Mexico City 1968. 200m © André Lecoq/L'Équipe... Lot 62

Mexico City 1968. 200m © André Lecoq/L'Équipe 16 October 1968. Tonight, Tommie Smith will have two ways and two reasons to raise his arms. At the end of his prodigious 200m race, which he knew he had already won with 20m to go, with a world record under his belt. Then on the podium, where he will raise a black-gloved fist, like his compatriot John Carlos, 3rd. We are protesting against the fate of black people," explained the two athletes. (...) We are not representing the United States but the black people of the United States. From sporting achievement to political gesture, Tommie Smith makes history twice. Single later print. Edition 1/1. Black and white piezographic print on Hahnemühle FineArt Baryta Satin 300g paper. Flamant art frame. 53 X 80 cm 400M MEXICO 1968 On the track, Americans Lee Evans, Larry James and Ron Freeman blasted through the 400m, the first two breaking the world record, which fell below 44 seconds for the first time. But what will they do on the podium? Two days earlier, their compatriots Tommie Smith and John Carlos were expelled by the U.S. Olympic Committee for holding up a gloved fist during the anthem to protest against racial discrimination in their country. As for the 400m runners, they wore the black beret of the Black Panthers, but they will take it off at the first bars of the "Star-Splangled Banner". In front of the press, Lee Evans, who hesitated all night to line up, was ironic. The raised fist? "That's my way of greeting the crowd. Everyone has their own." The beret? "It was raining at the time of the ceremony." The smile? He explained to "L'Équipe" in 2000 that he had received death threats: "It's always harder to shoot a guy who's smiling.