JOHN CARLOS. Wishing a Happy Birthday to the legendary John Carlos. He was founding member of the Olympic Project for Human Rights. He won the bronze medal in the 200 meters race at the 1968 Olympics, where his Black Power salute on the podium with Tommie Smith caused much political controversy. The John Carlos Story is his first book, a must read.
John Carlos spent one season at East Texas State and made an immediate impact. He set five school records during the 1967 season and was the Lone Star Conference champion in four different events, helping lead the Lions to the LSC Championship. His school records in the 100m with a time of 10.2 and 200m with a time of 20.4 still hold after more than 50 years. He was also the gold medalist at 200m at the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and set indoor world bests in the 60-yard dash with a time of 5.9 and the indoor 220-yard dash with a time of 21.2.
After leaving ETSU, Carlos gained worldwide fame and recognition by winning the bronze medal in the 200m at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. Carlos joined fellow American and gold medalist Tommie Smith in a silent protest on the medal stand during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner, raising his fist in what was called by Smith a "human rights salute", protesting racial inequality. The photograph of the protest is one of the most iconic images in the history of sports.
Carlos went on to tie the world record in the 100-yard dash in 1969 before turning to football. He briefly played in the Canadian Football League before an injury ended his career.
In 2006, John Carlos delivered a eulogy at Peter Norman's funeral and was also a pallbearer at the ceremony, as was Tommy Smith.
He was elected into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame in 2003 for his leadership. At the 2008 ESPY Awards he accepted the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage for his salute, and was recognized at the White House by President Obama in 2016. He was part of the United States Olympic Committee during the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
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