5,531 athletes from 112 countries arrived in the capital of Mexico, which was the first unique record of the Games. For the first time, the Olympic Games were held in Latin America. For the first time, the Olympic Games were shown on television around the world: olympic competitions More than half a billion people on all continents of the world could simultaneously watch on television.
The Olympics were preceded by serious debate about whether the high altitude conditions in which Mexico's capital is located were harmful. Sports competition in all types of competitions, characteristic of the previous Olympics, became even more intense in Mexico City. The number of high-class athletes on teams in most countries has increased. The competitions of the XIX Olympiad were very different high level results: 76 Olympic records were set, 28 of which exceeded world records. The athletes set 30 Olympic records in 36 events included in the Games program, and improved previous world achievements in 14 events. Games results in athletics exceeded our wildest forecasts. Who could have imagined that in Mexico City there would be a jump of 8 meters 90 centimeters, six triple jumpers would reach the 17-meter mark, and the world record in the 400-meter hurdles would be improved by a second? Swimmers set 23 Olympic records, including 6 world records. Weightlifters - 18, of which 3 exceed the world weight. Shooters - 5 Olympic and 2 world. Cyclists - 3 world records. Overall first place in the unofficial team competition was taken by US athletes with 107 medals: 45 gold, 28 silver and 34 bronze. This was mainly due to success in swimming and athletics competitions. USSR athletes took overall second place, winning 91 medals: 29 gold, 32 silver and 30 bronze.
Romanian athlete Lia Manoliu made her Olympic debut at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics when she was twenty years old and finished sixth. Four years later, at the Melbourne Olympics, she took eighth place. At the Games in Rome, Manoliu received her first Olympic medal bronze. Another four years passed, and at the Tokyo Olympics the Romanian athlete again received a medal, and again a bronze one.
Before the competition of her fifth Olympics, Lia Manoliu injured her elbow, but she did not tell anyone except her husband, who was her coach, and went to the start. Having put all her strength into the first throw, she sent the disc 58 meters 28 centimeters, and no one could surpass this result.
There were many phenomenal results at the Mexican Olympics, but the most fantastic record was the result shown by the American Bob Beamon in the long jump of 8 meters 90 centimeters! He exceeded the world record by 55 centimeters! Beamon's record lasted 23 years and is considered one of the most outstanding achievements in the history of the modern Olympics.
Muscovite Boris Lagutin won the title of Olympic boxing champion for the second time. Minsk resident Alexander Medved also received a second gold medal. The bear did not tolerate high altitudes well, but when he went out to fight the German Dietrich, he thought only about victory. In the midst of the fight, a crunching sound was heard on the carpet. Dietrich stopped. He looked in amazement at Bear, who was “calmly” setting his finger on his hand. Alexander did not even think of turning to the services of doctors.
To the admiring exclamations of the spectators, Alexander Medved rushed to the attack and spent the end of the fight in his characteristic manner, when he is looking for the most active and convincing outcome.
Fencer from Minsk Elena Novikova (Belova) won two gold medals in personal and team competitions. Her name was not included in any of the rankings published on the eve of the Olympics, but she was the only fencer awarded two gold medals.
A brilliant result - 17 meters 39 centimeters, a world record in the triple jump - was set by Viktor Saneev from Tbilisi.
This was his first of three Olympic victories. Kiev resident Leonid Zhabotinsky also received the second medal, becoming the champion among heavy weight weightlifters.
Tokyo Games champion Lyudmila Pinaeva received the second gold medal in kayaking. In Mexico City, she won the single kayak competition, then, together with Antonina Seredina, became a bronze medalist in the double kayak. IN sailing Navy officer from Kiev Valentin Mankin was head and shoulders above his rivals on the Finn class ships.
American Richard Fosbury revolutionized high jumping by achieving victory in a hitherto unknown way: by jumping backwards. Until then, everyone performed jumps sideways or chest forward. Now all high jumpers perform the jump in a style called the Fosbury Flop.
