The 1960's Olympics

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John Carlos, bronze medalist, once said “I wasn’t there for the race. I was there to actually make a statement.” This quote exemplifies the emotion and pride of representing your country in the Olympics. This is the thought of many Olympic athletes as they represent their countries and their family back home. The 1960’s Olympics brought many new changes to the games, because of the effects of the high altitude, the new rules on timing and performance drugs, and the outcome of the events.The high altitude helped athletes enhance their events.High altitude training is a proven effective performance-enhancing tool, as the ability of an athlete to utilize greater amounts of oxygen will naturally support improved capabilities ( “High

“In athletics events in the Olympics all the way back in the 1948 London Games, but it wasn't until the 1968 Olympics (Grenoble/Mexico City) that electronic timing became the primary method of determining finish order — both in and out of the water”(Sporting News). The touch pad timer was introduced to the sport of swimming in 1968 and improved the accuracy of the times. “The IOC instituted its first compulsory doping controls at the Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble, France in 1968 and again at the Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City in the same year”(Procon.org). “the International Olympic Committee (IOC) establishes the Medical Commission to fight against doping in sports. The Commission is given three guiding principles: protection of the health of athletes, respect for medical and sport ethics, and equality for all competing athletes”(Procon.org). The International Olympic Committee tested all athletes to make sure that the Olympic Games were fair and accurate. As a result, the Olympic games were very high-tech at the time and improve the fair play of the sport.The amount of participation and skill level of the 1968 Olympics wasn’t to be compared to the amount of athletes that participated in the 2016 Rio Olympics. “The Games were attended by 112 countries represented by almost 5,500

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“Mexico 1968.” Olympic.org, Olympic.org, www.olympic.org/mexico-1968. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.

Stemen, Karl R., "The 1968 Mexico City Summer Olympic Games: Altitudes Effects on the Performance Capability of Track and Field Athletes and Future Training Methods of Distance Running" (2015). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 6806. http://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/6806 “When Were the Touch Pad Timers in Competitive Swimming Invented?” Sporting News, Quora, 20 Mar. 2015, www.sportingnews.com/other-sports/news/when-were-the-touchpad-timers-in-swimming-invented/1hawufwixczd81n4p8eepp4v9k. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.

“History of Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports.”Procon.org, Procon.org, 8 Oct. 2013, sportsanddrugs.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000017. Accessed 28 Mar.