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Peter Norman

Norman in 1970
Personal information
Full name	Peter George Norman
Born	(1942-06-15)15 June 1942 Coburg, Victoria, Australia
Died	3 October 2006(2006-10-03) (aged 64) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	73 kg (161 lb)
Sport
Country	Australia
Sport	Athletics
Event	Sprint
Club	East Melbourne Harriers
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	20.06 s (200 m, 1968)
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  Australia Olympic Games 1968 Mexico City 200 metres British Empire and Commonwealth Games 1966 Kingston 4×110 yards relay

Peter George Norman (15 June 1942 – 3 October 2006) was an Australian track athlete. He won the silver medal in the 200 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, with a time of 20.06 seconds, which remained the Oceania 200 m record for more than 56 years. He was a five-time national 200-metre champion.

Norman is well known as one of the three athletes in the famous 1968 Olympics protest salute photograph taken during the medal ceremony for the 200-metre event. He knew the salute was to occur and wore a badge of the Olympic Project for Human Rights in support of fellow athletes John Carlos and Tommie Smith.

Early life

Norman grew up in a devout Salvation Army family, living in Coburg, a suburb of Melbourne in 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.

During his athletics career, Norman was coached by Neville Sillitoe.

Career

1968 Summer Olympics

The 200 metres event at the 1968 Olympics started on 15 October and finished on 16 October; Norman won his heat in a time of 20.17 seconds, which was briefly an Olympic record. He won his quarter-final and was second in the semi-final.

On the morning of 16 October, US athlete Tommie Smith won the 200-metre final with a world-record time of 19.83 seconds. Norman finished second in a time of 20.06 s after passing U.S. athlete John Carlos at the finish line. Carlos ran 20.10 s.

Later career

Norman represented Australia at the 1969 Pacific Conference Games in Tokyo, and the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh.

The Australian Olympic Committee maintains that Norman was not selected for the 1972 Munich Olympics because he did not meet the selection standard of equalling or bettering the IOC qualifying standard (20.9) and performing credibly at the 1972 Australian Athletics Championships at which he finished third behind Greg Lewis and Gary Eddy in a time of 21.6.

He played 67 games for West Brunswick Australian rules football club from 1972 to 1977 before coaching an under-19 team in 1978 (Before the 1968 Olympics, he is said to have been a trainer for West Brunswick as a way of keeping fit over winter during the athletics off-season).

In 1985, Norman contracted gangrene after tearing his Achilles tendon during a charity race, which nearly led to his leg being amputated. Depression, heavy drinking and painkiller addiction followed.

After battling depression, Norman worked at Athletics Australia as a sports administrator until 2006.

Death

Norman died of a heart attack on 3 October 2006 in Melbourne at the age of 64. The US Track and Field Federation proclaimed 9 October 2006, the date of his funeral, as Peter Norman Day. Thirty-eight years after the three first made history, both Smith and Carlos gave eulogies and were pallbearers at Norman's funeral. At the time of his death, Norman was survived by his second wife, Jan, and their daughters Belinda and Emma. Additionally, he was survived by his first wife, Ruth; their children Gary, Sandra, and Janita; and four grandchildren.

Black power salute

Medal ceremony

On the medal podium after the medal presentation by David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter and during the playing of the US anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner", Tommie Smith and John Carlos famously performed a Black Power salute (which Tommie Smith later described in his 2007 autobiography as a human rights salute, rather than an outright Black Power salute).

Norman wore a badge on the podium in support of the Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR). After the final, Carlos and Smith had told Norman what they were planning to do during the ceremony. Journalist Martin Flanagan wrote: "They asked Norman if he believed in human rights. He said he did. They asked him if he believed in God. Norman, who came from a Salvation Army background, said he believed strongly in God. We knew that what we were going to do was far greater than any athletic feat. He said, 'I'll stand with you'. Carlos said he expected to see fear in Norman's eyes. He didn't; 'I saw love'." On the way to the medal ceremony, Norman saw the OPHR badge being worn by Paul Hoffman, a white member of the US rowing team, and asked him if he could wear it. It was Norman who suggested that Smith and Carlos share the black gloves used in their salute, after Carlos left his pair at the Olympic Village. This is the reason Smith raised a gloved right fist and Carlos raised his gloved left.

