Description:
Born: Melbourne, Australia.
Peter Norman grew up in a devout Salvation Army family. He joined the Melbourne Harriers and won his first major title, the Victoria junior 200m championship in 1960.
Norman became a physical training teacher, continued to run and in 1966 he won the national championship. In the Commonwealth Games team in Jamaica he took bronze in the 220 yards and the 4 x 110 yard relay team.
Norman finished second in the 1968 Olympic Games 200m final. Tommie Smith won gold in the 200m by setting a new world record. John Carlos took bronze. While the Star-Spangled Banner played during the medal ceremony, Sm
Born: Melbourne, Australia.
Peter Norman grew up in a devout Salvation Army family. He joined the Melbourne Harriers and won his first major title, the Victoria junior 200m championship in 1960.
Norman became a physical training teacher, continued to run and in 1966 he won the national championship. In the Commonwealth Games team in Jamaica he took bronze in the 220 yards and the 4 x 110 yard relay team.
Norman finished second in the 1968 Olympic Games 200m final. Tommie Smith won gold in the 200m by setting a new world record. John Carlos took bronze. While the Star-Spangled Banner played during the medal ceremony, Smith raised his right, black-gloved fist to represent Black Power, while Carlos's raised left fist represented black unity. Norman joined the protest by wearing an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge.
At a press conference after the event Tommie Smith said: "If I win, I am an American not a black American. But if I did something bad then they would say 'a Negro'. We are black and we are proud of being black. Black America will understand what we did tonight."
The International Olympic Committee president, Avery Brundage, immediately suspended Tommie Smith and John Carlos from the U.S. team and banned from the Olympic Village. When they arrived home they received countless death threats. Australia's conservative media called for Peter Norman to be punished but Julius Patching, his team manager, refused to take action against him. Later Norman was to say: “It was like a pebble into the middle of a pond, and the ripples are still traveling.”
Peter Norman won the 200m gold medal at the Pacific Games held in Tokyo in 1969. However, he could only finish third at the Australian trials for the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. He continued running until 1985, when a tendon injury became infected, and gangrene set in. According to one report, he only avoided amputation because one doctor argued that "you can't cut off the leg of an Olympic silver medallist".
After his retirement from running he was active in athletics administration, Olympic fundraising and the organisation of major events like the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He also worked on a film with his nephew Matt Norman: 'Salute: The Peter Norman Story'.
Peter Norman continued to suffer from bad health and underwent triple bypass surgery. He died as a result of a heart attack on 3rd October, 2006. Tommie Smith and John Carlos were both pall-bearers at his funeral.
... (more)
(less)
My tags:
Add tags
Login
Australia
