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While the most notable story coming out of 1968 was
socio-political Political sociology is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with exploring how governance and society interact and influence one another at the micro to macro levels of analysis. Interested in the social causes and consequences of how ...
, politics involved with the Olympics was not something unique to this year. However, the year marked the beginning of several emerging elements of contemporary
track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...
.


Automatic timing

While timing to the 100th of a second had been experimented with for many years, the
1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...
were the first to use
Fully Automatic Timing Fully automatic time (abbreviated FAT) is a form of race timing in which the clock is automatically activated by the starting device, and the finish time is either automatically recorded, or timed by analysis of a photo finish. The system is c ...
, in not only athletics, but in canoeing, rowing, cycling, equestrian and swimming competitions.] Subsequently, systems to record such times became more common and thus the accuracy of Fully Automatic Timing became mandated for World Record acceptance. While this rule was officially put into place in 1977, many 1968 records still stood as the first Automatically timed record.


All weather tracks

This technology too had been developing, but
Tartan track Tartan Track is a trademarked all-weather synthetic track surfacing made of polyurethane used for track and field competitions, manufactured by 3M. It lets athletes compete in bad weather without serious performance loss and improves their resu ...
s were used as the competition surface for the first time at an Olympics. Since then an all-weather
running track An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, v ...
was required for all top level competition. Subsequently, the inconsistency of the running surface became a significantly smaller factor in athletic performance.


Altitude

With the Olympics happening in
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
, at high altitude, the effect of the thin air on athletic performance became a factor on
world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
s. This was already a known phenomenon, and the American team was selected by holding the Olympic Trials at high altitude at
Echo Summit Echo Summit is a mountain pass over the Sierra Nevada in the western United States, located in eastern El Dorado County, California. At above sea level, it is the highest point on U.S. Route 50 in California, which traverses it at postmil ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. In 1955, Lou Jones set the world record in the 400 meters at altitude in Mexico City. Following the
1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...
the: * Men's 100 meters record, set by
Jim Hines James Ray Hines (born September 10, 1946) is a retired American track and field athlete and NFL player, who held the 100-meter world record for 15 years. In 1968, he became the first man to officially break the 10-second barrier in the 100 me ...
lasted almost 15 years, to be replaced by another mark set by Calvin Smith at altitude in
Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
that lasted another four years. * Men's 200 meters record, set by
Tommie Smith Tommie C. Smith (born June 6, 1944) is an American former track and field athlete and former wide receiver in the American Football League. At the 1968 Summer Olympics, Smith, aged 24, won the 200-meter sprint finals and gold medal in 19.83&nb ...
lasted almost 11 years, to be replaced by another mark also set on the same track that lasted almost 17 more years. At the high altitude United States Olympic Trials at
Echo Summit Echo Summit is a mountain pass over the Sierra Nevada in the western United States, located in eastern El Dorado County, California. At above sea level, it is the highest point on U.S. Route 50 in California, which traverses it at postmil ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
that year, John Carlos had posted a prior world record that was never ratified due to the spike formation of his shoes. * Men's 400 meters record, set by Lee Evans lasted almost 20 years. At the high altitude United States Olympic Trials at
Echo Summit Echo Summit is a mountain pass over the Sierra Nevada in the western United States, located in eastern El Dorado County, California. At above sea level, it is the highest point on U.S. Route 50 in California, which traverses it at postmil ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
that year, Evans had posted a prior world record that was also never ratified due to his shoes.
Larry James George Larry James (November 6, 1947 – November 6, 2008) was an American track athlete. At the 1968 Olympics he won a gold medal in the 4 × 400 m relay and a silver in the individual 400 m. Biography Early life James was born on November 6, ...
in second place, also beat the previous world record and was awarded the record. * Men's 800 meters Ralph Doubell equalled Peter Snell's 1962 world record. The record was again equalled by
Dave Wottle David James Wottle (born August 7, 1950) is an American retired middle-distance track athlete. He was the gold medalist in the 800 meter run at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and a world record holder in the 800 meters. In 1973, Wottle also ...
at the 1972
U.S. Olympic Trials The United States Olympic Trials are competitions held in certain sports to select the United States' participants in those sports at the Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading i ...
a month before he won the gold medal in Munich. The record lasted until 1973 when it was finally broken by Marcello Fiasconaro. * Men's 400 meter hurdles record that was set by Geoff Vanderstock at the high altitude United States Olympic Trials that year, was improved upon at the Olympics by
David Hemery David Peter Hemery, (born 18 July 1944) is a British former track and field athlete, best known as the winner of the 400 metres hurdles at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Early life Hemery was born in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, but ...
and lasted four years. * Men's Long Jump record had been set a year earlier in a Mexico City preparation meet, but was improved upon by
Bob Beamon Robert Beamon (born August 29, 1946) is an American former track and field athlete, best known for his world record in the long jump at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. By jumping 8.90 m (29 ft. 2.5 in), he broke the existing record by ...
an incredible 22 inches or 55 cm. That record lasted almost 23 years and still has only been beaten once. The feat was so outstanding it spawned a new adjective "beamonesque". * Men's Triple Jump record was set and improved five times at Mexico City including on the last jump in the competition by Viktor Saneyev , three years later it was improved upon again, by
Pedro Pérez Pedro Damián Pérez Dueñas (; February 23, 1952 – July 18, 2018) was a Cuban triple jumper, who set the world record in the men's triple jump event on August 5, 1971, jumping 17.40 metres, while still a 19-year-old Junior athlete, in the fin ...
at altitude in Cali, Colombia. A year later that was improved upon at sea level by Saneyev, but three years later the record was again set at Mexico City by João Carlos de Oliveira , which lasted ten more years. * Men's Pole Vault was set at the high altitude United States Olympic Trials by Bob Seagren , the eventual gold medalist. The record lasted until the next summer. The current outdoor World Record in the
Pole Vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...
, was set at altitude in
Sestriere Sestriere (/se'strjɛre/) ( oc, Sestrieras, pms, Ël Sestrier, french: Sestrières) is a ski resort in Piedmont, Italy, a ''comune'' (municipality) of the Metropolitan City of Turin. It is situated in Val Susa, from the French border. Its name ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
by Sergey Bubka in 1994, though with Bubka's history of outstanding performances, the altitude is not considered a major factor in his record. In fact, Bubka later improved upon the record at low altitude, indoors, but at the time indoor records were not recognized as world records. * Decathlon
Bill Toomey William Anthony Toomey (born January 10, 1939) is a former American track and field competitor and the 1968 Olympic decathlon champion. He won 23 of the 38 decathlons he competed in, scoring over 8,000 points a dozen times. He was on the cover ...
's World Decathlon best in the 400 metres, 45.6 (45.68 FAT) lasted almost 47 years until it was beaten by
Ashton Eaton Ashton James Eaton (born January 21, 1988) is a retired American decathlete and two-time Olympic champion, who holds the world record in the indoor heptathlon event. Eaton was the second decathlete (after Roman Šebrle) to break the 9,000-point ...
while setting the world record in 2015. * Men's 4x100 Relay record was set three times in Mexico City, including both semi-finals and the final by the which lasted until the next Olympics * Men's 4x400 Relay record by the lasted almost 24 years (although it was equalled after 20 years). * Women's 100 meter record, set by Wyomia Tyus lasted almost 4 years. * Women's 200 metres record, set by
Irena Szewińska Irena Szewińska (née Kirszenstein; Polish pronunciation: ; 24 May 1946 – 29 June 2018) was a Polish sprinter who was one of the world's foremost athletes for nearly two decades, in multiple events. She is the only athlete in history, m ...
lasted almost 2 years. * Women's Long Jump record, set by Viorica Viscopoleanu lasted almost 2 years. * Women's 4x100 Relay record, set by the lasted until the next Olympics


