First published October 18, 2021.
Peter Norman is the third man in one of the most famous photographs of the twentieth century. On 16 October 1968, at the Mexico City Olympics, Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos bowed their heads and raised black-gloved fists on the 200-metre podium during the US anthem. Norman, the white Australian who had just won silver between them, stood facing forward with a small badge on his chest reading “Olympic Project for Human Rights”. That badge was his way of saying he stood with them.
For decades Norman was a footnote in the story. Today he is remembered as a quiet ally whose choice came at a personal cost, and whose friendship with Smith and Carlos lasted the rest of his life. Some details of his story have been exaggerated over the years, though, so it is worth separating what is documented from what is disputed.
The race and the podium
The 200 m final was one of the great sprint races. Smith won in a world-record 19.83 seconds. Norman, running from behind, passed Carlos at the line to take silver in 20.06, an Australian and Oceanian record that stood for more than half a century.
Before the ceremony, Smith and Carlos told Norman what they planned to do. He did not hesitate. He asked to wear an OPHR badge, borrowing one from Paul Hoffman, a white American rower. When Carlos realised he had left his gloves at the Olympic Village, it was reportedly Norman who suggested the two Americans share Smith’s pair, which is why Smith raised his right fist and Carlos his left.
The rest of the symbolism belonged to Smith and Carlos: black socks without shoes to represent Black poverty, Smith’s black scarf for pride, Carlos’s beads in memory of lynching victims. Photographer John Dominis captured the moment, and the ceremony was broadcast live around the world.
What happened to Smith and Carlos
The International Olympic Committee, led by Avery Brundage, called the protest a domestic political statement that had no place at the Games. When the US Olympic Committee at first refused to act, Brundage threatened to ban the entire US track team. Smith and Carlos were suspended from the team and sent home from the Games.
A common myth says they were stripped of their medals. They were not: the IOC never forced them to give the medals back. Some retellings also claim they were banned from the Olympics for life, which is not supported by the records. What they did face at home was years of hostility, including death threats and difficulty finding work.
Norman’s life after Mexico City
Norman was reprimanded by Australian team officials and criticised in parts of the conservative press. He kept running for a while: he won the 200 m at the 1969 Pacific Conference Games in Tokyo and finished fifth at the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh.
He was not picked for the 1972 Munich Olympics, and this is where the story gets complicated. Many supporters say he was left out despite running qualifying times repeatedly between 1969 and 1971. The Australian Olympic Committee has long rejected that, pointing out that selection also required a creditable performance at the 1972 national championships, where Norman finished third in 21.6 seconds. Norman himself reportedly said that if he had simply won, he would have gone. What is not in doubt is that he felt the shadow of 1968 for years.
Away from the track, he played 67 games of Australian rules football for West Brunswick between 1972 and 1977, worked as a teacher and later in sports administration. In 1985 he tore his Achilles tendon in a charity race; the wound became gangrenous and he came close to losing his leg. Depression, heavy drinking and dependence on painkillers followed for a period of his life.
A friendship that lasted
Smith and Carlos never forgot the man who stood with them. Norman died of a heart attack in Melbourne on 3 October 2006, aged 64. At his funeral, both Americans gave eulogies and helped carry his coffin. The US track and field federation declared the day of the funeral, 9 October, Peter Norman Day.
Carlos later recalled that he expected to see fear in Norman’s eyes before the ceremony and instead saw none. When San José State University unveiled a statue of Smith and Carlos in 2005, Norman’s place on the podium was left empty at his own request, so that visitors could stand there themselves. He travelled to the unveiling and spoke.
Apology and recognition
Recognition came late. Norman was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Athletics Australia Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2008 his nephew, Matt Norman, released the documentary Salute about the three men.
In October 2012 the Australian House of Representatives passed a motion, moved by MP Andrew Leigh, apologising to Norman for the treatment he received after 1968 and acknowledging his bravery. Some news reports, including the Associated Press, described it as an apology for not sending him to Munich; according to the parliamentary record summarised on Wikipedia, that reference appeared in an early draft but not in the final text. The Australian Olympic Committee has always denied that it punished him.
On 28 April 2018 the AOC posthumously awarded him its Order of Merit, its highest honour. AOC president John Coates admitted the award was overdue and that the committee had been negligent in not recognising his role, while still maintaining it had not wronged him. A bronze statue of Norman was unveiled at Albert Park in Melbourne in October 2019, and a mural in Newtown, Sydney, painted in 2000, has become a local landmark.
Why his gesture still matters
Norman’s contribution was small in size and large in meaning. He did not raise a fist or lead the protest. He listened, agreed, and chose to be visibly on the side of two men protesting racism, at a time when Australia itself still had the White Australia policy and was only beginning to confront its treatment of Aboriginal people. By most accounts he never regretted it.
His story is a reminder that allies do not need to take centre stage. Sometimes the most powerful thing someone can do is stand beside others, accept the consequences, and keep standing there for the rest of their life.
Sources: Wikipedia: Peter Norman; Wikipedia: 1968 Olympics Black Power salute; Wikipedia: Olympic Project for Human Rights; CBS Austin / AP, April 2018.
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