Summer Olympic Games specifically the long jump, in which American athlete Bob Beamon jumped 8.90 meters. Beamon's world record would stand for 23 years. The 1968 Games also introduced the now-universal Fosbury flop, a technique which won American high jumper Dick Fosbury the gold medal. Politics took center stage in the medal ceremony for the men's 200 meter dash, where Tommie Smith and John Carlos made a protest gesture on the podium against the segregation in the United States; their political act was condemned within the Olympic Movement, but was praised in the Black Power movement. Věra Čáslavská, in protest to the 1968
Summer Olympic Games a joint North and South Korean contingent at the opening ceremonies, though they competed as different countries. Controversy occurred in the Women's Artistic Gymnastics, when the vaulting horse was set to the wrong height during the All Around Competition. Several athletes faltered, including Russian Svetlana Khorkina, who had been favored to win gold after qualifying for the competition in first place. In 2004 the Games returned to their birthplace in Athens, Greece. Greece spent at least $7.2 billion on the Games, including $1.5 billion on security. Michael Phelps won his first medals in Olympic Games tallying 6 gold and 2