East Africa

1968 marked the emergence of high altitude trained long distance runners from Kenya. While
Abebe Bikila ''Shambel'' Abebe Bikila ( am, ሻምበል አበበ ቢቂላ; August 7, 1932 – October 25, 1973) was an Ethiopian marathon runner who was a back-to-back Olympic marathon champion. He is the first Ethiopian Olympic gold medalist, winnin ...
's victories in the two previous Olympic Marathons had announced to the world the potential of East African athletes, Kenya won its first Gold medals in Mexico City, and it won three of them, including the Steeplechase which it would subsequently claim ownership of. Kenya has won the steeplechase in every Olympics they have participated in since 1968. Ethiopia won its third straight marathon. There has been a fierce athletic rivalry between Kenya and Ethiopia ever since, while both countries and their neighbors have dominated long distance running both on the track and on the roads.


Fosbury Flop

Dick Fosbury Richard Douglas Fosbury (born March 6, 1947) is an American retired high jumper, who is considered one of the most influential athletes in the history of track and field. Besides winning a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics, he revolutionized the h ...
was the first to do what is now called the " Fosbury Flop" to the High Jump. He learned to take advantage of the new foam landing pads (another technical innovation introduced in this era) by jumping over the bar backwards. Canadian
Debbie Brill Debbie Arden Brill, (born March 10, 1953) is a Canadian high jump athlete who at the age of 16 became the first North American woman to clear 6 feet. Her reverse jumping style—which is now almost exclusively the technique of elite high jumpers ...
started doing the "Brill Bend" about the same time, but Fosbury got the most exposure, winning the Olympics. The prevailing methods involved jumping forwards or sideways, styles called the Roll or "
Western Roll The Western roll was a high jump technique invented by George Horine of Stanford University. This technique was succeeded by the straddle. History It is said that George Horine came to invent the Western roll because the high jump pit at Stanfo ...
" and previous to that, the "Scissors" style. After Fosbury's victory, the flop became almost the only style used by elite competitors.


Performance enhancing drugs

This was the first Olympics to do drug testing, though primarily these initial searches were for narcotics and stimulants.


References

{{Years in Athletics Athletics, 1968 In Athletics (track and field) by year