ALL WINNERS OF THE USSR TEAM AT THE 1968 GAMES
Gold medals (29)
Valery Sokolov (boxing, up to 54 kg)
Boris Lagutin (boxing, up to 71 kg)
Dan Poznyak (boxing, up to 81 kg)
Boris Gurevich (freestyle wrestling, up to 87 kg)
Alexander Medved (freestyle wrestling, over 97 kg)
Roman Rurua (Greco-Roman wrestling, up to 63 kg)
Vladimir Belyaev, Oleg Antropov, Ivan Bugaenkov, Vladimir Ivanov, Evgeny Lapinsky, Valery Kravchenko, Vasilius Matushevas, Victor Mikhalchuk, Georgy Mondzolevsky, Yuriy Poyarkov, Eduard Sibiryakov, Boris Tereshchuk (volleyball)
Tatyana Weinberga, Vera Galushka, Valentina Vinogradova, Lyudmila Buldakova, Galina Leontyeva, Vera Lantratova, Lyudmila Mikhailovskaya, Tatyana Ponyaeva, Roza Salikhova, Tatyana Sarycheva, Nina Smoleeva, Inna Ryskal (volleyball)
Mikhail Voronin ( artistic gymnastics, vault)
Mikhail Voronin (gymnastics, horizontal bar)
Zinamda Voronina, Lyubov Burda, Olga Karaseva, Natalya Kuchinskaya, Larisa Petrik, Lyudmila Turishcheva (gymnastics, team competitions)
Larisa Petrik (gymnastics, floor exercise)
Natalya Kuchinskaya (gymnastics, balance beam)
Anatoly Sass, Alexander Timoshinin (rowing, double scull)
Alexander Shaparenko, Vladimir Morozov (kayaking and canoeing, double kayak, 1000 m)
Lyudmila Pinaeva (kayaking and canoeing, single kayak, 500 m)
Ivan Kizimov (equestrianism, dressage, individual championship)
Vladimir Golubnichy ( athletics, walking 20 km)
Viktor Saneev (athletics, triple jump)
Janis Lusis (athletics, javelin throw)
Vladimir Mankin (sailing, “Finn”)
Grigory Kosykh (shooting, small-caliber single-shot pistol)
Evgeniy Petrov (shooting, round skeet)
Viktor Kurentsov (weightlifting, up to 75 kg)
Boris Selitsky (weightlifting, up to 82.5 kg)
Leonid Zhabotinsky (weightlifting, over 90 kg)
Eduard Vinokurov, Umar Mavlikhanov, Vladimir Nazlymov, Victor Sidyak, Mark Rakita (fencing, saber, team competitions)
Elena Novikova (fencing, foil, individual championship)
Galina Gorokhova, Alexandra Zabelina, Elena Novikova, Tatyana Samusenko, Svetlana Chirkova (fencing, foil, team competitions)
Silver medals (32)
Alexey Kiselev (boxing, up to 75 kg)
Jonas Cepulis (boxing, over 81 kg)
Shota Lomidze (freestyle wrestling, up to 97 kg)
Vladimir Bakulin (Greco-Roman wrestling, up to 52 kg)
Valentin Oleynik (Greco-Roman wrestling, up to 87 kg)
Nikolay Yakovenko (Greco-Roman wrestling, up to 97 kg)
Anatoly Roshchin (Greco-Roman wrestling, over 97 kg)
Alexey Barkalov, Oleg Bovin, Alexander Dolgushin. Vadim Gulyaev, Yuri Grigorovsky, Boris Grishin, Leonid Osipov, Vladimir Semenov, Vyacheslav Skok, Givi Chikvaniya, Alexander Shidlovsky (water polo)
Mikhail Voronin (gymnastics, all-around, individual championship)
Sergey Diomidov, Mikhail Voronin, Valery Karasev, Viktor Klimenko, Viktor Lisitsky, Valery Alinykh (gymnastics, team competitions)
Mikhail Voronin (gymnastics, rings)
Mikhail Voronin (gymnastics, parallel bars)
Zinaida Voronina (gymnastics, all-around, individual championship)
Alexander Shaparenko (kayaking and canoeing, single kayak, 1000 m)
Ivan Kalita, Ivan Kizimov, Elena Petushkova (equestrianism, dressage, team championship)
Romuald Klim (athletics, hammer throw)
Antonina Okorokova (athletics, high jump)
Vladimir Kosinsky (swimming, 100 m, breaststroke)
Vladimir Kosinsky (swimming, 200 m, breaststroke)
Semyon Belits-Geiman, Leonid Ilyichev, Georgy Kulikov, Viktor Mazanov (swimming, 4x100 m, freestyle)
Galina Prozumenshchikova (swimming, 100 m, breaststroke)
Tamara Pogozheva (diving, springboard)
Natalya Lobanova (diving, platform)
Pavel Lednev, Boris Onishchenko, Stasis Shcheparnis (modern pentathlon, team championship)
Vladimir Korneev (shooting, free rifle, 3x40)
Dito Shanidze (weightlifting, up to 60 kg)
Vladimir Belyaev (weightlifting, up to 82.5 kg)
Jan Talts (weightlifting, up to 90 kg)
