On this day, October 16, 1968, Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave the Black Power salute at the Olympics.

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1968 Olympics Black Power salute



Gold medalist Tommie Smith (center) and bronze medalist John Carlos (right) showing the raised fist on the podium after the 200 m race at the 1968 Summer Olympics; both wear Olympic Project for Human Rights badges. Peter Norman (silver medalist, left) from Australia also wears an OPHR badge in solidarity with Smith and Carlos.

During their medal ceremony in the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City on October 16, 1968, two African-American athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, each raised a black-gloved fist during the playing of the US national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner". While on the podium, Smith and Carlos, who had won gold and bronze medals respectively in the 200-meter running event of the 1968 Summer Olympics, turned to face the US flag and then kept their hands raised until the anthem had finished. In addition, Smith, Carlos, and Australian silver medalist Peter Norman all wore human-rights badges on their jackets.

In his autobiography, Silent Gesture, published nearly 30 years later, Smith revised his statement that the gesture was not a "Black Power" salute per se, but rather a "human rights" salute. The demonstration is regarded as one of the most overtly political statements in the history of the modern Olympics.

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Peter Norman



Personal information
Full name: Peter George Norman
Born: 15 June 1942; Coburg, Victoria, Australia
Died: 3 October 2006 (aged 64); Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Peter George Norman (15 June 1942 – 3 October 2006) was an Australian track athlete. He won the silver medal in the 200 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, with a time of 20.06 seconds, which remains the Oceania 200 m record. He was a five-time national 200-metre champion.

Norman is probably best known as the third athlete in the famous 1968 Olympics protest salute photograph taken during the medal ceremony for the 200-metre event. He knew the salute was to occur and wore a badge of the Olympic Project for Human Rights in support of fellow athletes John Carlos and Tommie Smith.

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Death

Norman died of a heart attack on 3 October 2006 in Melbourne at the age of 64. The US Track and Field Federation proclaimed 9 October 2006, the date of his funeral, as Peter Norman Day. Thirty-eight years after the three first made history, both Smith and Carlos gave eulogies and were pallbearers at Norman's funeral. At the time of his death, Norman was survived by his second wife, Jan, and their daughters Belinda and Emma. Additionally, he was survived by his first wife, Ruth; their children Gary, Sandra, and Janita; and four grandchildren.

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Wed Oct 9, 2024: Today in Australia 🦘, it's Peter Norman Day. If you don't know who Peter Norman is, you should find out ...

Wed Oct 18, 2023: On October 16, 1968, Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave the Black Power salute at the Olympics.