1968 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 200 m (men)

sport	athletics
discipline	200 meter run
gender	Men
Attendees	50 athletes from 37 countries
Competition location	Estadio Olímpico Universitario
Competition phase	October 15, 1968 (preliminary / quarter-finals) October 16 (semi-finals / final)
Medalist Tommie Smith ( USA )   Peter Norman ( AUS )   John Carlos ( USA )

The men's 200-meter run at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City was held on October 15 and 16, 1968 in the Estadio Olímpico Universitario . Fifty athletes took part.

The American Tommie Smith became Olympic champion . He won with a new world record time ahead of the Australians Peter Norman and John Carlos from the USA.

The competition gained particular fame after the race through the protest at the award ceremony . Tommie Smith and John Carlos wanted to demonstrate for the then very current African American civil rights movement Black Power and to express their protest against the oppression of blacks in the USA. The photo taken by photojournalist John Dominis - see right - has been featured on front pages around the world.

Joachim Eigenherr and Gert Metz started for the Federal Republic of Germany - officially 'Germany' . While Metz was eliminated in the preliminary stages, Eigenherr reached the final, in which he was eighth. Switzerland was represented by Hansruedi Wiedmer, who failed in the quarter-finals. Runners from the GDR - officially 'East Germany' -, Austria and Liechtenstein did not take part.

Existing records

World record	20.0 s	Tommie Smith ( USA )	Sacramento , USA	June 11, 1966
Olympic record	20.3 s	Henry Carr ( USA )	Tokyo finals , Japan	17th October 1964

The world record was achieved in a race over 220  yards = 201.17 m.

Conducting the competition

The athletes competed in a total of seven heats on October 15th. The first four and the following four fastest reached the quarter-finals on the same day. From this, the four best runners qualified for the semi-finals on October 16. In the preliminary rounds, the top four in each case qualified for the final, which took place on the same day.

Time schedule

October 15, 10.30 a.m .: Preliminaries
October 15, 3.40 p.m .: quarter-finals
October 16, 3.20 p.m .: semi-finals
October 16, 5.50 p.m .: final

Note: All times are Mexico City local time ( UTC −6)

The directly qualified athletes are highlighted in light blue, the others in light green.

Preliminary round

Date: October 15, 1968, from 10.30 a.m.

Forward 1

Wind: 0.0 m / s

Hadley Hinds was the first athlete from the Caribbean island of Barbados to take part in the Olympic Games.

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	John Carlos	United States	20.5 s	20.54 s
2	Andrés Calonge	Argentina	20.8 s	20.81 s
3	Manikavasagam Jegathesan	Malaysia	20.9 s	20.92 s
4th	Livio Berruti	Italy	21.0 s	21.06 s
5	Valentin Maslakov	Soviet Union	21.0 s	21.07 s
6th	Norman Chihota	Tanzania	21.2 s	21.28 s
7th	Canagasabai Kunalan	Singapore	21.3 s	21.39 s
8th	Hadley Hinds	Barbados	22.3 s	22.35 s

Forward 2

Wind: +0.5 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Tommie Smith	United States	20.3 s	20.37 s	ORe
2	Charles Asati	Kenya	20.6 s	20.66 s
3	Joachim Eigenherr	BR Germany	20.6 s	20.69 s
4th	Edwin Roberts	Trinidad and Tobago	20.6 s	20.69 s
5	David Ejoke	Nigeria	21.0 s	21.09 s
6th	Edwin Johnson	Bahamas	21.2 s	21.22 s
7th	Kun Min-mu	Taiwan	22.4 s	22.44 s

Forward 3

Wind: 0.0 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Larry Questad	United States	20.7 s	20.75 s
2	Julius Sang	Kenya	20.8 s	20.90 s
3	Edward Romanowski	Poland	20.9 s	20.95 s
4th	Miguel Ángel González	Mexico	21.3 s	21.31 s
5	Jean-Louis Ravelomanantsoa	Madagascar	21.5 s	21.53 s
6th	Norris Stubbs	Bahamas	21.6 s	21.64 s
7th	Morgan Gesmalla	Sudan	22.6 s	22.70 s

Forward 4

Wind: 0.0 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Michael Fray	Jamaica	20.6 s	20.62 s
2	Winston Short	Trinidad and Tobago	20.9 s	21.00 s
3	Hansruedi Wiedmer	Switzerland	21.0 s	21.06 s
4th	Bernard Nottage	Bahamas	21.3 s	21.31 s
5	Philippe Housiaux	Belgium	21.4 s	21.41 s
6th	Porfirio Veras	Dominican Republic	21.5 s	21.53 s
7th	Juan Argüello	Nicaragua	22.7 s	22.80 s

Forward 5

Wind: +0.5 m / s

Colin Thurton was the first athlete from British Honduras - today's Belize - to take part in the Olympic Games.

