5531 athletes from 112 countries arrived in the capital of Mexico, which was the first original 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 TV all over the world: Olympic competitions more than half a billion people on all continents of the world could watch on television at the same time.
The Olympics were preceded by serious debate about whether the conditions of the highlands in which the capital of Mexico is located are not harmful. Sports competition in all types of competitions, characteristic of the previous Olympics, has become even more aggravated in Mexico City. The number of high-class athletes in the teams of most countries has increased. The competitions of the XIX Olympiad were very different high level results: 76 Olympic records were set, of which 28 exceeded world records. Athletes set 30 Olympic records in 36 events included in the program of the Games, and in 14 events they improved their previous world achievements. Results of the Games in athletics surpassed the wildest predictions. Who could have imagined that in Mexico City a jump of 8 meters 90 centimeters would be made, six triple jumpers would conquer the line of 17 meters, and the world record in the 400 meters hurdles would be improved immediately by a second? Swimmers set 23 Olympic records, including 6 world records. Weightlifters - 18, of which 3 exceed the world. Arrows - 5 Olympic and 2 world. Cyclists - 3 world records. The overall first place in the unofficial team standings was taken by US athletes 107 medals: 45 gold, 28 silver and 34 bronze. This was mainly due to success in swimming and athletics competitions. Athletes of the USSR took the overall second place, winning 91 medals: 29 gold, 32 silver and 30 bronze.
Romanian athlete Lia Manoliu made her debut at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics when she was twenty years old and placed sixth. Four years later, in the Olympic Melbourne, she took eighth place. At the Games in Rome, Manoliu received her first Olympic medal bronze. Four more 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 disk 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 8 meters 90 centimeters! He exceeded the world record immediately by 55 centimeters! Beamon's record stood for 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 the highlands, but when he went into battle with the German Dietrich, he thought only of victory. In the midst of the fight, there was a crunch on the carpet. Dietrich stopped. He looked in amazement at the Bear, who "calmly" set his finger on his hand. Alexander did not even think of turning to the services of doctors.
To the admiring exclamations of the audience, Alexander Medved rushed to the attack and spent the end of the fight in a manner inherent only to him, when he was looking for the most active and convincing denouement.
Fencer from Minsk Elena Novikova (Belova) won two gold medals in personal and team competition. In none of the ratings published on the eve of the Olympics, her name was not, but she was the only fencer to be awarded two gold medals.
A brilliant result 17 meters 39 centimeters, the world record in triple jump was set by Viktor Saneev from Tbilisi.
It was his first of three Olympic victories. Leonid Zhabotinsky from Kiev, who became the champion among heavyweight weightlifters, also received the second medal.
The second gold medal in kayaking was won by the champion of the Tokyo Games, Lyudmila Pinaeva. In Mexico City, she won the single kayak competition, then, together with Antonina Seredina, became the bronze medalist in the double kayak rowing. IN sailing Navy officer Valentin Mankin from Kiev was head and shoulders above his rivals on Finn-class ships.
American Richard Fosbury revolutionized the high jump by achieving victory in a hitherto unknown way: the back jump. Until then, everyone performed jumps sideways or chest forward. Now all high jumpers jump in a style called the Fosbury Flop.
ALL WINNERS OF THE USSR TEAM AT THE GAMES-1968
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, Viktor Mikhalchuk, Georgy Mondzolevsky, Yuri Poyarkov, Eduard Sibiryakov, Boris Tereshchuk (volleyball)
Tatiana Veinberga, Vera Galushka, Valentina Vinogradova, Lyudmila Buldakova, Galina Leontieva, Vera Lantratova, Lyudmila Mikhailovskaya, Tatiana Ponyaeva, Rosa Salikhova, Tatiana Sarycheva, Nina Smoleeva, Inna Ryskal (volleyball)
Mikhail Voronin ( gymnastics, vault)
Mikhail Voronin (artistic gymnastics, crossbar)
Zinamda Voronina, Lyubov Burda, Olga Karaseva, Natalya Kuchinskaya, Larisa Petrik, Lyudmila Turishcheva (artistic gymnastics, team competition)
Larisa Petrik (artistic gymnastics, floor exercises)
Natalia Kuchinskaya (artistic gymnastics, balance beam)
Anatoly Sass, Alexander Timoshinin (rowing, double sculls)
