Participation medal given to Sharon Callahan (McKniff) at the 1968 Mexico City Games
date: label: date made
content: 1968
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: 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 1968
label: Description (Brief)
content: The 1968 Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad were held in Mexico City, Mexico with 110 countries and 4,735 men and 781 women athletes participating. These were also 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’ winning twenty-four medals, including twelve gold. The high altitude of Mexico City 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 drinking a 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 heads during the National Anthem in response to the civil rights protests prevalent in the United States. The US won the medal count with 107.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: name of sport
content: Track and Field
label: level of sport
content: Amateur
label: level of sport
content: Olympics
label: web subject
content: Women
label: related event
content: Olympic Summer Games: Mexico City, 1968
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Sport and Leisure
label: See more items in
content: Sports & Leisure
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2017.0007.01
label: accession number
content: 2017.0007
label: catalog number
content: 2017.0007.01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: olympic participation medal
label: Object Name
content: medal, summer olympics
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal, copper (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 2 in x 2 in x 1/4 in; 5.08 cm x 5.08 cm x .635 cm