Historical Marker Celebration at Echo Summit's 1968 Olympic Training Facility

The 1968 Olympics in Mexico City saw records fall and fists rise. Perhaps one of the more memorable Olympics all began at the training facility near South Lake Tahoe at the top of Echo Summit.

On Friday, June 27th a historical marker will be placed at the location of the Echo Summit training site in what is being called "Return to the Summit."

Stars from those summer games including 200 meter dash medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos, long jumpers Ed Caruthers and Reynaldo Brown, Hammer Thrower Ed Burke, 400-meter hurdler Ron Whitney and race walker Larry Young will be at the "Return to the Summit" ceremony.

“It is important that we acknowledge this significant piece of civil rights history, as well as the records that were set,” said Laurence Crabtree, Forest Supervisor, “and we want to extend an invitation to the public to attend this unique event.”

Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who finished with gold and bronze respectively in the 200-meter dash in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, are among the athletes scheduled to speak at the ceremony. Smith and Carlos famously bowed their heads and raised black-gloved fists on the victory stand in Mexico City, as a visible statement about the condition of human rights in this country.

“People were competing to prove a point and they all dug a little deeper,” said hammer thrower Harold Connolly. In 1968, the country was embroiled in the Civil Rights movement and many American athletes joined together to take up the cause. “Because of the setting and the circumstances, we were never closer than we were at Echo Summit. It was one of the most important track meets in U.S. history. It wasn’t one lonely voice in the wilderness.”

The 1968 U.S. Olympic team won 12 gold medals in Mexico City and featured some of the greatest names in U.S. track history, including discus thrower Al Oerter, long jumper Bob Beamon, high jumper Dick Fosbury, 400-meter sprinter Lee Evans and shot putter Randy Matson.

The Echo Summit training site was approved for construction by the U.S. Forest Service and was an ideal high-altitude site to help athletes train for the thin air in Mexico City. During the Olympic trials there, John Carlos broke the 200-meter sprint record with a time of 19.7. Lee Evans broke the 400-meter sprint record with a 44-second dash, while runner-up Larry James’ clocked a 44.1. Geoff Vanderstock set the 400-meter intermediate hurdles record with a time of 48.8 seconds. Bob Seagren set the pole vault record with a vault of 17 feet, 9 inches. The facilities were disassembled and moved from the Eldorado National Fprest to South Lake Tahoe once the athletes left for Mexico City. They remained in use until 1992.

The Eldorado NF, in cooperation with El Dorado County and the State of California, will place the California State Historical Marker.