Description

Participation medal given to Sharon Callahan (McKniff) at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games. Participation medals are given to all athletes and officials who participate in the Games. They have been given since the first modern Games in 1896 and feature a unique design for each Olympics. Sharon Callahan competed in the high jump as a member of the US Olympic track and field team of 1968The 1968 Olympic Games were the first to be held in Latin America and the first in a Spanish speaking country. The 1968 US Olympic track and field team was one of the most successful track teams’ ever-assembled winning twenty-four medals, including twelve golds. The high altitude of Mexico City, where the Games were held, was attributed to many of the records broken in the short distance races although those in the endurance races suffered from the lack of oxygen. These games also introduced the world to the Fosbury flop as Dick Fosbury won the gold with a new backward approach to the high jump, 16-year-old Debbie Meyer became the first US woman to win three individual golds in swimming and newcomer, George Foreman won Gold in boxing. These Games were the first to subject athletes to drug testing which led to the first disqualification of an athlete after consuming beer before his pentathlon competition. The politically charged atmosphere around the globe that year also contributed to controversy on the medal podium when two African-American athletes held black gloved hands high and bowed their...

Record Contributed By

National Museum of American History

Record Harvested From

Smithsonian Institution