An Australian played an extraordinary hand in the Mexico City Olympics black power protest. One of Australia's 1968 Olympic gold medallists, Ralph Doubell, explains here what made his involvement so significant. Olympics
, who a day before the black power salute had won gold in the men's 800m, looks back on Norman's hand in the protest with towering admiration.
"I think it's important in that Peter wasn't closely associated with Smith and Carlos, he wasn't a black man; he just thought that was the right thing to do and he was sympathetic to what Carlos and Smith were doing." What followed was a barrage of hate mail, including death threats, and scathing commentary in the media. The Los Angeles Times labelled their protest a "Nazi-like salute".Norman wasn't booted from the Olympic village in Mexico City, but he never competed in another Games despite meeting the Munich 1972 qualifying standards for both the 100m and 200m on a host of occasions.
Norman's involvement in the Mexico City protest not only affected his athletics career but his personal life.And, as noted in The Peter Norman Story, authored by Andrew Webster and Matt Norman, his family grew frustrated as their identity eroded away. In 2005, a statue was erected at San Jose State University paying tribute to the black power salute of Smith and Carlos.