The Games of the XVIII Olympiad were held in 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Detroit, Vienna and Brussels also made a bid for these Games. Tokyo had already been awarded with the organisation of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honour had been passed to Helsinki because of Japan's involvement in China. The 1940 Olympics were eventually cancelled because of the outbreak of World War II. This marked the first time the Olympics were held in Asia.
The games were telecast to the United States using Syncom 3, the first geostationary communication satellite. It was the first television programme to cross the Pacific ocean.
Highlights
- Yoshinori Sakai , who lit the Olympic Flame, was born in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, the day the atomic bomb exploded there.
- Judo and volleyball, both popular sports in Japan, were introduced to the Olympics. Japan won three of the titles in judo, but Dutchman Anton Geesink won the Open category. The Japanese women's volleyball team won the gold medal, with the final being broadcasted live.
- Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina wins two gold medals (both for the third time in a row in Team Competition and Floor Exercise events), a silver medal and two bronze medals. She ends her Olympic career and holds the record for most Olympic medals at 18 (9 gold, 5 silver, 4 bronze) since then.
- Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser won the 100 m freestyle event for the third time in a row, a feat matched by Vyacheslav Ivanov in rowing's skiff event.
- Don Schollander (USA) won four gold medals in swimming.
- Abebe Bikila became the first person to win the Olympic marathon twice.
- New Zealand's Peter Snell wins a gold medal in both the 800 m and 1500 m.
- The women's pentathlon was introduced.
Medals awarded
See the medal winners, ordered by sport:
- Athletics
- Basketball
- Boxing
- Canoeing
- Cycling
- Diving
- Equestrianism
- Fencing
- Football
- Gymnastics
- Hockey
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- Judo
- Modern Pentathlon
- Rowing
- Shooting
- Swimming
- Volleyball
- Water Polo
- Weightlifting
- Wrestling
- Yachting
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Medal count
Top medal-collecting nations:
(for the full table, see 1964 Summer Olympics medal count)
Legacy
The Olympic Gymnasium, designed by architect Kenzo Tange, still stands in Tokyo.
See also
External links