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Iván Moreno	Chile	20.9 s	20.93 s
2	Jacques Carette	France	20.9 s	20.97 s
3	James Addy	Ghana	20.9 s	21.00 s
4th	Fernando Acevedo	Peru	21.0 s	21.02 s
5	Harry Jerome	Canada	21.2 s	21.22 s
6th	William Dralu	Uganda	21.3 s	21.38 s
7th	Colin Thurton	British Honduras	22.1 s	22.14 s

Forward 6

Wind: +1.2 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Peter Norman	Australia	20.2 s	20.23 s	OR
2	Roger Bambuck	France	20.5 s	20.61 s
3	Dick Steane	Great Britain	20.6 s	20.66 s
4th	Rajalingam Gunaratnam	Malaysia	21.5 s	21.58 s
5	Alberto Torres	Dominican Republic	21.9 s	21.99 s
6th	José Astacio	El Salvador	23.1 s	23.13 s
DNF	Juan Franceschi	Puerto Rico

Forward 7

Wind: +1.0 m / s

Carl Plaskett was the first US Virgin Islands athlete to compete in the Olympics.

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Greg Lewis	Australia	20.7 s	20.71 s
2	Ralph Banthorpe	Great Britain	20.7 s	20.73 s
3	Nikolai Ivanov	Soviet Union	20.7 s	20.78 s
4th	Pedro Grajales	Colombia	21.0 s	21.07 s
5	Gert Metz	BR Germany	21.2 s	21.24 s
6th	Carl Plaskett	American Virgin Islands	21.2 s	21.29 s
7th	Cristóbal Corrales	Honduras	23.9 s	23.93 s

Quarter finals

Date: October 15, 1968, from 3:40 p.m.

Run 1

Wind: 0.0 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	John Carlos	United States	20.6 s	20.69 s
2	Greg Lewis	Australia	20.8 s	20.81 s
3	Dick Steane	Great Britain	20.8 s	20.81 s
4th	Manikavasagam Jegathesan	Malaysia	21.0 s	21.01 s
5	Julius Sang	Kenya	21.0 s	21.04 s
6th	Jacques Carette	France	21.1 s	21.15 s
7th	Edwin Johnson	Bahamas	21.4 s	21.41 s
8th	Harry Jerome	Canada	21.4 s	21.43 s

Run 2

Wind: 0.0 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Peter Norman	Australia	20.4 s	20.44 s
2	Joachim Eigenherr	BR Germany	20.5 s	20.53 s
3	Fernando Acevedo	Peru	20.7 s	20.78 s
4th	Iván Moreno	Chile	20.8 s	20.83 s
5	Charles Asati	Kenya	20.8 s	20.84 s
6th	Livio Berruti	Italy	21.0 s	21.01 s
7th	Winston Short	Trinidad and Tobago	21.5 s	21.51 s
8th	Rajalingam Gunaratnam	Malaysia	21.5 s	21.52 s

Run 3

Wind: 0.0 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Tommie Smith	United States	20.2 s	20.28 s	ORe
2	Edwin Roberts	Trinidad and Tobago	20.4 s	20.50 s
3	Edward Romanowski	Poland	20.8 s	20.85 s
4th	Nikolai Ivanov	Soviet Union	20.8 s	20.90 s
5	David Ejoke	Nigeria	20.9 s	20.99 s
6th	Andrés Calonge	Argentina	21.0 s	21.03 s
7th	Hansruedi Wiedmer	Switzerland	21.4 s	21.42 s
8th	Miguel Ángel González	Mexico	21.5 s	21.57 s

Run 4

Wind: 0.0 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Michael Fray	Jamaica	20.3 s	20.39 s
2	Larry Questad	United States	20.5 s	20.54 s
3	Roger Bambuck	France	20.6 s	20.63 s
4th	Ralph Banthorpe	Great Britain	20.8 s	20.83 s
5	James Addy	Ghana	20.9 s	20.90 s
6th	Valentin Maslakov	Soviet Union	20.9 s	20.96 s
7th	Pedro Grajales	Colombia	21.0 s	21.05 s
8th	Bernard Nottage	Bahamas	21.5 s	21.53 s

Semifinals

Date: October 16, 1968, from 3:20 p.m.