Treatment between 1968–1972

Various commentary has claimed that, after the 1968 Olympics, Norman's career suffered greatly, e.g., a 2012 CNN profile said that "he returned home to Australia a pariah, suffering unofficial sanction and ridicule as the Black Power salute's forgotten man. He never ran in the Olympics again." Norman represented Australia at the smaller-scale 1969 Pacific Conference Games in Tokyo, and the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh before finishing his career.

Various commentators say he was not selected for the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972 despite recording qualifying times, but the Australian Olympic Committee maintains that Norman was not selected for the 1972 Olympics because he did not meet the selection standard of equalling or bettering the Olympic qualifying standard (20.9) and performing creditably at the Australian Athletics Championships. Norman ran several qualifying times from 1969–1971 but he finished third in the 1972 Australian Athletics Championships behind Greg Lewis and Gary Eddy in a time of 21.6.

Contemporaneous reports show mixed opinion on whether Norman should have been sent to the Munich Olympics. After coming third in the trials, Norman commented: "All I had to do was to win, even in a slow time, and I think I would have been off to Munich". The Age correspondent wrote Norman "probably ran himself out of the team at the National titles"—yet also noted he was injured—and continued, "If the selectors do the right thing, Norman should still be on the plane to Munich." On the other hand, Australasian Amateur Athletics' magazine stated "The dilemma for selectors here was how could they select Norman and not Lewis. Pity that Peter did not win because that would have been the only requirement for a Munich ticket".

Recognition

For his involvement as an ally in the 1968 Olympics Black Power salute protest, Norman has appeared in many works of public art, as well as movies on the subject.

• An airbrush mural of the trio on podium was painted in 2000 in the inner-city suburb of Newtown in Sydney. Silvio Offria, who allowed an artist known only as "Donald" to paint the mural on his house in Leamington Lane, said that Norman came to see the mural: "He came and had his photo taken, he was very happy." The monochrome tribute, captioned "THREE PROUD PEOPLE MEXICO 68", was under threat of demolition in 2010 to make way for a rail tunnel but is now listed as an item of heritage significance.
• On 17 October 2005, San Jose State University unveiled a statue, titled Victory Salute, commemorating the 1968 Olympic protest. Norman was not included as part of the statue itself, as he insisted that his place be left unoccupied so that others viewing the statue could "take a stand" against racism; however, he was invited to deliver a speech at the ceremony.
• Norman's nephew Matt Norman directed, produced, and wrote the documentary film Salute (2008), about him and his role in the 1968 Olympics Black Power salute. Paul Byrnes, in his Sydney Morning Herald review of Salute, said that the documentary makes it clear why Norman stood with the other two athletes. Byrnes writes, "He was a devout Christian, raised in the Salvation Army believed passionately in equality for all, regardless of colour, creed or religion—the Olympic code". In October 2018, Matt Norman with the help of journalist Andrew Webster released his uncle's official biography The Peter Norman Story.
• In September 2016, a statue of Norman on the 1968 medal podium with Smith and Carlos was unveiled at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
• During the building of Lakeside Stadium in Melbourne, Athletics Australia in partnership with the Victorian Government announced the erecting of a bronze statue of Norman to honour Norman's legacy as an athlete and advocate for human rights. They will also enshrine 9 October as Peter Norman Day within their organisation. It was unveiled on 9 October 2019 at the Albert Park athletics track, Melbourne.

Posthumous apology

In August 2012, the Australian House of Representatives debated a motion to provide a posthumous apology to Norman. The chamber passed an official apology motion on 11 October 2012, which read:

15 PETER NORMAN

The order of the day having been read for the resumption of the debate on the motion of Dr Leigh— That this House:

(1) recognises the extraordinary athletic achievements of the late Peter Norman, who won the silver medal in the 200 metres sprint running event at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, in a time of 20.06 seconds, which still stands as the Australian record;
(2) acknowledges the bravery of Peter Norman in donning an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge on the podium, in solidarity with African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who gave the 'black power' salute;
(3) apologises to Peter Norman for the treatment he received upon his return to Australia, and the failure to fully recognise his inspirational role before his untimely death in 2006; and
(4) belatedly recognises the powerful role that Peter Norman played in furthering racial equality.