Alexander Shaparenko, Vladimir Morozov (rowing and canoeing, double kayak, 1000 m)
Lyudmila Pinaeva (rowing and canoeing, single kayak, 500 m)
Ivan Kizimov (equestrian, 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)
Evgeny Petrov (shooting, round stand)
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 competition)
Elena Novikova (fencing, foil, individual championship)
Galina Gorokhova, Alexandra Zabelina, Elena Novikova, Tatyana Samusenko, Svetlana Chirkova (fencing, foil, team competition)
Silver medals (32)
Alexey Kiselev (boxing, up to 75 kg)
Jonas Chepulis (boxing, over 81 kg)
Shota Lomidze (freestyle wrestling, up to 97 kg)
Vladimir Bakulin (Greco-Roman wrestling, up to 52 kg)
Valentin Oleinik (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 Chikvania, Alexander Shidlovsky (water polo)
Mikhail Voronin (artistic gymnastics, all-around, individual championship)
Sergey Diomidov, Mikhail Voronin, Valery Karasev, Viktor Klimenko, Viktor Lissitzky, Valery Alinykh (artistic gymnastics, team competitions)
Mikhail Voronin (artistic gymnastics, rings)
Mikhail Voronin (artistic gymnastics, uneven bars)
Zinaida Voronina (artistic gymnastics, all-around, individual championship)
Alexander Shaparenko (rowing and canoeing, single kayak, 1000 m)
Ivan Kalita, Ivan Kizimov, Elena Petushkova (equestrian sport, 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, 4x100m, freestyle)
Galina Prozumenshchikova (swimming, 100m, breaststroke)
Tamara Pogozheva (diving, springboard)
Natalia Lobanova (diving, platform)
Pavel Lednev, Boris Onishchenko, Stasis Scheparnis (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 competition)
Grigory Criss (fencing, epee, individual championship)
Iosif Vitebsky, Grigory Criss, Alexei Nikanchikov, Viktor Modzalevsky, Yuri Smolyakov (fencing, epee, team competition)
Mark Rakita (fencing, saber, individual)
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 (artistic gymnastics, horse)
Sergey Diomidov (artistic gymnastics, vault)
Victor Klimenko (artistic gymnastics, uneven bars)
Natalya Kuchinskaya (artistic gymnastics, all-around, individual championship)
Natalya Kuchinskaya (artistic gymnastics, floor exercises)
Zinaida Voronina (artistic gymnastics, vault)
Zinaida Voronina (artistic gymnastics, uneven bars)
Larisa Petrik (artistic gymnastics, balance beam)
Zigmas Yukna, Antanas Bogdanavičius, Vytautas Breidis, Yuri Lorentsson, Valentin Kravchuk, Alexander Martyshkin, Vladimir Sterlik, Viktor 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 (rowing and canoeing, double kayak, 500 m)
Mykola Smaga (athletics, walking 20 km)
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, 4x100m relay)
Valentina Kozyr (athletics, high jump)
Tatyana Talysheva (athletics, long jump)
Nadezhda Chizhova (athletics, shot put)
Nikolai Pankin (swimming, 100m, 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, 200m, 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 host of the XIX Olympic Games on October 18, 1963 at the 60th session of the IOC in Baden - Baden (Germany)
BUENOS AIRES
ARGENTINA
The 19th Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City became the arena for both the public protest of Mexican youth and international human rights activists, especially for the rights of non-white races in the 1960s. The self-boycott method has become widespread. Student organizations in Mexico were eager to draw the attention of the world community, primarily those who sympathized with them with the Soviet system, to what was happening in their country. Mexican students protested 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 15,000 people to the Square of Three Cultures in the metropolitan area of Tlatelolco. The main slogan of the demonstrators was "We don't want the Olympics, we want a revolution!" ( Spanish¡No queremos olimpiadas, queremos revolución!). The authorities of the country, guided by the economic power of the United States, brought troops into the capital, made mass arrests and used excessive force to disperse the crowd. As a result, according to official figures, four people died, according to the students themselves - from 200-300 to several thousand people. No sanctions, however, followed as the IOC recognized all the events as an internal affair of Mexico.
HOST CITY Mexico City, Mexico
PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES 112
NUMBER OF ATHLETES 5530 (4750 MEN, 780 WOMEN)
172 MEDALS ARE PLAYED IN 20 SPORTS
OPENED BY GUSTAVO DIAZ ORDAZ
OLYMPIC FIRE ENRIQUETTA BASILIO SOTELLO
THE OLYMPIC Oath OF PABLO GORRIDO
STADIUM OLYMPIC STADIUM IN MEXICO CITY
Commemorative medal
Olympic medals
Official
In Olympia, Greece, the high priestess holds the Olympic flame, which will later be taken to Mexico City.
In 1968, at the Games in Mexico City, Mexico, the torch followed the route of Christopher Columbus.
