Peter Norman

Tommie Smith (centre) and John Carlos (right) showing the Black Power salute in the 1968 Summer Olympics while Silver medalist Peter Norman (left) wears an OPHR badge to show his support for the two Americans.

Peter George Norman (June 15, 1942 – October 3, 2006) was an Australian track athlete best known for winning the silver medal in the 200 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. His time of 20.06 seconds still stands as the Australian 200m record^[1]. He was a five-time Australian 200m champion^[1]. He is also known for his support of John Carlos and Tommie Smith when they made their famous gesture at the 1968 Olympics medal ceremony.

Biography

Norman grew up in Coburg, Victoria. Initially an apprentice butcher, Norman later became a teacher, and worked for the Victorian Department of Sport and Recreation towards the end of his life.^[2] Before the 1968 Olympics Norman was a trainer for West Brunswick Football Club as a way of keeping fit over winter during the athletic circuit's off season. After 1968 he played 67 games for West Brunswick between 1972 and 1977 before coaching an under 19 team in 1978. Norman kept running, but contracted gangrene in 1985 after tearing his Achilles Tendon during a training session, which nearly led to his leg being amputated. Depression and heavy drinking followed.

Norman was overlooked by Australian organising authorities as being involved in any way with the 2000 Summer Olympics held in Sydney; he was however eventually part of the event after being invited by the Americans when they heard that his own country had omitted to do so^[3]. On October 17, 2003 San Jose State University unveiled a statue commemorating the 1968 Olympic protest; Norman was not included as part of the statue itself—his empty podium spot intended for others viewing the statue to "take a stand"—but was invited to deliver a speech at the ceremony^[2].

Norman died of a heart attack on October 3, 2006 in Melbourne at the age of 64.^[4] US Track and Field Federation proclaimed October 9, 2006, the date of his funeral, as Peter Norman Day. Both Smith and Carlos gave eulogies and were pallbearers at Norman's funeral.^[2]

Peter Norman is the uncle to Australian film-maker and actor Matt Norman who has directed and produced the cinema-released documentary Salute about the three runners through Paramount Pictures and Transmission Films.

1968 Olympics

The gold and bronze medalists in the 200m at the 1968 Olympics were Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos, respectively. On the medal podium, during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner", Smith and Carlos famously joined in a Black Power salute.

What is less known is that Norman, a white Australian, donned a badge on the podium in support of their cause, the Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR). On the way out to the medal ceremony, Norman saw the badge being worn by Paul Hoffman, a white member of the US Rowing Team, and asked him if he could wear it.^{[citation needed]} It was also Norman who suggested that Smith and Carlos share the black gloves used in their salute, after Carlos left his gloves in the Olympic Village.^[5] This is the reason for Tommie Smith raising his right fist, while John Carlos raised his left. Asked about his support of Smith and Carlos' cause by the world's press, Norman said he opposed his country's government's White Australia policy.

Australia's Olympic authorities reprimanded him and the Australian media ostracised him. Despite Norman running qualifying times for both the 100m and 200m during 1971/72 the Australian Olympic track team did not send him, or any other sprinters, to the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, the first ever modern Olympics where no Australian sprinters participated.

References

External links

This article's external links may not follow Wikipedia's content policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links. (September 2009)

• SALUTE - The Movie webpage (directed by Peter Norman's nephew Matt Norman)
• Peter Norman on IMDB.com
• 1968 Olympic 200 Meters

Articles

• New York Times - For Australian Athletes, a Voice From the Grave May 23, 2008
• In-flight film will urge Olympians to protest - Sydney Daily Telegraph May 24, 2008
• Sydney Morning Herald "white man becomes hero on film"
• Sydney Morning Herald 13/5/2008
• Sporting Life
• Moreland Leader 4/8/08
• Fox Sports
• USA Today
• The Courier Mail
• The Herald Sun
• Sydney Morning Herald
• Wise Words
• ABC TV - 7.30 Report
• Sydney Morning Herald 13/5/2008
• "'68 protest more than a memory", Kevin Blackistone, Dallas Morning News, September 29, 2000
• "Peter Norman dies after heart attack"
• "He Didn't Raise His Fist - But He Did Lend A Hand"
• "Bitter price of Olympics' iconic image"
• "Clenched Fists, Helping Hand" by Mike Wise, Washington Post
• "Norman Remembered as an Unflinching Champion"
• MSNBC article on Carlos and Smith's pallbearer role
• World Socialist Web Site Article on Peter Norman
• "Matt Norman, Director/Producer 'Salute'" (podcast: nephew of Peter Norman discusses new documentary about Peter's role in the Black Power Salute)