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| Peter George Norman |
Peter George Norman (15 June 1942–3 October 2006) was an Australian track athlete. He won the silver medal in the 200 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, with a time of 20.06 seconds which remains the Australian 200 metres record. He was a five-time Australian 200 m champion. He is also known for his support of John Carlos and Tommie Smith when they made their famous raised-fist gesture at the 1968 Olympics medal ceremony. Norman is the third, less publicly known athlete in the famous photo of the black power salute from the 1968 Olympics shown below.
Norman grew up in a devout Salvation Army family living in Coburg, a suburb of Melbourne in Victoria. Initially an apprentice butcher, Norman later became a teacher, and worked for the Victorian Department of Sport and Recreation towards the end of his life.
Norman was conflicted with some aspects of Salvation Army beliefs including competing on the Sabbath.
More information: Sports on Earth
The 200 metres at the 1968 Olympics started on 15 October and finished on 16 October; Norman won his heat in a time of 20.17 seconds which was briefly an Olympic record. He won his quarter final and was second in the semi.
On the morning of 16 October, U.S. athlete Tommie Smith won the 200 metre final with a world-record time of 19.83 seconds. Norman finished second in a time of 20.06 s, after catching and eventually passing U.S. athlete John Carlos at the finish line. Carlos finished in third place in 20.10 s. Norman's time was his all-time personal best and an Australian record that still stands.
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| Peter Norman, Tommie Smith and John Carlos |
After the race, the three athletes went to the medal podium for their medals to be presented by David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter. On the podium, during the playing of The Star-Spangled Banner, Smith and Carlos famously joined in a Black Power salute. This salute was later clarified in Tommie Smith's autobiography as a Human Rights salute, not a Black Power salute.
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.
More information: Independent
On the way out 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. It was Norman who suggested that Smith and Carlos share the black gloves used in their salute, after Carlos left his pair in the Olympic Village. This is the reason for Smith raising his right fist, while Carlos raised his left.
After the salute, Norman's career suffered greatly. A 2012 CNN profile noted 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. He was not selected for the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972 despite turning in adequate times, and was not welcomed even three decades later at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Carlos later noted that If we were getting beat up, Peter was facing an entire country and suffering alone.
More information: The story behind the white guy in this historic photo
He didn't raise his fist but he did lend a hand.
Philip Derriman
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