Athletics at the 1968 Summer Olympics

Athletics

at the Games of the XIX Olympiad

Venue| Estadio Olímpico Universitario
No. of events| 36
Competitors| 1,031 from 93 nations

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1972 ->

Athletics at the
1968 Summer Olympics

Track events
100 m| men| women
200 m| men| women
400 m| men| women
800 m| men| women
1500 m| men|
5000 m| men|
10,000 m| men|
80 m hurdles| | women
110 m hurdles| men|
400 m hurdles| men|
3000 m
steeplechase| men|
4 × 100 m relay| men| women
4 × 400 m relay| men|
Road events
Marathon| men|
20 km walk| men|
50 km walk| men|
Field events
Long jump| men| women
Triple jump| men|
High jump| men| women
Pole vault| men|
Shot put| men| women
Discus throw| men| women
Javelin throw| men| women
Hammer throw| men|
Combined events
Pentathlon| | women
Decathlon| men|

* v
* t
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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.[1][2]

These games were notable for a number of Olympic firsts and numerous world records. 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 newfound dominance was the victory by Kenyan athlete Kip Keino 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. The top five finishers all beat the previous 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.
* Jim Hines became the first sprinter to officially break the 10-second barrier in the 100 metres.[3]

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

## Medal summary

[edit]

### Men

[edit]

Games  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze

|
|
|

100 metres
details | Jim Hines
United States | 9.95 WR | Lennox Miller
Jamaica | 10.04  | Charles Greene
United States | 10.07
200 metres
details | Tommie Smith
United States | 19.83 WR | Peter Norman
Australia | 20.06 NR | John Carlos
United States | 20.10
400 metres
details | Lee Evans
United States | 43.86 WR | Larry James
United States | 43.97  | Ron Freeman
United States | 44.41
800 metres
details | Ralph Doubell
Australia | 1:44.40 WR | Wilson Kiprugut
Kenya | 1:44.57  | Tom Farrell
United States | 1:45.46
1500 metres
details | Kipchoge Keino
Kenya | 3:34.91 OR | Jim Ryun
United States | 3:37.89  | Bodo Tümmler
West Germany | 3:39.08
5000 metres
details | Mohammed Gammoudi
Tunisia | 14:05.01  | Kipchoge Keino
Kenya | 14:05.16  | Naftali Temu
Kenya | 14:06.41
10,000 metres
details | Naftali Temu
Kenya | 29:27.40  | Mamo Wolde
Ethiopia | 29:27.75  | Mohammed Gammoudi
Tunisia | 29:34.2
110 metres hurdles
details | Willie Davenport
United States | 13.33 OR | Ervin Hall
United States | 13.42  | Eddy Ottoz
Italy | 13.46
400 metres hurdles
details | David Hemery
Great Britain | 48.12 WR | Gerhard Hennige
West Germany | 49.02  | John Sherwood
Great Britain | 49.03
3000 metres steeplechase
details | Amos Biwott
Kenya | 8:51.02  | Benjamin Kogo
Kenya | 8:51.56  | George Young
United States | 8:51.86
4 × 100 metres relay
details |  United States (USA)
Charles Greene
Mel Pender
Ronnie Ray Smith
Jim Hines | 38.24 WR |  Cuba (CUB)
Hermes Ramírez
Juan Morales
Pablo Montes
Enrique Figuerola | 38.40  |  France (FRA)
Gérard Fenouil
Jocelyn Delecour
Claude Piquemal
Roger Bambuck | 38.43
4 × 400 metres relay
details |  United States (USA)
Vincent Matthews
Ron Freeman
Larry James
Lee Evans | 2:56.16 WR |  Kenya (KEN)
Daniel Rudisha
Munyoro Nyamau
Naftali Bon
Charles Asati | 2:59.64  |  West Germany (FRG)
Helmar Müller
Manfred Kinder
Gerhard Hennige
Martin Jellinghaus | 3:00.57
Marathon
details | Mamo Wolde
Ethiopia | 2:20:27  | Kenji Kimihara
Japan | 2:23:31  | Mike Ryan
New Zealand | 2:23:45
20 kilometres walk
details | Volodymyr Holubnychy
Soviet Union | 1:33:58  | José Pedraza
Mexico | 1:34:00  | Nikolay Smaga
Soviet Union | 1:34:03
50 kilometres walk
details | Christoph Höhne
East Germany | 4:20:14  | Antal Kiss
Hungary | 4:30:17  | Larry Young
United States | 4:31:55
High jump
details | Dick Fosbury
United States | 2.24 m OR | Ed Caruthers
United States | 2.22 m  | Valentin Gavrilov
Soviet Union | 2.20 m
Pole vault
details | Bob Seagren
United States | 5.40 m OR | Claus Schiprowski
West Germany | 5.40 m  | Wolfgang Nordwig
East Germany | 5.40 m
Long jump
details | Bob Beamon
United States | 8.90 m WR | Klaus Beer
East Germany | 8.19 m  | Ralph Boston
United States | 8.16 m
Triple jump
details | Viktor Saneyev
Soviet Union | 17.39 m WR | Nelson Prudêncio
Brazil | 17.27 m  | Giuseppe Gentile
Italy | 17.22 m
Shot put
details | Randy Matson
United States | 20.54 m OR | George Woods
United States | 20.12 m  | Eduard Gushchin
Soviet Union | 20.09 m
Discus throw
details | Al Oerter
United States | 64.78 m OR | Lothar Milde
East Germany | 63.08 m  | Ludvík Daněk
Czechoslovakia | 62.92 m
Hammer throw
details | Gyula Zsivótzky
Hungary | 73.36 m OR | Romuald Klim
Soviet Union | 73.28 m  | Lázár Lovász
Hungary | 69.78 m
Javelin throw
details | Jānis Lūsis
Soviet Union | 90.10 m OR | Jorma Kinnunen
Finland | 88.58 m  | Gergely Kulcsár
Hungary | 87.06 m
Decathlon
details | Bill Toomey
United States | 8193 OR | Hans-Joachim Walde
West Germany | 8111  | Kurt Bendlin
West Germany | 8064