The original plan for the apology had point (3) state that the House: 'apologises to Peter Norman for the wrong done by Australia in failing to send him to the 1972 Munich Olympics, despite repeatedly qualifying'. This acknowledgement of a punitive reaction by Australia to his support of Smith and Carlos was omitted from the final apology.

In a 2012 interview advocating for the apology, Carlos said:

There's no-one in the nation of Australia that should be honoured, recognised, appreciated more than Peter Norman for his humanitarian concerns, his character, his strength and his willingness to be a sacrificial lamb for justice.

After the parliamentary apology, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) and others disputed the claims made about Norman being ostracised for supporting Carlos and Smith. The AOC did not believe that Norman was owed an apology, citing the following:

• Norman was cautioned by the AOC but not punished. Chef de Mission Judy Patching cautioned him on the evening of the medal ceremony and then gave Norman as many tickets as he wanted to go and watch a field hockey match.
• Norman was not selected for the 1972 Munich Olympics, as he did not meet the selection standard which entailed an athlete equalling or bettering the Olympic qualifying standard (20.9) and performing creditably at the Australian Athletics Championships. Norman ran several qualifying times from 1969–1971, but he finished third in the 1972 Australian Athletics Championships behind Greg Lewis and Gary Eddy in a time of 21.6.
• In the lead-up to the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the AOC stated "Norman was involved in numerous Olympic events in his home city of Melbourne. He announced several teams for the AOC in Melbourne and was on the stage in his Mexico 1968 blazer congratulating athletes. He was acknowledged as an Olympian and the AOC valued his contribution." Due to cost considerations, the AOC did not have the resources to bring all Australian Olympians to Sydney, and Norman was offered the same chance to buy tickets as other Australian Olympians. However, the United States invited him to participate and take part in the 2000 Sydney Olympics when they heard that his own country had failed to do so.

In 2018, the AOC awarded Norman posthumously the Order of Merit for his involvement of the 1968 protest, with AOC President John Coates stating: "I'm absolutely certain from all the history I've read that we didn't do the wrong thing by him. But I absolutely think we've been negligent in not recognising the role he played back then."

Competitive record

International competitions

National championships

Honours

Later in life and posthumously, Norman received a number of honours from Australian sport bodies, including:

• 1999 – Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductee
• 2000 – Australian Sports Medal
• 2010 – Athletics Australia Hall of Fame inductee
• 2018 – Order of Merit from Australian Olympic Committee
• 2022 – The Dawn Award

References

Annotations

1. Mural at 39, Pine Street, Newtown, New South Wales, Australia.

Footnotes

1. ^ Peter Norman Archived 24 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine. sports-reference.com
2. ^ Carlson 2006
3. Associated Press 2006
4. ^ Hurst, Mike (8 October 2006). "Peter Norman's Olympic statement". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
5. ^ Hawker 2008
6. Irwin 2012
7. Athletics at the 1968 Ciudad de México Summer Games: Men's 200 metres Archived 16 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine. sports-reference.com
8. New Scientist 1981, p. 285
9. ^ Messenger, Robert (24 August 2012). "Leigh sprints into wrong lane over Norman". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
10. "IOC Releases 1972 Olympic Standards". Track and Field News: 24. May 1971.
11. ^ "A sprint hope who ran foul of Olympic starters gun". National Times. No. 3–8 April 1972 p.28.
12. Johnstone & Norman 2008
13. ^ Hurst 2006
14. Flanagan 2006
15. Frost 2008
16. Montague, James (24 April 2012). "The third man: The forgotten Black Power hero". CNN. Archived from the original on 7 March 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
17. "IOC Releases 1972 Olympic Standards". Track and Field News: 24. May 1971.
18. ^ "Peter may have lost team place" (PDF). The Age. 27 March 1972. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
19. "National Championships – 24–25 March 1972, Perry Lakes Stadium, Perth". Australasian Amateur Athletics: 2–3. April 1972.
20. "Leamington Lane, Newtown, NSW". Retrieved 15 November 2020.
21. ^ Tovey 2010
22. City of Sydney 2010, p. 27
23. Byrnes, Paul (17 July 2008). "Salute". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
24. McDonald, Scott (23 February 2017). "Olympians' Contributions Featured Prominently in National Museum of African American History And Culture". United States Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 20 July 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
25. "Peter Norman Statue to be built". Athletics Australia website. Archived from the original on 9 October 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
26. Ramsak, Bob (9 October 2019). "Statue honouring Australian Olympian Peter Norman unveiled in Melbourne". World Athletics. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
27. The Daily Telegraph 2012
28. Australian Associated Press 2012
29. ^ Whiteman 2012
30. Parliament of Australia 2012, p. 1865
31. "Black Power apology 48 years in making". News.com.au. News Corp Ltd. 17 August 2012. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
32. "The brilliant story of the 'other guy' in this iconic Olympics photo". indy100. 19 October 2017. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
33. Carlos & Eastley 2012
34. ^ "Peter Norman not shunned by AOC". Australian Olympic Committee News, 6 November 2015. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
35. "IOC Releases 1972 Olympic Standards". Track and Field News: 24. May 1971.
36. Schembri 2008
37. ^ "Peter Norman given posthumous Order of Merit by AOC". SBS News. 28 April 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
38. ^ "Peter Norman". athhistory.imgstg.com. Australian Athletics Historical Results. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
39. "Aussie sprinter who stood on podium during 1968 black-power salute to be recognised". Stuff (Fairfax). 28 April 2018. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
40. "Congratulations to SAHOF Member & Olympic silver medalist, Peter Norman, who has been awarded the 2022 The Dawn Award for the role he played alongside Americans Tommie Smith & John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics". Twitter. 8 December 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.

