Simplify the following text for a Grade 11 native English-speaking person.
Original: 1968 was the first year that the International Olympic Committee let East and West Germany enter separately , and the first time the IOC ever ordered drug and gender testing of the athletes .
Simplified: The year 1968 marked the first time the IOC first permitted East and West Germany to enter separately , and the first time the IOC ever ordered drug and gender testing of competitors .