This month marks 60 years since the 1964 Olympic Games were held in the capital of Japan.
Sixty years ago this month, the world witnessed the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, a landmark event that introduced Asia to the world stage of the Olympic Games.
Not only was it the first time the Games were hosted in Asia, it also marked a technological milestone as the first Olympic Games to be broadcast live via satellite.
While Team Great Britain’s performance in 2012 was celebrated as the country’s best ever Olympic performance, it is interesting to compare it with the 1964 performance.
Great Britain brought home four gold medals, seven silvers, one bronze and five fourth places then.
Two of the gold medals in Tokyo are with record performances. Mary Rand, one of Britain’s standout athletes of the time, took home gold in the long jump.
On a rain-soaked runway, he started with a British record jump of 6.59m and in the fifth round he broke the world record by jumping an impressive 6.76m.
Just three days later, on October 17, 1964, Rand added to her medal haul in the women’s pentathlon.
She completed her Olympic medal haul by winning bronze in the 4x100m relay alongside teammates Janet Simpson, Daphne Arden and Dorothy Hyman.
Anne Packer wins in Tokyo (Mark Shearman)
The British team’s second world record in Tokyo was set by Ann Packer in the 800m. Despite being a relative novice at the distance, he won the dramatic race in a world record 2:01.10. With this victory, Packer became the first British woman to win an Olympic track title.
Britain’s other two gold medals in 1964 were won by Ken Matthews in the 20km race walk and Lynn Davies in the men’s long jump.
Davies produced the best performance of his career with a jump of 8.07m to take the top spot on the podium.
Lynn Davies (Mark Shearman)
In total, 11 world records were set during the Tokyo Olympics. Among the most notable were Ethiopia’s Abebe Bikila, who clocked 2:12:20 in the marathon, and Bob Hayes of the United States, who clocked 10.00 seconds in the 100m final against Bulgaria.
The Games also saw other memorable performances, such as New Zealand’s Peter Snell securing extraordinary 800m and 1500m doubles.
Peter Snell (Mark Shearman)
In the 10,000m, American Billy Mills produced a sensational victory, finishing 50 seconds faster than his personal best, while a dramatic final in the men’s discus was a highlight, with USA’s Al Oerter winning a thrilling contest.
Fast forward to 2021 and Tokyo has once again made history by hosting the postponed Olympics during a global pandemic. Team GB came away from those Games with fewer medals (two silvers and three bronzes), but they were seen as significantly different from the 1964 edition.
To celebrate the 60th anniversary, you can find our original coverage of the 1964 games via Athletics Weekly Archive.
Athletics Weekly 1964
(From the first issue in December 1945 to the present day, current subscribers to our magazine can access this resource for free, while non-subscribers can pay just £399 a month for full access.
» Subscribe to AW Magazine herecheck out our new podcast! here or subscribe to our digital archive of back issues from 1945 to the present day here
The post 60 years later, celebrating the 1964 Tokyo Olympics appeared first AW:.
