1964 Summer Olympics
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The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, were held in 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo, which won the rights to the games in 1958 over the bids from Detroit, Buenos Aires and Vienna, had been awarded with the organisation of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honour had been passed to Helsinki because of Japan's invasion of China. The 1940 Olympics were eventually cancelled because of the outbreak of World War II. The 1964 Summer games marked the first time the Olympics were held in Asia[link].
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 won 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 ended 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 single scull 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 won a gold medal in both the 800 m and 1500 m.
- The women's pentathlon was introduced.
- American Billy Mills, a little-known distance runner, shocked everyone when he won the gold in the men's 10,000 m. No American had won it before and no American has won it since.
Sports
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- Baseball
- Budo
Medal count
(Host nation in bold.)
| 1964 Summer Olympics medal count |
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 |
United States of America | 36 | 26 | 28 | 90 |
| 2 |
USSR | 30 | 31 | 35 | 96 |
| 3 |
Japan | 16 | 5 | 8 | 29 |
| 4 |
United Team of Germany | 10 | 22 | 18 | 50 |
| 5 |
| 10 | 10 | 7 | 27 |
| 6 |
Hungary | 10 | 7 | 5 | 22 |
| 7 |
Poland | 7 | 6 | 10 | 23 |
| 8 |
Australia | 6 | 2 | 10 | 18 |
| 9 |
Czechoslovakia | 5 | 6 | 3 | 14 |
| 10 |
Great Britain | 4 | 12 | 2 | 18 |
Nations
Articles about Tokyo Summer Olympics by nation:
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Venues
- Olympic Stadium, now known as "National Stadium," was the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies, and for track and field events.
- Nippon Budokan, or Japan Martial Arts Hall, was built to house the judo events, and is now one of Tokyo's best-known concert venues.
- Yoyogi National Gymnasium, adjacent to (and originally part of) the Meiji Shrine, houses swimming and gymnastics venues designed by architect Kenzo Tange. The Olympic Village, a redeveloped United States Army barracks originally called "Washington Heights," is located on the north side of Yoyogi Park.
- Komazawa Olympic Park in Setagaya hosted cycling events.
- Enoshima and Lake Sagami hosted yachting, canoeing, and rowing events.
- Karuizawa, in Nagano Prefecture west of Tokyo, hosted equestrian events.
See also
- 1964 Summer Paralympics
- International Olympic Committee
- IOC country codes
- Tokyo Olympiad, a documentary film about the games
External links
- [IOC Site on 1964 Summer Olympics]
- [Official Report from the Organizing Committee (2 volumes)] on the AAFLA website
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