Swimming at the 1968 Summer Olympics

Lore & Background

The 1968 swimming program featured a significant increase from the 18 events contested in the previous Olympic Games, expanding to 29 events (15 for men and 14 for women). Events included freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, individual medley, and relays, all in long-course meters. The United States won 52 of the 87 possible medals, a commanding performance. Among the standout athletes was 15-year-old American phenom Debbie Meyer from Maryland, who won three gold medals.

Reader's Guide

The 1968 Summer Olympics swimming competitions marked a turning point in the sport's Olympic history, with the largest number of events ever contested. The expansion to 29 events reflected the growing diversity and specialization in swimming. The United States' overwhelming medal haul—52 of 87—underscored its dominance in the pool during this era. Debbie Meyer's three gold medals at age 15 highlighted the emergence of young talent, particularly from the United States. The games were held at the Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez in Mexico City, a venue that hosted 468 swimmers from 51 nations. This edition set a new standard for Olympic swimming programs, influencing future Games.

Did You Know?

• The swimming competitions at the 1968 Summer Olympics took place from 17 to 26 October.
• A record total of 29 events were contested, up from 18 in the previous Olympic Games.
• 468 participants from 51 countries competed.
• 15-year-old American Debbie Meyer from Maryland won three gold medals.

The Unprecedented Dual Award

The road to hosting the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles took an unusual path. When the IOC opened the candidature process in September 2015, five cities were in the running for 2024: Budapest, Hamburg, Los Angeles, Paris, and Rome. Three of those cities ultimately pulled out, leaving only Los Angeles and Paris as contenders. Rather than proceeding with a traditional single-city selection, the IOC executive board convened in Lausanne in June 2017 to explore awarding both the 2024 and 2028 Games simultaneously. An Extraordinary IOC Session in July 2017 approved this novel approach. Paris, which would have celebrated the centennial of its 1924 Games, was understood to be the preferred 2024 host. On July 31, 2017, the IOC confirmed Los Angeles as the sole 2028 candidate, backed by $1.8 billion in additional IOC funding. The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously in favor on August 11, and on September 13, 2017, a unanimous IOC vote at the 131st Session in Lima, Peru, formally awarded the Games to the city.

A City of Three Games

Los Angeles will join an exclusive club in Olympic history when it hosts the Summer Games for the third time in 2028. The city previously staged the Summer Olympics in 1932 and 1984, and the 2028 edition will make it only the third city ever to host the Summer Games three times, following London (1908, 1948, 2012) and Paris (1900, 1924, 2024). What makes Los Angeles particularly notable is that it will be the first non-European city to achieve this distinction. The 2028 Games will also represent the fifth Summer Olympics and ninth overall Olympic Games hosted on American soil. Additionally, these will be the first Summer Olympics conducted under the IOC presidency of Kirsty Coventry. The event is scheduled for July 14 to 30, 2028, with competitions spread across the Greater Los Angeles area and two subsites in Oklahoma City. IOC president Thomas Bach specifically praised the LA bid for its reliance on existing and temporary facilities and its use of entirely private funding.

Building the Road to 2028

The infrastructure push behind the 2028 Games has been both ambitious and evolving. Former Mayor Eric Garcetti launched the "Twenty-eight by '28" initiative, a plan to complete 28 transportation and infrastructure projects before the Games, funded through countywide sales tax measures known as Measure R and Measure M. The original vision included making the Olympics "car-free" to reduce congestion and comply with security restrictions. However, by March 2024, the project list had been substantially revised, with 11 entries—including five rail line expansions—replaced by smaller, more achievable projects. By late 2024, concerns mounted that only 5.2% of LA Metro's $3.3 billion Olympic-related project list was actually funded, with several projects lagging behind schedule. Compounding these challenges were staffing uncertainties at government agencies, coordination difficulties between agencies, and delays in finalizing the Olympic venue list. In response, civic leaders shifted their strategy from a fully car-free model to a "transit-first" approach, with Mayor Karen Bass also promoting remote work during the event to ease pressure on the transportation network.

A New Era for the Olympic Program

The 2028 Los Angeles Games will mark a significant shift in the composition of the Summer Olympic program. Skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing, which debuted as optional events in 2020, have now been elevated to the core program, cementing their place in Olympic sport. Beyond these promotions, the 2028 Games will introduce flag football and squash as new optional sports. The event will also see the return of several disciplines that had been absent for extended periods: baseball and softball will reappear, cricket will compete for the first time since 1900, and lacrosse will return as a medal event for the first time since 1908. This expanded and refreshed roster reflects a broader effort to keep the Olympic program relevant to modern athletic culture while honoring historical traditions. The Games will feature events not only in Los Angeles proper but across the Greater Los Angeles area, with two additional subsites located in Oklahoma City, broadening the geographic footprint of the competition.