Peter Norman

Peter George Norman (15 June 1942 – 3 October 2006) was an Australian track and field athlete. He won the silver medal in the 200 metre sprint at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Also at the 1968 Olympics, Norman supported African-American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos in their Black Power salute.^[1][2] He also wore an Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR) badge as he stood on the podium with Smith and Carlos. Norman's act has been praised but afterwards his career suffered. He was not chosen for the 1972 Summer Olympics and soon retired. He was coached by Neville Sillitoe. The House of Representatives gave an official apology for this in October 2012.^[3]

Podium, left to right: Norman, Smith and Carlos at the 1968 Summer Olympics

Norman was born in Coburg, Victoria. He was twice married and had four children. He died of a heart attack on 3 October 2006 in Melbourne. He was 64.^[4]

References

1. Chulani, Nikhita (17 October 2018). "Black Power salute: 50 years on how much has changed? – video explainer". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
2. Webster, Andrew (20 October 2018). "Finally, the real story about Peter Norman and the black power salute". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
3. "The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings". Parliament of Australia. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
4. "Peter Norman, 64, Who Shared Podium at '68 Games, Dies". The New York Times. 4 October 2006. Retrieved 19 April 2019.

Other websites

• Peter Norman Archived 2018-11-24 at the Wayback Machine at Sports-Reference.com