1964 Summer Olympics
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| Games of the XVIII Olympiad | |
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| Host city | Tokyo, Japan |
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| Nations participating | 93 |
| Athletes participating | 5,151 (4,473 men, 678 women) |
| Events | 163 in 19 sports |
| Opening ceremony | October 10 |
| Closing ceremony | October 24 |
| Officially opened by | HIM Emperor Hirohito |
| Athlete's Oath | Takashi Ono |
| Olympic Torch | Yoshinori Sakai |
| Stadium | Olympic Stadium |
The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, were celebrated 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 honor had been passed to Helsinki because of Japan's invasion of China. The 1940 Olympics were eventually canceled because of the outbreak of World War II. The 1964 Summer games marked the first time the Olympics were held by a non-Western nation. This was the first Olympics in which South Africa was barred from taking part due to its refusal to racially desegregate its sports. [1].
The games were telecast to the United States using Syncom 3, the first geostationary communication satellite. It was the first television program to cross the Pacific ocean.
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[edit] Highlights
- Yūji Koseki composed the theme song of the opening ceremony.
- Yoshinori Sakai, who lit the Olympic Flame, was born in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, the day the atomic bomb was dropped.
- 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 broadcast live.
- Reigning world champion Osamu Watanabe capped off his career with a gold medal for Japan in freestyle wrestling, surrendering no points and retiring from competition as the only undefeated Olympic champion to date at 189-0.
- 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.
- Bob Hayes won the 100 m title in a time of 10.0 seconds, equaling the world record. He had run the distance in 9.9 seconds in the semifinal but this was not recognized as a world record as it was wind assisted.
- Joe Frazier, future heavyweight champion of the world, won a gold medal for the USA in heavyweight boxing.
- Unfortunately for Japan, several big international events took more attention during the Olympics, including the sudden removal of Nikita Khrushchev and the first nuclear test in China.
[edit] Sports
[edit] Demonstration sports
[edit] Medal count
These are the top ten nations that won medals at these Games:
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States |
36 | 26 | 28 | 90 |
| 2 |  Soviet Union |
30 | 31 | 35 | 96 |
| 3 |  Japan (host nation) |
16 | 5 | 8 | 29 |
| 4 |  Germany |
10 | 22 | 18 | 50 |
| 5 |  Italy |
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 |
[edit] Participating nations
A total of 94 nations were represented at the 1964 Games. Sixteen nations made their first Olympic appearance in Tokyo: Algeria, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire (as Ivory Coast), Dominican Republic, Libya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), Senegal, and Tanzania (as Tanganyika). Athletes from Libya withdrew from competition after the Opening Ceremony, so a total of 93 nations actually competed. Athletes from East Germany and West Germany competed together as the United Team of Germany from 1956-1964.
[edit] 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.
[edit] See also
- 1964 Summer Paralympics
- International Olympic Committee
- IOC country codes
- Tokyo Olympiad, a documentary film about the games
[edit] External links
- IOC Site on 1964 Summer Olympics
- Official Report from the Organizing Committee (2 volumes) on the AAFLA website
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| Sports • Medal counts • NOCs Medalists • Symbols |
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| Summer Games | 1896 • 1900 • 1904 • (1906) • 1908 • 1912 • |
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| Youth Games | 2010 Summer • 2012 Winter • 2014 Summer • 2016 Winter |
| Recent and upcoming Games: Athens 2004 • Turin 2006 • Beijing 2008 • Vancouver 2010 | |