Victor Putyatin, German Sveshnikov. Yuri Sisikin, Vasily Stankovich, Yuri Sharov (fencing, foil, team competitions)
Grigory Kriss (fencing, epee, individual championship)
Joseph Vitebsky, Grigory Kriss, Alexey Nikanchikov, Victor Modzalevsky, Yuri Smolyakov (fencing, epee, team competitions)
Mark Rakita (fencing, saber, individual championship)
Bronze medals (30)
Sergey Belov, Vladimir Andreev, Gennady Volnov, Vadim Kapranov. Jaak Lipso, Sergey Kovalenko, Anatoly Krikun, Modestas Paulauskas, Anatoly Polivoda, Zurab Sakandelidze, Yuri Selikhov, Priit Thomson (basketball)
Vladimir Musalimov (boxing, up to 67 kg)
Ivan Kochergin (Greco-Roman wrestling, up to 57 kg)
Mikhail Voronin (gymnastics, pommel horse)
Sergey Diomidov (gymnastics, vault)
Viktor Klimenko (gymnastics, parallel bars)
Natalya Kuchinskaya (gymnastics, all-around, individual championship)
Natalya Kuchinskaya (gymnastics, floor exercise)
Zinaida Voronina (gymnastics, vault)
Zinaida Voronina (gymnastics, parallel bars)
Larisa Petrik (gymnastics, balance beam)
Zigmas Jukna, Antanas Bogdanavičius, Vytautas Breidis, Yuri Lorenzson, Valentin Kravchuk, Alexander Martyshkin, Vladimir Sterlik, Victor Suslin, Juozas Jagelavičius (rowing, eight)
Vitaly Galkov (kayaking and canoeing, single canoe, 1000 m)
Naum Prokupets, Mikhail Zamotin (kayaking and canoeing, double canoe, 1000 m)
Lyudmila Pinaeva, Antonina Seredina (kayaking and canoeing, double kayak, 500 m)
Nikolay Smaga (athletics, 20 km walk)
Valentin Gavrilov (athletics, high jump)
Eduard Gushchin (athletics, shot put)
Natalya Burda (athletics, 400 m run)
Lyudmila Zharkova, Galina Bukharina, Vera Popkova, Lyudmila Samotesova (athletics, 4x100 m relay)
Valentina Kozyr (athletics, high jump)
Tatyana Talysheva (athletics, long jump)
Nadezhda Chizhova (athletics, shot put)
Nikolay Pankin (swimming, 100 m, breaststroke)
Vladimir Bure, Semyon Belits-Geiman, Leonid Ilyichev, Georgy Kulikov (swimming, 4x200 m, freestyle)
Yuri Gromak, Leonid Ilyichev, Vladimir Kosinsky, Vladimir Nemchilov (swimming, 4x100 m, medley relay)
Galina Prozumenshchikova (swimming, 200 m, breaststroke)
Pavel Lednev (modern pentathlon, individual championship)
Vitaly Parkhimovich (shooting, small-caliber rifle, 3x40)
Renat Suleymanov (shooting, small-caliber single-shot pistol)
Mexico City was chosen as the capital of the XIX Olympic Games on October 18, 1963 at the 60th IOC session in Baden-Baden (Germany)
BUENOS AIRES
ARGENTINA
The 19th Summer Olympics in Mexico City became an arena for both public protest among Mexican youth and international human rights activists, especially for the rights of non-white races in the 1960s. The method of self-boycott has become widespread. Student organizations in Mexico were eager to attract the attention of the world community, primarily the Soviet system, which sympathized with them, to what was happening in their country. Mexican students protested both against the inertia of the Mexican authorities, following the lead of the US authorities.
On October 2, ten days before the Olympic celebrations, they staged a procession through the city and, with the support of the country’s trade unions, brought 15 thousand people to the Square of Three Cultures in the capital’s Tlatelolco district. The main slogan of the demonstrators was “We don’t want the Olympics, we want a revolution!” ( Spanish¡No queremos olimpiadas, queremos revolución!). The country's authorities, guided by the economic power of the United States, sent troops into the capital, made mass arrests and used excessive force to disperse the crowds. As a result, according to official data, four people died, according to the students themselves - from 200-300 to several thousand people. However, no sanctions followed since the IOC recognized all events as an internal matter of Mexico.
