It’s an iconic photo of protest.
Sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos stand on the podium at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968, holding their black-gloved fists in the Black Power salute, with their heads bowed. In that moment, they take a stand for racial equality and human rights in the middle of a worldwide sporting spectacle.
It’s an image that’s been used as a reminder in recent times that sport and politics can, and often do, mix. But the story of the Australian man to the far left, staring straight ahead, is one that doesn’t often get told.
Peter Norman was a white, non-American man, who was presented with the opportunity to stand and support a protest that had no direct bearing on him.
In fact, in a particularly tumultuous climate, he risked a lot. Taking a stand for racial injustice in the 60s was sometimes met with violence. The International Olympic Committee shunned controversy, and in Australia, the White Australia policy was still operating, meaning there was a threat of social repercussions when Norman returned home.
But in 1968, when Norman won a silver medal in the 200m final, he wore an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge, and was the one to suggest that Smith and Carlos share the one pair of gloves - wearing one each.
When the two African American athletes told Norman about their plan of protest, they asked him if he believed in human rights. He said he did. They asked if he believed in God. He said he did.
At Norman's funeral in 2006, Carlos recounted: "We knew that what we were going to do was far greater than any athletic feat. He said, 'I'll stand with you'."