1968 Mexico City Summer Games
5,531 Athletes, 113 Countries, 172 Events
The 1968 Games were the first to be held in Latin America. Yet
deeming Mexico City as the host over Detroit, Lyon, and Buenos
Aires was controversial due to the city's high altitude. The Games
did go on and made true to much of the Olympic motto: 'Citius,
Altius, Fortius' (Swifter, Higher, Stronger).
Swifter: The high altitude led to records being rewritten in all
men's track and field events 400-meters and shorter.
Higher: Mexico City lies approximately 1.4 miles above sea
level.
Stronger: Events longer than 400-meters required incredible
endurance and lots of highaltitude training to complete, let alone
win.
Of the Ivies present, the best known was probably swimmer
Donald Schollander (Yale '68). Four years prior in
Tokyo, Schollander won four gold medals and gained international
acclaim as U.S. and World Athlete of the Year. Troubled by the high
altitude, he was still able to add a silver medal (200-meter
freestyle) and gold medal (4x200-meter freestyle relay) to his
collection.
Announcing his retirement at the end of the 1968 Games,
Schollander reportedly joked that he was 'finished with water' to
the extent that he did not want to bathe or shower for two
years.
While Schollander was ending his swimming career,
Eleanor S. Daniel (Penn '73) was just beginning
hers. She won a set of medals in Mexico City gold with the United
States 4x100-meter medley relay team, silver in the 100-meter
butterfly, and bronze in the 200-meter butterfly. After returning
from the Games, 'Ellie' Daniel enrolled at Penn
where she trained with the men's team. She later earned another
bronze medal at the 1972 Munich Games.
Though it did not win a medal, the Harvard varsity heavyweight
eight crew in Mexico did not go unnoticed. They were known, well
before Opening Ceremonies, to be supporters of the Olympic Project
for Human Rights an organization for athletes to protest the
treatment of African-Americans in the United States. Coxswain
Paul Hoffman (Harvard '68) was almost not allowed
to compete in the Games by the USOC due to his involvement, a move
that could have had disastrious results for the Harvard crew.
The controversy gained international attention during the
protest at the medal ceremony for the men's 200-meter race. Gold
and bronze medal winners Americans Tommie Smith
and John Carlos stood on the platform barefooted
and raised a clenched, blackgloved fist while bowing their heads
during the national anthem.
| Name |
School |
Sport |
| Peter J. Barrett |
Cornell University |
Men's Sailing |
| Dick Edmunds |
Cornell University |
Men's Rowing |
| Kevin Freeman |
Cornell University |
Men's Equestrian |
| Albert Hall |
Cornell University |
Men's Athletics |
| John Nunn |
Cornell University |
Men's Rowing |
| Thomas C. Laris |
Dartmouth College |
Men's Athletics |
| Stephen Brooks |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| Curtis R. Canning |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| Arthur Evans |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| Jacques Fiechter |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| Charles Hamlin |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| Mark H. Harrington, III |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| David Higgins |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| Frankin Hobbs, IV |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| William Hobbs |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| Paul Hoffman |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| Andrew Larkin |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| J. Cleve Livingston |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| Michael Livingston |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| John K. Marshall |
Harvard University |
Men's Sailing |
| Edward Porter |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| Scott N. Steketee |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| Lawrence Terry, Jr. |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| A. Gardner Cadwalader |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Rowing |
| Frank D. Chapot |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Equestrian |
| Steven R. Cohen |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Gymnastics |
| W. Richard Crooker |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Rowing |
| Eleanor S. Daniel |
University of Pennsylvania |
Women's Swimming |
| L. Ernesto Fernandez-Moreno |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Fencing |
| John D. Hartigan |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Rowing |
| Luther H. Jones |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Rowing |
| Anthony E. Martin, III |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Rowing |
| David M. Micahnik |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Fencing |
| Steven J. Netburn |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Fencing |
| William K. Purdy |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Rowing |
| John Allis |
Princeton University |
Men's Cycling |
| F. Gardner Cox |
Princeton University |
Men's Sailing |
| Doug Foy |
Princeton University |
Men's Rowing |
| Peter Raymond |
Princeton University |
Men's Rowing |
| Carl Van Duyne |
Princeton University |
Men's Sailing |
| Ross Wales |
Princeton University |
Men's Swimming |
| Gary Wright |
Princeton University |
Men's Rowing |
| David Johnson |
Yale University |
Men's Swimming |
| Philip Long |
Yale University |
Men's Swimming |
| Al Morales |
Yale University |
Men's Fencing |
| John Nelson |
Yale University |
Men's Swimming |
| Donald Schollander |
Yale University |
Men's Swimming |
| William Steinkraus |
Yale University |
Men's Equestrian |