ORGANIZER CITY Mexico City, Mexico
PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES 112
NUMBER OF ATHLETES 5530 (4750 MEN, 780 WOMEN)
172 SET OF MEDALS ARE AWARDED IN 20 SPORTS
OPENED BY GUSTAVO DIAZ ORDAZ
OLYMPIC TORCH ENRIQUETTA BASILIO SOTELO
OLYMPIC OATH PABLO GORRIDO
OLYMPIC STADIUM IN MEXICO CITY
Commemorative medal
Olympic medals
Official
In Olympia, Greece, the High Priestess holds Olympic flame, which will subsequently be delivered to Mexico City.
At the 1968 Games in Mexico City, Mexico, the torch retraced the route of Christopher Columbus.
In 1968, the organizers of the Mexico City Games came up with the Olympic torch in the form of a traditional bunch, and the relay itself was called the “relay to the new world.” A few moments after this photo of the passing of the relay was taken, both athletes were injured when a gas container inside a torch exploded in their hands.
FIRST TIME HONOR
IGNITION
OLYMPIC
FIRE IN THE BOWL
THE STADIUM WAS
PROVIDED
Opening ceremony. The Olympic flame is carried by Mexican athlete Enriqueta Basilio Sotelo
Valentin Mankin (USSR, Ukraine) three-time Olympic champion in sailing (1968, 1972, 1980), silver medalist of the 1976 Games.
Alexander Shaparenko (USSR, Ukraine) Olympic champion in kayaking (1968 in doubles, 1972 in singles)
Vladimir Golubnichy
(USSR, Ukraine) became an Olympic champion in Mexico City race walking at 20 km
Twice (1964, 1968)
heavyweight weightlifter Leonid Zhabotinsky (USSR, Ukraine) became the champion of the Olympic Games
ALEXANDER MEDVED
OLYMPIC CHAMPION
IN CLASSIC WRESTLING
USSR MEN'S VOLLEYBALL TEAM – CHAMPIONS
XIX OLYMPIC GAMES
The most brilliant events were the athletics competitions.
In 36 types included in Olympic program, was installed
30 Olympic and 14 world records.
100 m, TYUS Wyomia (USA, 1st place), FERRELL Barbara (USA, 2nd place), KIRSZENSTEIN-SZEWINSKA Irena (Poland, 3rd place)
In the long jump competition, virtually unknown to anyone before the Olympics, American athlete Bob Beamon jumped 8.90 meters, exceeding his previous achievement by 55 centimeters. Soon journalists will call this jump a “leap into the 21st century.” Beamon was unanimously recognized as the main hero of the Olympic Games and at the same time became a legend. His record lasted 23 years and became one of greatest events all modern Olympics.
This record was broken by another outstanding American jumper, Mike Powell, at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo, jumping 8 m 95 cm.
The climatic conditions of Mexico City, unusual for many athletes, generally did not negatively affect the performance of the Olympic Games, which were held with fairly high sports performance: 76 Olympic records were set, 28 of which exceeded world ones. Only the results of some types of competitions were significantly affected by the climatic conditions of the middle mountains. In competitions requiring endurance, athletes who permanently lived in mid-mountain conditions similar to those in Mexico had an advantage. At the same time, it was precisely these conditions that “helped” the athletes to show high results in speed racing. power types competitions. It should be noted that holding the Games in Mexico City stimulated scientific research on preparing athletes for competitions in mid-mountain and high-altitude conditions. Subsequently, training athletes in mid-mountain (high-altitude) conditions became one of the most important factors, ensuring an increase in achievements in a number of sports.
Politically, attention to the Games was drawn to the action in protest against racism in the United States, undertaken by black athletes of the national team of this country. It was not accidental, but was part of a program planned during the Black Convention in 1967.
The most striking manifestation of this protest, which caused a wide resonance in the world, was the action taken by American athletes: the winner
in the 200 m race by Tommie Smith and bronze medalist at the same distance by John Carlos. The athletes came to the award ceremony without shoes, wearing black knee-length socks and one black glove.
