1964 Summer Olympics

The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially called the Games of the XVIII Olympiad and commonly known as Tokyo 1964, were held in Tokyo, Japan, from October 10 to October 24, 1964. This was the first time the Olympic Games were held in Asia. Tokyo had originally been chosen to host the 1940 Summer Olympics, but those games were moved to Helsinki and later cancelled because of World War II.

These Olympics were important for many reasons. They were the first to be shown live on television around the world, thanks to a special satellite called Syncom 3. Some events, like sumo and judo, were even shown in color for the first time, although only in Japan. The games were also the first to have no spectators at all when they were held again in Tokyo in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During these games, South Africa was not allowed to compete because of its unfair treatment of people based on race. The United States won the most gold medals, while the Soviet Union won the most medals overall. These games were also the last to use a cinder track for running events; after that, smoother, synthetic tracks were used instead.

Host city selection

Tokyo was chosen to host the 1964 Summer Olympics on May 26, 1959, during the 55th IOC Session in Munich, West Germany. They beat out other cities like Detroit, Brussels, and Vienna.

Toronto also tried to be a host city again in 1964, but they didn’t make it to the final round of voting.

Highlights

• Yūji Koseki created the music for the opening ceremony.
• Yoshinori Sakai, who lit the Olympic flame, was born in Hiroshima on the day an atomic bomb fell on the city. He was chosen to show Japan's growth after the war and peace.
• Kumi-daiko was shown to the world at the Festival of Arts.
• Judo and volleyball were added to the Olympics. Japan won gold medals in three judo events, but a athlete from the Netherlands, Anton Geesink, won the Open category, beating Akio Kaminaga in front of his home crowd. The Japanese women's volleyball team won the gold medal, and the final was shown live.
• The women's pentathlon was added to the athletics events.
• Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina won two gold medals, a silver medal, and two bronze medals.
• Czechoslovak gymnast Věra Čáslavská won three gold medals.
• Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser won the 100 m freestyle for the third time in a row.
• Don Schollander won four gold medals in swimming.
• Abebe Bikila from Ethiopia became the first person to win the Olympic marathon twice.
• 15-year-old Sharon Stouder won four medals in women's swimming.
• New Zealand's Peter Snell won gold medals in both the 800 m and 1500 m.
• Billy Mills became the first Native American to win the gold medal in the men's 10,000 m.
• Bob Hayes won the 100 metre race and set a record for the fastest relay leg in the 4×100 m.
• Joe Frazier, who would later become a heavyweight champion, won a gold medal in boxing with a broken thumb.
• This was the last Summer Olympics to use a cinder running track, and the first to use fiberglass poles for pole vaulting.
• Zambia became independent on the day of the closing ceremony.
• The first Japanese "bullet train" (the Tōkaidō Shinkansen) started running just before the games.
• Ranatunge Karunananda from Ceylon kept running in the men's 10,000 meters even after others finished, and finished to cheers from the crowd.

Sports

The 1964 Summer Olympics had 19 different sports with 25 areas to compete in, and athletes could win medals in 163 events. Some of the sports included diving, swimming, water polo, athletics, basketball, boxing, canoeing, cycling, equestrian, fencing, field hockey, football, gymnastics, judo, modern pentathlon, rowing, sailing, shooting, volleyball, weightlifting, and wrestling. There were also special demonstration sports like baseball and budō, which included kyūdō, sumo, and kendo.

Medal count

In the Olympic Games, countries are usually ranked based on the number of gold medals they win. If two countries have the same number of gold medals, the number of silver medals is used next, and then bronze medals.

Participating National Olympic Committees

Ninety-four nations took part in the 1964 Games. Sixteen nations joined the Olympics for the very first time in Tokyo, including Algeria, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire (known as Ivory Coast), Dominican Republic, Libya (which withdrew before the competition began), Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Northern Rhodesia, Senegal, and Tanzania (called Tanganyika at the time). Malaysia had previously competed as Malaya.

Cambodia returned to the Olympics after missing the 1960 Summer Olympics. Although they took part in all events, they had only taken part in the equestrian event in the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Stockholm, Sweden.

Northern Rhodesia became fully independent as Zambia on the same day as the closing ceremony. Athletes from Southern Rhodesia competed under the name Rhodesia; this was the last time a Rhodesian team appeared at the Summer Olympics. Zimbabwe would first appear at the 1980 Summer Olympics.

Athletes from East Germany and West Germany competed together as the United Team of Germany, as they had in 1956 and 1960. The two nations would compete separately starting with the 1968 Winter Olympics.

