1968 Mexico City Summer Olympic Games - 1.25 riyal

1968 Mexico City Summer Olympic Games - 1.25 riyal

Year
1968
Face Value
1.25
Mint Value
-
Used Value
-
Print Run
-
Themes
Health

Catalogs References

Michel
QA 365
Yvert & Tellier
QA 148D
Stanley Gibbons
QA 268

Technical Details

Colors
Multicolor
Size
45 x 33 mm
Perforation
13½
Printing
Offset lithography
Printers
Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. Ltd
The 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City (the Games of the XIX Olympiad) marked a historic milestone as the first Olympics hosted in Latin America, a Spanish-speaking country, and a developing nation. Held at a challenging high altitude of 2,240 meters, the thin atmospheric air severely tested long-distance runners but catalyzed an unprecedented explosion of world records in explosive track and field events. This includes Bob Beamon’s legendary, decades-defying 8.90-meter long jump, Jim Hines breaking the 10-second barrier in the 100-meter dash at 9.95 seconds on a revolutionary synthetic Tartan track, and high jumper Dick Fosbury debuting his backward "Fosbury Flop" technique to capture gold. Beyond these athletic triumphs and Al Oerter’s historic fourth consecutive gold medal in the discus throw, which mirrors the classical iconography celebrated on the stamp the 1968 Games were deeply intertwined with global social movements. This was most powerfully symbolized by Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising their black-gloved fists in a Black Power salute on the medal podium to protest racial injustice, and Mexican hurdler Enriqueta Basilio breaking gender barriers as the first woman in history to light the main Olympic cauldron.