As the US anthem played and the national flag was raised, both athletes looked down with their gloved hands in the air. The US NOC, after a multi-hour meeting, “strongly condemned the actions of the athletes and apologized to the IOC, the Organizing Committee and the people of Mexico
TOTAL NUMBER OF MEDALS
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
AUSTRALIA
UNITED KINGDOM
- V. N. PLATONOV “ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OLYMPIC SPORTS”: Kyiv; OLYMPIC LITERATURE, 2002
- M. M. BULATOVA “ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OLYMPIC SPORTS IN
POWER AND TYPES. DRUGE VIDANNYA » - KYIV:
OLYMPIC LITERATURE, 2011
- www. Sportsmedal.ru /Games at their best! XIX Summer Olympic Games
1968. Mexico City/
- www. Wikipedia. org /1968 Summer Olympics/
Sports represented
Biathlon
Bobsled
Alpine skiing
Skating
Nordic combined
Ski racing
Ski jumping
Luge
Figure skating
Hockey
France has done a lot to ensure that the anniversary 1968 Winter Olympics were held at a high organizational and sports level. In Grenoble, 1,158 athletes took part in the fight, including 202 women from 37 countries, who competed for 35 sets of medals in seven sports.
USSR athletes performed extremely unsuccessfully at the Olympics in Grenoble, significantly losing their positions in skiing And speed running skating. If in Innsbruck they had 8 gold medals in these sports, then in Grenoble the USSR Olympians had to be content with 2 gold medals. And this despite the fact that Vladimir Belousov won an unexpected victory in jumping from the 90-meter springboard, who managed to get ahead of the winner of the competition on the 70-meter springboard, an athlete from Czechoslovakia, Iri Raska, in a fierce struggle.
Overall success in ski racing accompanied, as expected, by the Norwegians. Thirty-year-old Toini Gustafson, who was not considered one of the favorites, nevertheless managed to win two gold medals in races at distances of 5 km and 10 km. The Norwegians won four more gold medals in the men's 15 km and 50 km cross-country skiing events, as well as both relays. The sensation of the skiing competition was the victory of the Italian Franco Nones at a 30-kilometer distance, who managed to beat the Norwegian Odd Martinsen, who was second, by almost a minute. This was the first victory of a representative of a southern country in cross-country skiing.
In speed skating, the weak performance of the USSR athletes did not reduce the rivalry. The most intense struggle took place between speed skaters from Holland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Dutch athletes managed to win three gold medals, the USA, Norway, Germany, Sweden and the USSR - one each.
The bobsleigh competition took a dramatic turn. After 4 attempts, the fours from Germany and Italy had the same result. In the last, fifth attempt, the Italians, led by an outstanding athlete - bob pilot Eugenio Monti, turned out to be stronger. This athlete was twice silver medalist in 1956, twice bronze in 1964 and only in Grenoble managed to win a gold medal. In 1964, Monty was awarded the Coubertin Medal for his high athletic qualities.
In doubles figure skating In skating, Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov became winners for the second time in a row. Their main rivals at these Olympic Games were athletes from the USSR national team Tatyana Zhuk and Alexander Gorelik.
USSR biathletes also performed successfully, winning a gold medal in the 4x7.5 km relay race and a silver medal in the 20 km individual race, won by the legendary Alexander Tikhonov.
Despite the defeat in the match with the Czechoslovak team - 4:5, the USSR hockey players managed to achieve gold medals, confidently beating the other opponents.
In the women's single-sleigh competition, Erika Lechner from Italy came first. In this she was “helped” by 3 leading luge athletes from the GDR team, who were disqualified for illegally heating the runners.
French Olympians and numerous fans winter species sports, of course, could not be satisfied with the result of the team fight - the French national team took 5th place in the unofficial standings. However bright victory in all three disciplines skiing Jean-Claude Killy was a highlight of the Olympic Games. Sailer managed to achieve such success only once. Before the Olympics, Killy was the main contender for awards. In the 1966-1967 season, in World Cup competitions, he won 23 out of 30 starts, of which 5 in downhill. After the Olympics, Killy left sports career and engaged in commercial activities - advertising, hotel management, restaurants, television, cinema, where he also achieved impressive successes. Killy’s work as president of the Organizing Committee of the XVI Winter Olympic Games in Albertville was also successful.
In the unofficial team competition, the Norwegians won: 103 points and 14 medals - 6 gold, 6 silver, 2 bronze. The second were the USSR athletes, winning 92 points and 13 medals - 5 gold, 5 silver, 3 bronze. Austrian athletes were third, winning 79 points and 11 medals - 3 gold, 4 silver, 4 bronze.
The decision to hold the 19th Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, was made in October 1963 at the 60th IOC session in the German resort town of Baden-Baden.
A lot of things happened for the first time at this Olympics. These were the first Olympic Games to be held in high altitude conditions, at an altitude of 2240 meters above sea level.
