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Catalog Data

User:
King, Victoria  Search this
Physical Description:
fabric, nylon (overall material)
Measurements:
overall: 36 in x 9 in; 91.44 cm x 22.86 cm
Object Name:
pajama bottoms, summer olympics
pajama bottoms
Date made:
1968
Description (Brief):
Pajama bottoms worn by swimmer Victoria King at the 1968 Mexico City Summer Olympics are coral red, nylon pants with an elastic waistband. At 15, Victoria King, the youngest member of USA Swimming at the 1968 Mexico City Games, was an alternate for the 800 and 400 m freestyles and the relays.
The 1968 Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad were held in Mexico City, Mexico with 110 countries and 4,735 men and 781 women athletes participating. These were also the first to be held in Latin America and the first in a Spanish speaking country. The 1968 US Olympic track and field team was one of the most successful track teams’ winning twenty-four medals, including twelve gold. The high altitude of Mexico City was attributed to many of the records broken in the short distance races although those in the endurance races suffered from the lack of oxygen. These games also introduced the world to the Fosbury flop as Dick Fosbury won the gold with a new backward approach to the high jump, 16-year-old Debbie Meyer became the first US woman to win three individual golds in swimming and newcomer, George Foreman won gold in boxing. These Games were the first to subject athletes to drug testing which led to the first disqualification of an athlete after drinking a beer before his pentathlon competition. The politically charged atmosphere around the globe that year also contributed to controversy on the medal podium when two African-American athletes held black gloved hands high and bowed their heads during the National Anthem in response to the civil rights protests prevalent in the United States. The US won the medal count with 107.
Location:
Currently not on view
Name of sport:
Swimming  Search this
Level of sport:
Olympics  Search this
Web subject:
Women  Search this
Related event:
Olympic Summer Games: Mexico City, 1968  Search this
ID Number:
2018.0081.03.2
Accession number:
2018.0081
Catalog number:
2018.0081.03.2
See more items in:
Culture and the Arts: Sport and Leisure
Sports & Leisure
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b3-9ff0-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_1893709