Travels with Gary

Now that Boston (right down the road from us) was being considered, albeit for a short time, for the 2024 Olympics, for the first time I might add, let’s take a look at the places where the Olympics have been held over the years.

1968 Summer Games — The first Olympic games held in Latin America were awarded to Mexico City, Mexico, and held from October 12th to the 27th of this year. These games were the highest ever in elevation (2240 meters or 7350 feet). This particular phenomenon was probably responsible for so many world records falling. Americans Tommie Smith & John Carlos protested by wearing black gloves on the medal stand. They were banned from the Olympics for life.  Al Oerter won his fourth gold medal in the discus to become only the second athlete to accomplish that feat. The inauguration of the Fosbury Flop in the high jump occurred here. The United States won the medal count with 107 and also garnered the most golds with 45.

Now that Boston (right down the road from us) was being considered, albeit for a short time, for the 2024 Olympics, for the first time I might add, let’s take a look at the places where the Olympics have been held over the years.

1964 Summer Olympics — These Olympic games were awarded to Tokyo, Japan, and were held in October (10-10 to 10-24) to avoid the brutal heat of the summer and the September typhoon season. These were the first Olympics ever held in Asia. Soviet gymnast, Larisa Latynina, won a total of five (5) medals (2 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze), adding to her total number of medals in the Olympics (18), giving her the record for most medals awarded until Michael Phelps exceeded Larisa’s total in 2012. Bob Hayes of the United States won the 100 meter dash and later became only the second Olympic athlete to win gold and be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame (the other was Jim Thorpe). The Soviet Union won the total medal count, with 96, but the US won the most gold medals (30).

Now that Boston (right down the road from us) was being considered, albeit for a short time, for the 2024 Olympics, for the first time I might add, let’s take a look at the places where the Olympics have been held over the years.

1960 Summer Olympics — The games of the XVII Olympiad were awarded to Rome, Italy (the city had been awarded the 1908 Olympics but had been forced to give up the games after the eruption of Mt Vesuvius). Wilma Rudolph, once a polio patient, was declared the “fastest woman in the world” after winning three (3) sprinting gold medals. Also notable was the appearance of Cassius Clay, later known as Muhammad Ali, a gold medal winner in the light-heavyweight boxing competition. In one of the most closely contested and exciting Decathlons, American Rafer Johnson defeated his close friend and rival C.K. Yang. Once again, the Soviet Union (USSR) came away with the most medals, 103, and the most golds, 43.

Now that Boston (right down the road from us) was being considered, albeit briefly,  for the 2024 Olympics, for the first time I might add, let’s take a look at the places where the Olympics have been held over the years.

1956 Summer Olympics — For the first time in Olympic history, the games were held in the Southern Hemisphere, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from November 22nd to December 8th. In a footnote, equestrian events were held in Stockholm because of quarantine regulations involving bringing horses into Australia. The Soviet Union (USSR) won the final medal count with 98, 37 of which were gold.

Now that Boston (right down the road from us) was being considered, albeit for a short time, for the 2024 Olympics, for the first time I might add, let’s take a look at the places where the Olympics have been held over the years.

1952 Summer Olympics — These Olympics were awarded to Helsinki, Finland and lasted from July 19th to August 3rd. More world records were broken here than in any other Olympics until Beijing in 2008. The USSR and the People’s Republic of China participated for the first time during this Olympiad. Bob Mathias became the first individual to successfully defend his decathlon title. The United States won the medal count this year with 76 (40 gold).