In 1968, the organizers of the Games in Mexico City came up with the Olympic torch in the form of a traditional bunch, and the relay itself was called the "relay into the new world." Moments after this photograph was taken of the handover, both athletes were injured when a gas container inside the torch exploded right in their hands.
FIRST HONOR
IGNITION
OLYMPIC
FIRE IN THE BOWL
THE STADIUM WAS
PROVIDED
The opening ceremony. Mexican athlete Enriqueta Basilio Sotelo carries the Olympic flame
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 pairs, 1972 in singles)
Vladimir Golubnichy
(USSR, Ukraine) became the Olympic champion in Mexico City in race walking 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
MEN'S VOLLEYBALL TEAM OF THE USSR - CHAMPIONS
XIX OLYMPIC GAMES
The most brilliant were athletics competitions.
In 36 species included in Olympic program, it was found
30 Olympic and 14 world records.
100m, TYUS Wyomia (USA, 1st place), FERRELL Barbara (USA, 2nd place), KIRSZENSTEIN-SZEWINSKA Irena (Poland, 3rd place)
In long jump competitions, almost unknown to anyone before the Olympics, American athlete Bob Beamon jumped 8.90 meters, exceeding the previous achievement by 55 centimeters at once. Soon, journalists will call this leap "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 stood for 23 years and became one of the greatest events all modern Olympics.
This record in 1991 at the World Championships in Tokyo was broken by another outstanding American jumper Mike Powell, jumping 8 m. 95 cm.
Unusual for many athletes, the climatic conditions of Mexico City as a whole did not negatively affect the performance of the Olympic Games, which were held with a fairly high sports performance: 76 Olympic records were set, 28 of which exceeded world records. 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 close to Mexican ones had an advantage. At the same time, it was precisely such conditions that "helped" the athletes show high results in speed - power types competitions. It should be noted that the hosting of the Games in Mexico City stimulated Scientific research to prepare athletes for competitions in mid-mountain and high-mountain conditions. In the future, the training of athletes in the conditions of middle mountains (high mountains) became one of the critical factors that ensures the growth of achievements in a number of sports.
Politically, the Games attracted attention in protest against racism in the United States, undertaken by black athletes on the national team of this country. It was not accidental, but was part of a program planned during the Negro 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 run by Tommy Smith and the bronze medalist at the same distance, John Carlos, the athletes came to the awards ceremony without shoes, in black socks to the knees and in one black glove.
When the US anthem was played and the national flag was hoisted, both athletes looked down with their gloved hands up. The US NOC after many hours of meeting "strongly condemned the act of the athletes and apologized to the IOC, the Organizing Committee and the people of Mexico
TOTAL NUMBER OF MEDALS
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
AUSTRALIA
GREAT BRITAIN
- VN PLATONOV "ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OLYMPIC SPORT": Kyiv; OLYMPIC LITERATURE, 2002
- M. M. BULATOVA "ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OLYMPIC SPORTS IN
POWER AND VIDPOVIDIAKH. OTHER VISION » - KYIV:
OLYMPIC LITERATURE, 2011
- www. Sportsmedal.ru /Games on top! XIX Summer Olympic Games
1968. Mexico City/
- www. Wikipedia. org /1968 Summer Olympics/
Featured sports
Biathlon
Bobsled
Skiing
Skating
Nordic combined
Ski race
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 sporting level. In Grenoble, 1158 athletes joined the fight, including 202 women from 37 countries, who played 35 sets of medals in seven sports.
Athletes of the USSR performed extremely unsuccessfully at the Olympics in Grenoble, significantly losing their positions in skiing And speed run on skates. 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 a 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 cross-country skiing accompanied, as expected, the Norwegians. Thirty-year-old Toini Gustafson, who was not considered among 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 outrun the Norwegian Odd Martinsen, who turned out to be second, by almost a minute. It was the first victory of the representative of the southern country in cross-country skiing.
In speed skating, the weak performance of the USSR athletes did not reduce the rivalry. The sharpest struggle was between the skaters of Holland, Norway, Sweden, Finland. Dutch athletes managed to win three gold medals, the USA, Norway, Germany, Sweden and the USSR - one each.
Dramatically developed competitions in bobsleigh. After 4 attempts, the fours of Germany and Italy had the same result. In the last, fifth attempt, the Italians, led by an outstanding athlete, the 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 high athletic performance.
Doubles figure skating on skates for the second time in a row the winners were Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov. Their main rivals at these Olympic Games were athletes from the USSR national team Tatyana Zhuk and Alexander Gorelik.
The biathletes of the USSR also performed successfully, winning a gold medal in the 4 × 7.5 km relay race and a silver medal in the 20 km individual race, which was 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 rest of their rivals.