Citations

• Australian Associated Press (20 August 2012). "Sprinter Norman may get apology". The Age. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
• Associated Press (4 October 2006). "Peter Norman; Australian Medalist in '68 Games". The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
• Carlos, John; Eastley, Tony (21 August 2012). "John Carlos: No Australian finer than Peter Norman". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
• Carlson, Michael (5 October 2006). "Unlikely Australian participant in black athletes' Olympic civil rights protest". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
• City of Sydney (October 2010). "Heritage Assessment of the Three Proud People mural" (PDF). City of Sydney. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
• Flanagan, Martin (10 October 2006). "Tell Your Kids About Peter Norman". The Age. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
• Frost, Caroline (17 October 2008). "The other man on the podium". BBC News. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
• Hawker, Phillippa (15 July 2008). "Salute to a champion". The Age. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
• Hurst, Mike (8 October 2006). "Peter Norman's Olympic statement". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
• Irwin, James D. (27 September 2012). "The Humans Raced". The Weeklings. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
• Johnstone, Damian; Norman, Matt T. (2008). A Race to Remember: The Peter Norman Story (2008 ed.). JoJo Publishing. ISBN 9780980495027. - Total pages: 320
• Lucas, Dean (22 May 2013). "Black Power". Famous Pictures Collection. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
• New Scientist (1981). New Scientist Vol. 90, No. 1251 (30 April 1981 ed.). ISSN 0262-4079. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help) - Total pages: 64
• Schembri, Jim (17 July 2008). "It's a film worthy not only of our praise, but of our thanks". The Age. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
• Parliament of Australia (11 October 2012). "THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS No. 138". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
• The Daily Telegraph (20 August 2012). "Olympian apology on agenda". Herald Sun. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
• Tovey, Josephine (27 July 2010). "Last stand for Newtown's 'three proud people'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
• Webster, Andrew; Norman, Matt T. (2018). The Peter Norman Story (2018 ed.). Pan MacMillan Australia. ISBN 9781925481365. - Total pages: 304
• Whiteman, Hilary (21 August 2012). "Apology urged for Australian Olympian in 1968 black power protest". CNN. Retrieved 22 October 2013.

External links

• 1968 Olympic 200 Meters on YouTube
• Peter Norman – Athletics Australia Hall of Fame Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
• Peter Norman at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame
• Peter Norman at IMDb
• Peter Norman at Olympics.com
• Peter Norman at the Australian Olympic Committee

• 1942 births
• 2006 deaths
• Australian male sprinters
• Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics
• Olympic athletes for Australia
• Olympic silver medalists for Australia
• Athletes (track and field) at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
• Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
• Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games
• Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia
• Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
• Athletes from Melbourne
• Australian Salvationists
• People educated at the Southport School
• Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal
• Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees
• Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics
• Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
• Australian activists
• Anti-racism in Australia
• People from Coburg, Victoria
• Medallists at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
• Sportsmen from Victoria (state)
• Australian Athletics Championships winners
• 20th-century Australian sportsmen