Olympics: Smith said athletes should concentrate on winning

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

ROME (AFP) — American Tommy Smith, who won the 200m at the 1968 Games and became famous for raising his arm at the medal ceremony in support of blacks in his home country, said here on Wednesday athletes going to Beijing should not mix politics and sport.

In Mexico 40 years ago, Smith and his compatriot John Carlos, who took the bronze medal, both protested with a raised right hand covered with a black glove and lowered head as the American national anthem was played.

"If I was going to China, I would only think of winning," said 64-year-old Smith during a press conference "There can be personal initiatives but I think athletes should concentrate on their events and leave politics alone.

"Times have changed," he continued. "We live in a different world now...