In the women's single sleigh competition, Erica Lechner from Italy was the first. In this she was "helped" by 3 leading lugers from the GDR team, who were disqualified for illegally heating the runners.
French Olympians and numerous fans winter views sports, of course, could not satisfy the result of the team fight - the French team took 5th place in the unofficial standings. However bright victory in all three disciplines skiing Jean-Claude Killy was the decoration of the Olympic Games. Seiler managed to achieve such success only once. Before the Olympics, Killy was the main contender for awards. In the 1966-1967 season, in the World Cup competitions, he won 23 starts out of 30, of which 5 were in downhill. After the Olympics, Killy left sports career and engaged in commercial activities - advertising, hotel industry, restaurants, television, cinema, where he also reached impressive success. Killy was also successful as President of the Organizing Committee of the XVI Winter Olympic Games in Albertville.
In the unofficial team standings, the Norwegians won: 103 points and 14 medals - 6 gold, 6 silver, 2 bronze. The second were the athletes of the USSR, having won 92 points and 13 medals - 5 gold, 5 silver, 3 bronze. Austrian athletes were third with 79 points and 11 medals - 3 gold, 4 silver, 4 bronze.
The decision to hold the 19th Summer Olympic Games in the capital of Mexico, Mexico City, was made in October 1963 at the 60th session of the IOC in the German resort town of Baden-Baden.
At this Olympiad, many things happened for the first time. These were the first Olympic Games to be held in high mountains, at an altitude of 2240 meters above sea level.
The 1968 Mexico City Olympics was the first to be held in Latin America.
Through the use the latest technologies the 1968 Mexico City games were watched by over 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 of 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 in the 1964 games, the South African team was not allowed to compete due to the policy of racial discrimination pursued by its government.
For the first time, the Olympiad has an official mascot
Opening of the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City
The grand opening of the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City took place on October 12. The choice of date was not accidental. It is this day that 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 all those present at the stadium, but also on millions of viewers.
For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, the honor of lighting the flame of the 1968 Olympics was given to a woman.
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 bowl 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 the Union republics.
Along with the veterans who had the games of Tokyo, Rome, Melbourne, there were many young athletes who competed at such a level for the first time.
Athletes of the USSR took second place in the unofficial team standings, leaving only the US team ahead.
91 medals were won: 29 gold, 32 silver and 30 bronze.
Records of the Olympics in Mexico City 1968
The results of the Games in athletics exceeded the wildest forecasts. Who could have imagined that in Mexico City a long jump of 8 meters 90 centimeters would be made. This result has remained unsurpassed for more than 20 years.
Six triple jumpers will conquer the 17-meter milestone, and the world record in the 400-meter hurdles will be improved immediately by a second!
Swimmers set 23 Olympic records, including 6 world records. Weightlifters - 18, of which 3 exceed the world. Arrows - 5 Olympic and 2 world. Cyclists - 3 world records.
Competitions were held 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 road transport on its streets impoverishes the already meager supply of oxygen.
There was even an expression, the heavy gold of the Aztecs.
eight days Olympic competitions Athletes from 89 countries around the world at the university stadium in Mexico City crossed out almost all past 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 surpassed the world record immediately by 55 centimeters, while the previous result increased by 8 centimeters within eight years. And this result was shown by an athlete whose name said little even to narrow athletics specialists.
Robert Beamon, a twenty-two-year-old student at the University of El Paso, Texas, became the hero of the XIX Olympiad and a legend in world sports.
Among the Soviet athletes, the boxer from Moscow Boris Lagutin and the wrestler from Minsk Alexander Medved distinguished themselves.
They both became Olympic champions for the second Olympiad in a row.
Fencer Elena Novikova, who made her debut at the Olympics in Mexico City, became the champion in the individual and team events.
The world record in the triple jump of 17 meters 39 centimeters was set by Viktor Saneev. It was his first Olympic gold.
Leonid Zhabotinsky, became the most strong man in the world, having won among heavyweight weightlifters.
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 Natalya Kuchinskaya from Leningrad.
Soviet horsemen performed well
Ivan Kizimov won the gold medal in the dressage Olympiad in Mexico City, and became the silver medalist in the team competition, along with Elena Petushkova and Ivan Kalita.
fosbury flop
The real revolution took place at the 1968 Olympics in the high jump.
For the first time, an unknown American, Richard Fosbury, 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 lift-off from the ground, the bar is overcome by the back.
The American won with a new Olympic record 2 measures 24 centimeters, but this was the biggest success of his career.
Other athletes quickly mastered the new technique and began to show better results.