The 1968 Mexico City Olympics were the first to be held in Latin America.
Thanks to the use latest technologies The 1968 Mexico City games were watched by more than half a billion television viewers around the world.
These games became the most numerous at that time. More than five and a half thousand athletes from one hundred and twelve countries arrived in the capital of Mexico.
For the first time, representatives from Barbados, British Honduras, the Virgin Islands, Honduras, Congo (Kinshasa), Kuwait, Libya, Nicaragua, Paraguay, El Salvador, Suriname, Sierra Leone, and the Central African Republic took part in the competition.
As at the 1964 games, the South African team was not allowed to compete due to its government's policy of racial discrimination.
For the first time, the Olympics have an official mascot
Opening of the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City
The opening ceremony of the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City took place on October 12. The choice of date was not accidental. This day is considered to be the day of the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. 
The unusually spectacular musical ceremony made a huge impression not only on everyone present at the stadium, but also on millions of television viewers.
For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, a woman was awarded the honor of lighting the flame of the 1968 Olympics.
One of the strongest athletes in the world, Mexican Norma Enriqueta Basilio Sotelo, ran a lap of honor around the stadium with a torch in her hand, and then climbed 90 steps to the cup and lit the flame of the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.
USSR national team at the Olympic Games in Mexico City
The Soviet Union was represented at the XIX Olympic Games by 322 athletes from all union republics.
Along with the veterans who had already played games in Tokyo, Rome, and Melbourne, there were many young athletes who were competing at this level for the first time.
USSR athletes took second place in the unofficial team competition, behind only the US team.
91 medals were won: 29 gold, 32 silver and 30 bronze.
Mexico Olympics records 1968
The results of the Games in athletics exceeded the wildest forecasts. Who could have imagined that a long jump of 8 meters 90 centimeters would be achieved in Mexico City. This result remained unsurpassed for more than 20 years.
Six triple jumpers will reach the 17-meter mark, and the world record in the 400-meter hurdles will be improved by a second!
Swimmers set 23 Olympic records, including 6 world records. Weightlifters - 18, of which 3 exceed the world weight. Shooters - 5 Olympic and 2 world. Cyclists - 3 world records.
The competition took place in extremely difficult conditions.
The huge city, located at an altitude of 2240 meters above sea level, is surrounded by mountains, and the abundance of motor vehicles on its streets depletes the already meager reserves of oxygen.
There was even an expression, heavy gold of the Aztecs.
Eight days Olympic competitions track and field athletes from 89 countries at the University Stadium in Mexico City erased almost all previous ideas about the level of achievement in most types of athletics.
There were many phenomenal results at the Mexican Olympics, but the most fantastic record was the result shown by the American Bob Beamon in the long jump - 8 meters 90 centimeters! He exceeded the world record by 55 centimeters at once, while the previous result increased by 8 centimeters over eight years. And this result was shown by an athlete whose name meant little even to narrow specialists in athletics.
Twenty-two-year-old student at the University of El Paso in Texas, Robert Beamon, became the hero of the 19th Olympics and a legend of world sports.
Among the Soviet athletes, boxer from Moscow Boris Lagutin and wrestler from Minsk Alexander Medved distinguished themselves.
They both became Olympic champions for the second Olympics in a row.
Fencer Elena Novikova, who made her debut at the Olympics in Mexico City, became the champion in the individual and team competitions.
The world record was set by Viktor Saneev in the triple jump of 17 meters 39 centimeters. This was his first Olympic gold.
Leonid Zhabotinsky became the most strong man in the world, winning among the heavyweight weightlifters.
The Soviet gymnasts performed well. The result of their performances: five gold, five silver and eight bronze medals. The best among our gymnasts were Mikhail Voronin and Zinaida Voronina from Moscow, Larisa Petrik from Vitebsk and Leningrader Natalya Kuchinskaya.
The Soviet horsemen performed well
Ivan Kizimov won gold at the Mexico City Olympics in dressage, and became a silver medalist in team competitions, together with Elena Petushkova and Ivan Kalita.
Fosbury flop
The real revolution took place at the 1968 Olympics in the high jump.
A previously unknown American, Richard Fosbury, first demonstrated a new jumping technique called the “Fosbury flop”, in honor of its inventor.
Its essence boils down to the fact that after a curved run-up and a faster than usual takeoff from the ground, the bar is overcome with your back.
The American won with a new Olympic record 2 measures 24 centimeters, but this became the biggest success of his career.
Other athletes quickly mastered the new technique and began to show better results.
