and field. No other Summer Olympic Games before or since have been held at high elevation. 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 did not 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. Al Oerter 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 athletics. Bob Beamon leapt in the long jump, an incredible improvement over the previous world record. It stood as the world record for 23 years, until broken by American Mike Powell in 1991; yet it has stood as the current Olympic record for years. Jim Hines, Tommie Smith and Lee Evans also set long-standing world records in the 100 m, 200 m and 400 m, respectively. In the triple jump, the previous world record was improved five times by three different athletes. Winner Viktor Saneev also won in 1972 and 1976, and won silver in 1980. Dick Fosbury won the gold medal in the high jump using his unconventional Fosbury flop technique, which quickly became the dominant technique in the event.The Sports of the Times: A Day-by-Day Selection of the Most Important, Thrilling and Inspired Events of the Past 150 Years, edited by William Taaffe, David Fischer, New York, N.Y, U.S.: The New York Times and St. Martin's Press, 2003, "October 20, 1968: Fearless Fosbury Flops to Glory," Joseph Durso, page 333. Věra Čáslavská of Czechoslovakia won four gold medals in gymnastics and protested the Soviet invasion of her country. Debbie Meyer 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. Meyer was the first of several American teenagers to win the 800 m, with Katie Ledecky being her notable successor. American swimmer Charlie Hickcox won three gold medals (200 m IM, 400 m IM, 4 × 100 m medley relay) and one silver medal (100 m 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 the last place, despite a dislocated knee. This was the first of three Olympic participation by Jacques Rogge. He competed in yachting and would later become the 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. Kipchoge Keino of Kenya, competing in spite of unexpected bouts of severe abdominal pain later diagnosed as a gall bladder infection, finished the 10,000 meters in spite of collapsing from pain with two laps to go, won silver in the 5000, and won gold in the 1500 meters.The Complete Book of the Olympics, 2012 edition, David Wallechinsky, Jaime Loucky, London, England, UK: Aurum Press Ltd, 2012, "Track & Field (Men): 1500 Meters," page 108. It was the first Olympic games in which the closing ceremony was transmitted in color to the world, as well as the events themselves.Guinness World Records – First summer Olympic Games televised in colour

Controversies

South Africa

After being banned from participating in 1964, South Africa - under its new leader John Vorster - had made diplomatic overtures to improve relations with neighboring countries and internationally, suggesting legal changes to allow South Africa to compete with an integrated, multiracial team internationally. The nominal obstacle behind South Africa's exclusion thus removed, the country was thus provisionally invited to the Games, on the understanding that all segregation and discrimination in sport would be eliminated by the 1972 Games. However, African countries and African American athletes promised to boycott the Games if South Africa was present, and Eastern Bloc countries threatened to do likewise. In April 1968 the IOC conceded that "it would be most unwise for South Africa to participate". It was thus the first Olympics where South Africa was positively excluded, which continued until the Olympics of 1992.

Tlatelolco massacre

Responding to growing social unrest and protests, the government of Mexico had increased economic and political suppression, against labor unions in particular, in the decade building up to the Olympics. A series of protest marches in the city in August gathered significant attendance, with an estimated 500,000 taking part on 27 August. President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz ordered the police occupation of the National Autonomous University of Mexico in September, but protests continued. Using the prominence brought by the Olympics, students gathered in Plaza de las Tres Culturas in Tlatelolco to call for greater civil and democratic rights and showed disdain for the Olympics with slogans such as ¡No queremos olimpiadas, queremos revolución! ("We don't want Olympics, we want revolution!").. ADN Politico (8 August 2012). Retrieved on 2013-07-03.1968: Student riots threaten Mexico Olympics. BBC Sport. Retrieved on 3 July 2013.

Ten days before the start of the Olympics, the government ordered the gathering in Plaza de las Tres Culturas to be broken up. Some 5000 soldiers and 200 tankettes surrounded the plaza. Hundreds of protesters and civilians were killed and over 1000 were arrested. At the time, the event was portrayed in the national media as the military suppression of a violent student uprising, but later analysis indicates that the gathering was peaceful prior to the army's advance.Werner, Michael S., ed. Encyclopedia of Mexico: History, Society & Culture. Vol. 2 Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1997.Mexican students protest for greater democracy, 1968. Global Non-Violent Action Database. Retrieved on 3 July 2013.The Dead of Tlatelolco. The National Security Archive. Retrieved on 3 July 2013.

Black Power salute