1968 Summer Olympics in the context of "Summer Olympic Games"

⭐ In the context of the Summer Olympic Games, which nation hosted the event in 1968, marking a significant expansion in the Games' global reach?

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⭐ Core Definition: 1968 Summer Olympics

The 1968 Summer Olympics (Spanish: Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad (Spanish: Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (Spanish: México 1968), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Olympic Games to be staged in Latin America, the first to be staged in a Spanish-speaking country, and the first to be staged in the Global South. Consequently, these games also marked the first time that there would be a gap of two Olympic Games not to be held in Europe. They were also the first Games to use an all-weather (smooth) track for track and field events instead of the traditional cinder track, as well as the first example of the Olympics exclusively using electronic timekeeping equipment.

The 1968 Games were the third to be held in the last quarter of the year, after the 1956 Games in Melbourne and the 1964 Games in Tokyo. The 1968 Mexican Student Movement was crushed days prior, hence the Games were correlated to the government's repression.

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👉 1968 Summer Olympics in the context of Summer Olympic Games

The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the Kingdom of Greece, and the most recent was held in 2024 in Paris, France. This was the first international multi-sport event of its kind, organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) founded by Pierre de Coubertin. The tradition of awarding medals began in 1904; in each Olympic event, gold medals are awarded for first place, silver medals for second place, and bronze medals for third place. The Winter Olympic Games were created out of the success of the Summer Olympic Games, which are regarded as the largest and most prestigious multi-sport international event in the world.

The Summer Olympics have increased in scope from a 42-event competition programme in 1896 with fewer than 250 male competitors from 14 nations, to 339 events in 2021 (2020 Summer Olympics) with 11,319 competitors (almost half of whom were women) from 206 nations. The Games have been held in nineteen countries over five continents: four times in the United States (1904, 1932, 1984, and 1996), three times in Great Britain (1908, 1948, and 2012) and in France (1900, 1924, and 2024), twice each in Greece (1896 and 2004), Germany (1936 and 1972), Australia (1956 and 2000), and Japan (1964 and 2020), and once each in Sweden (1912), Belgium (1920), the Netherlands (1928), Finland (1952), Italy (1960), Mexico (1968), Canada (1976), Russia (1980), South Korea (1988), Spain (1992), China (2008), and Brazil (2016).

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1968 Summer Olympics in the context of Tlatelolco massacre

The Tlatelolco massacre (Spanish: La Masacre de Tlatelolco) was a military massacre committed by the Mexican Armed Forces against the students of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) and other universities in Mexico.

The massacre followed a series of large demonstrations known as the Mexican Movement of 1968 and is considered part of the Mexican Dirty War when the U.S.-backed Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) government violently repressed political and social opposition. The event occurred ten days before the opening ceremony of the 1968 Summer Olympics, which were carried out as scheduled.

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1968 Summer Olympics in the context of 1992 Summer Olympics

The 1992 Summer Olympics (Spanish: Juegos OlĂ­mpicos de Verano de 1992, Catalan: Jocs OlĂ­mpics d'estiu de 1992), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (Spanish: Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, Catalan: Jocs de la XXV OlimpĂ­ada) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994, the International Olympic Committee decided to hold the Summer and Winter Olympics in alternating even-numbered years. The 1992 Summer and Winter Olympics were the last games to be staged in the same year. These games were the second and last two consecutive Olympic games to be held in Western Europe after the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, held five months earlier. It is also the second Olympic Games to be held in a Spanish-speaking country, following the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

The 1992 Games received universal acclaim, with the organisation, volunteers, sportsmanship, and Spanish public being lauded in the international media. Some media describe the Barcelona Games as one of the best Olympics ever. The Games showed a renewed image of a democratic Spain and projected Barcelona and Catalonia to the world. Owing to the Games, the city of Barcelona was remarkably transformed. All the venues are still active, and the legacy of the 1992 Games was taken as an example for future Olympic events, such as London 2012.

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1968 Summer Olympics in the context of National Autonomous University of Mexico

The National Autonomous University of Mexico (Spanish: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countries. It also has 34 research institutes, 26 museums, and 18 historic sites. With more than 324,413 students, UNAM is one of the world's largest universities.

A portion of Ciudad Universitaria (University City), UNAM's main campus in Mexico City, is a UNESCO World Heritage site that was designed and decorated by some of Mexico's best-known architects and painters. The campus hosted the main events of the 1968 Summer Olympics, and was the birthplace of the student movement of 1968. All Mexican Nobel laureates have been alumni of UNAM. In 2009, the university was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities. More than 25% of the total scientific papers published by Mexican academics come from researchers at UNAM.

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1968 Summer Olympics in the context of Mexican Movement of 1968

The Mexican Movement of 1968, also known as the Mexican Student Movement (Movimiento Estudiantil) was a social movement composed of a broad coalition of students from Mexico's leading universities that garnered widespread public support for political change in Mexico. A major factor in its emergence publicly was the Mexican government's lavish spending to build Olympic facilities for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. The movement demanded greater political freedoms and an end to the authoritarianism of the PRI regime, which had been in power since 1929.

Student mobilization on the campuses of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, National Polytechnic Institute, El Colegio de México, Chapingo Autonomous University, Ibero-American University, Universidad La Salle and Meritorious Autonomous University of Puebla, among others created the National Strike Council. Its efforts to mobilize Mexican people for broad changes in national life was supported by many sectors of Mexican civil society, including workers, peasants, housewives, merchants, intellectuals, artists, and teachers.

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1968 Summer Olympics in the context of Fosbury Flop

The Fosbury flop is a jumping style used in the track and field event of high jump. It was popularized and perfected by American athlete Dick Fosbury, whose gold medal in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City brought it to the world's attention. The flop became the dominant style of the event, surpassing the straddle technique, Western roll, Eastern cut-off, or scissors jump to clear the bar. Though the backwards flop technique had been known for years before Fosbury, landing surfaces had been sandpits or low piles of matting and high jumpers had to land on their feet or at least land carefully to prevent injury. With the advent of deep foam matting, high jumpers were able to be more adventurous in their landing styles and hence more experimental with jumping styles.

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1968 Summer Olympics in the context of United States at the 1968 Summer Olympics

The United States competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. 357 competitors, 274 men and 83 women, took part in 167 events in 18 sports.

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