(CNN) -- It is perhaps the most iconic sports photograph ever taken. Captured at the medal ceremony for the men's 200 meters at the 1968 Mexico Olympics, U.S. sprinter Tommie Smith stands defiantly, head bowed, his black-gloved fist thrust into the thin air. Behind him fellow American John Carlos joins with his own Black Power salute, an act of defiance aimed at highlighting the segregation and racism burning back in their homeland. It was an act that scandalized the Olympics. Smith and Carlos were sent home in disgrace and banned from the Olympics for life. But they were treated as returning heroes by the black community for sacrificing their personal glory for the cause. History, too, has been kind to them.
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At Mexico 1968, Australian sprinter Peter Norman won silver in the 200 meters
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He was the third man on the podium during the infamous Black Power salute
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Norman was shunned on his return to Australia for joining the protest
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A film sheds new light on his role in one of sport's most iconic moments
@placeholder was expected to win easily ("You wouldn't be able to catch him on a motorbike," was Norman's assessment) but the speculation centered on what political gesture the American athletes might make on the podium.
Smith was expected to win easily ("You wouldn't be able to catch him on a motorbike," was Norman's assessment) but the speculation centered on what political gesture the @placeholder athletes might make on the podium.
"I had known they had gone through with their plans when a voice in the crowd sang the @placeholder anthem but then faded to nothing.