Indonesia was not allowed to take part in the 1964 Olympics because it would not give visas to Israeli and Taiwanese athletes at the 1962 Asian Games. Indonesia was first banned at a meeting in Lausanne on 7 February 1963. This decision was changed on 26 June 1964 after the Government of Indonesia changed its position toward the Tokyo games.

• Libya marched in the Opening Ceremony, but its only athlete, a marathon runner, did not compete.

Number of athletes by National Olympic Committees

Calendar

All dates are in Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

Venues

Main article: Venues of the 1964 Summer Olympics

The 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo used many different places for the competitions. Some sports happened in parks, while others were held in special buildings or stadiums.

• Asaka Nezu Park – Modern pentathlon (riding)
• Asaka Shooting Range – Modern pentathlon (shooting), Shooting (pistol/ rifle)
• Chofu City – Athletics (marathon, 50 kilometre walk)
• Enoshima – Sailing
• Fuchu City – Athletics (marathon, 50 kilometre walk)
• Hachioji City – Cycling (road)
• Hachioji Velodrome – Cycling (track)
• Karasuyama-machi – Athletics (marathon, 50 kilometre walk)
• Karuizawa – Equestrian
• Kemigawa – Modern pentathlon (running)
• Komazawa Gymnasium – Wrestling
• Komazawa Hockey Field – Field hockey
• Komazawa Stadium – Football preliminaries
• Komazawa Volleyball Courts – Volleyball preliminaries
• Korakuen Ice Palace – Boxing
• Lake Sagami – Canoeing
• Mitsuzawa Football Field – Football preliminaries
• Nagai Stadium – Football preliminaries
• Yoyogi National Gymnasium – Basketball (final), Diving, Modern pentathlon (swimming), Swimming
• National Stadium – Athletics, Equestrian (team jumping), Football (final)
• Nippon Budokan – Judo
• Nishikyogoku Athletic Stadium – Football preliminaries
• Ōmiya Football Field – Football preliminaries
• Prince Chichibu Memorial Football Field – Football preliminaries
• Sasazuka-machi – Athletics (marathon, 50 kilometre walk)
• Shibuya Public Hall – Weightlifting
• Shinjuku – Athletics (marathon, 50 kilometre walk)
• Toda Rowing Course – Rowing
• Tokorozawa Shooting Range – Shooting (trap)
• Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium – Gymnastics
• Tokyo Metropolitan Indoor Swimming Pool – Water polo
• Waseda Memorial Hall – Fencing, Modern pentathlon (fencing)
• Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium – Volleyball

Transportation and communications

These games were the first to be shown internationally on television. They used Syncom 3, the first geostationary satellite, to send the games to the United States. From there, another satellite called Relay 1 sent the games to Europe. Many countries received these broadcasts.

The first fast train in Japan, the Tokaido Shinkansen, started running just before the Olympics. It could travel 515 kilometers in about four hours, connecting big cities like Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka.

New roads and train tracks were also finished in time for the games to help everyone get around easier.

Visual identity

For the first time, the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo used special pictures called pictograms to help visitors understand the different events. These pictograms were created by an artist named Masaru Katsumi and have been used in the Olympics ever since. The Games also had a special pin featuring a mythical creature called a kappa, which many people think of as the unofficial mascot of the Olympics. These kappa pins were made each year starting in 1956 for a Tokyo sports festival, and the 1964 version celebrated the Olympics.

Cost

The 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo cost about US$282 million when adjusted for today’s money. This amount covers things like technology, transportation, and building special places for the games. It does not include bigger projects like improving roads or airports. Compared to later games, such as Rio in 2016, which cost much more, Tokyo’s games were fairly affordable.

Legacy

The 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo showed how Japan had changed after World War II. The country was no longer seen as an enemy but as a peaceful nation. To get ready for the Olympics, Tokyo built many new things like highways, stadiums, airports, and trains. A very fast train called the Tokaido Shinkansen was finished, and Tokyo's airport and port were updated. This helped Japan show it was modern and connected to the world.

Even though most people in Japan supported the Olympics by the time they began, the building projects caused some problems. They hurt the environment, moved people from their homes, and sometimes led to poor work because of dishonesty. The games were very popular, with many people watching the opening ceremony and a key volleyball match on TV. Later, Tokyo tried to host the Olympics again and succeeded in bringing the games back in 2020, though they had to be delayed because of a big health issue around the world.

Boycotting countries

Main article: GANEFO

North Korea decided not to join the 1964 Summer Olympics just before it began. This happened because the IOC would not allow athletes who had taken part in the Games of the New Emerging Forces in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 1963. Because of this, China and Indonesia also did not take part in the Tokyo Games.