### Women

[edit]

Games  | Gold  | Silver  | Bronze

|
|
|

100 metres
details | Wyomia Tyus
United States | 11.08 WR | Barbara Ferrell
United States | 11.15  | Irena Szewińska
Poland | 11.19
200 metres
details | Irena Szewińska
Poland | 22.58 WR | Raelene Boyle
Australia | 22.74  | Jenny Lamy
Australia | 22.88
400 metres
details | Colette Besson
France | 52.03  | Lillian Board
Great Britain | 52.12  | Natalya Pechonkina
Soviet Union | 52.25
800 metres
details | Madeline Manning
United States | 2:00.92 OR | Ileana Silai
Romania | 2:02.58  | Mia Gommers
Netherlands | 2:02.63
80 metres hurdles
details | Maureen Caird
Australia | 10.39 OR | Pam Kilborn
Australia | 10.46  | Chi Cheng
Taiwan | 10.51
4 × 100 metres relay
details |  United States (USA)
Margaret Bailes
Barbara Ferrell
Mildrette Netter
Wyomia Tyus | 42.88 WR |  Cuba (CUB)
Violetta Quesada
Miguelina Cobián
Marlene Elejarde
Fulgencia Romay | 43.36  |  Soviet Union (URS)
Galina Bukharina
Lyudmila Samotyosova
Vera Popkova
Lyudmila Zharkova | 43.41
High jump
details | Miloslava Rezková
Czechoslovakia | 1.82 m  | Antonina Okorokova
Soviet Union | 1.80 m  | Valentina Kozyr
Soviet Union | 1.80 m
Long jump
details | Viorica Viscopoleanu
Romania | 6.82 m WR | Sheila Sherwood
Great Britain | 6.68 m  | Tatyana Talysheva
Soviet Union | 6.66 m
Shot put
details | Margitta Gummel
East Germany | 19.61 m WR | Marita Lange
East Germany | 18.78 m  | Nadezhda Chizhova
Soviet Union | 18.19 m
Discus throw
details | Lia Manoliu
Romania | 58.28 m OR | Liesel Westermann
West Germany | 57.76 m  | Jolán Kleiber-Kontsek
Hungary | 54.90 m
Javelin throw
details | Angéla Németh
Hungary | 60.36 m  | Mihaela Peneș
Romania | 59.92 m  | Eva Janko
Austria | 58.04 m
Pentathlon
details | Ingrid Becker
West Germany | 5098  | Liese Prokop
Austria | 4966  | Annamária Tóth
Hungary | 4959

## Medal table

[edit]

Rank| Nation| Gold| Silver| Bronze| Total

|
|
|
|
|

1|  United States (USA)| 15| 6| 7| 28
2|  Kenya (KEN)| 3| 4| 1| 8
3|  Soviet Union (URS)| 3| 2| 8| 13
4|  Australia (AUS)| 2| 3| 1| 6
East Germany (GDR)| 2| 3| 1| 6
6|  Romania (ROU)| 2| 2| 0| 4
7|  Hungary (HUN)| 2| 1| 4| 7
8|  West Germany (FRG)| 1| 4| 3| 8
9|  Great Britain (GBR)| 1| 2| 1| 4
10|  Ethiopia (ETH)| 1| 1| 0| 2
11|  Czechoslovakia (TCH)| 1| 0| 1| 2
France (FRA)| 1| 0| 1| 2
Poland (POL)| 1| 0| 1| 2
Tunisia (TUN)| 1| 0| 1| 2
15|  Cuba (CUB)| 0| 2| 0| 2
16|  Austria (AUT)| 0| 1| 1| 2
17|  Brazil (BRA)| 0| 1| 0| 1
Finland (FIN)| 0| 1| 0| 1
Jamaica (JAM)| 0| 1| 0| 1
Japan (JPN)| 0| 1| 0| 1
Mexico (MEX)| 0| 1| 0| 1
22|  Italy (ITA)| 0| 0| 2| 2
23|  Netherlands (NED)| 0| 0| 1| 1
New Zealand (NZL)| 0| 0| 1| 1
Taiwan (ROC)| 0| 0| 1| 1
Totals (25 entries)| 36| 36| 36| 108

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Sports Reference
2. ^ IOC. "Mexico City 1968 Athletics - Olympic Results by Discipline". Olympics.com. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
3. ^ Sports Reference Sports Reference

* International Olympic Committee results database
* Athletics Australia

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Events at the 1968 Summer Olympics (Mexico City)

* Athletics
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* Boxing
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Athletics at the Summer Olympics

Editions|

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Events|

| Track|

* 100 m
* 200 m
* 400 m
* 800 m
* 1500 m
* 5000 m
* 10,000 m
* 4 × 100 m relay
* 4 × 400 m relay
* Sprint hurdles
* 400 m hurdles
* Steeplechase

|

Field|

* Shot put
* Discus throw
* Hammer throw
* Javelin throw
* Pole vault
* High jump
* Long jump
* Triple jump

Others|

* Combined events
* Marathon
* Race walking

Defunct|

* Cross country
* Team races
* 60 metres
* Weight throw
* Wheelchair racing
* Professional events
* Handicap events

* List of medalists
* men
* women
* Records
* Venues
* Medal sweeps

*[No.]: Number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[WR]: World record
*[NR]: National record
*[OR]: Olympic record