Run 1

Wind: +0.2 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	John Carlos	United States	20.1 s	20.12 s	OR
2	Peter Norman	Australia	20.2 s	20.22 s
3	Michael Fray	Jamaica	20.4 s	20.46 s
4th	Roger Bambuck	France	20.4 s	20.47 s
5	Iván Moreno	Chile	20.8 s	20.84 s
6th	Dick Steane	Great Britain	20.8 s	20.85 s
7th	Nikolai Ivanov	Soviet Union	20.8 s	20.89 s
8th	Fernando Acevedo	Peru	20.8 s	20.91 s

Run 2

Wind: +0.6 m / s

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Tommie Smith	United States	20.1 s	20.14 s	ORe
2	Edwin Roberts	Trinidad and Tobago	20.4 s	20.44 s
3	Larry Questad	United States	20.4 s	20.48 s
4th	Joachim Eigenherr	BR Germany	20.4 s	20.49 s
5	Greg Lewis	Australia	20.5 s	20.53 s
6th	Edward Romanowski	Poland	20.7 s	20.80 s
7th	Ralph Banthorpe	Great Britain	20.8 s	20.88 s
8th	Manikavasagam Jegathesan	Malaysia	21.0 s	21.05 s

final

space	Surname	nation	Official time hand-stopped	Unofficial time electronically	annotation
1	Tommie Smith	United States	19.8 s	19.83 s	WR
2	Peter Norman	Australia	20.0 s	20.06 s
3	John Carlos	United States	20.0 s	20.10 s
4th	Edwin Roberts	Trinidad and Tobago	20.3 s	20.34 s
5	Roger Bambuck	France	20.5 s	20.51 s
6th	Larry Questad	United States	20.6 s	20.62 s
7th	Michael Fray	Jamaica	20.6 s	20.63 s
8th	Joachim Eigenherr	BR Germany	20.6 s	20.66 s

Date: October 16, 1968, 5:50 p.m.

Wind: +0.9 m / s

The US sprinter Tommie Smith was the top favorite. However, his greatest challenger, John Carlos, had beaten him in the US eliminations in an electronically timed 19.92 s - 19.7 s manually. This achievement was denied recognition as a world record because Carlos achieved it with brush shoes specially developed for synthetic surfaces . These had 68 short “needles” instead of the maximum of six thorns per running shoe, which the IAAF has not yet approved, and were therefore not approved for official competitive sport.

Smith had sustained an adductor injury in the semi-finals and therefore started with a bandaged thigh. In the final race Carlos turned into the home straight with a one-and-a-half meter lead, but was overtaken by the now much faster Smith. This could already coast to a stop in the last ten meters and still won in a new world record time of 19.8 s. This made him the first person to achieve an officially recognized time of less than 20.0 s. Carlos, who stared over to Smith to the left during the last thirty meters, was disappointed and no longer ran with full commitment and so had to let the Australian Peter Norman pass on his right side. Like over 100 meters , the Frenchman Roger Bambuck came fifth as the best European, this time behind Edwin Roberts from Trinidad and Tobago.

In the 15th Olympic final over 200 meters , Tommie Smith ran for the twelfth US gold medal.

literature

• Ekkehard zur Megede , The History of Olympic Athletics, Volume 2: 1948–1968, Verlag Bartels & Wernitz KG, Berlin, 1st edition 1969, pp. 335–337

Video

• 200m (WR) Smith / Norman / Carlos: 1968 Olympics, Mexico City , published May 10, 2013 on youtube.com, accessed November 2, 2017

Web links

• SportsReference 200 m , accessed November 2, 2017
• Official report - summary p. 52f, English / French. (PDF), accessed on November 2, 2017
• Official report of the Olympic Games 1968 p. 521f, English / French. (PDF), accessed on November 2, 2017

Individual evidence

1. ↑ IAAF Statistics Handbook, Berlin 2009 Page 547 (Engl.) ( Memento of 29 June 2011 at the Internet Archive ), accessed on November 2, 2017
2. ↑ Official report of the 1968 Olympic Games ( Memento of the original from September 17, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. P. 10, English / French (PDF), accessed on November 2, 2017 
3. ↑ ^{a b} Official Report of the 1968 Olympic Games ( Memento of the original from September 17, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. P. 521, engl./frz. (PDF), accessed on November 2, 2017 
4. ↑ ^{a b} Official Report of the 1968 Olympic Games ( Memento of the original from September 17, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. P. 522, engl./frz. (PDF), accessed on November 2, 2017 
5. ↑ SportsReference , accessed November 2, 2017