Peter Norman - as athletes protest - an incredible price paid
The story of Peter Norman is amazing to me.
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. As 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.'"[10] 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.[11] 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.[4] This is the reason for Smith raising his right fist, while Carlos raised his left.
Treatment after 1968 Edit
After the salute, it has been claimed that Norman's career suffered greatly. 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."[13] Commentators say he was not selected for the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972 despite recording qualifying times, and was not welcomed even three decades later at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.[14][15][16] Carlos later stated that "If we [Carlos and Smith] were getting beat up, Peter was facing an entire country and suffering alone."[15][16]
Norman died of a heart attack on 3 October 2006 in Melbourne at the age of 64.[11] 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 made history, both Smith and Carlos gave eulogies and were pallbearers at Norman's funeral.[6] At the time of his death, Norman was survived by his second wife, Jan, and their daughters Belinda and Emma, his first wife, Ruth, and children Gary, Sandra and Janita and four grandchildren.[5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Norman
Karadeniz
(22,564 posts)BigmanPigman
(51,623 posts)After the ceremony the men were asked if they regretted doing it due to the potential harm to their future careers. They said, "No" without hesitation. I applaud them!