Olympic Games

Tokyo, 1964

Tokyo were selected to host the 1940 Olympics, however the start of World War II in 1939 forced the cancellation of the 1940 Games. This was after they had gone to the trouble of building a huge stadium.
In 1964, Japan spent about $3 billion to rebuild Tokyo for the Olympics, revitalizing a city that had been devastated by earthquakes and World War II bombings.
25 Olympic and world records were broken in the course of the Games, and Japan's worldwide image got a significant boost.
South Africa was banned by the IOC from taking part due to its oppressive apartheid regime. This ban lasted until 1992.
The U.S. and U.S.S.R. ended up neck-and-neck on the medal tally, with the Soviets winning more medals overall, but the Americans winning more gold medals.

American Al Oerter wins the discus throw for the third straight time, despite a cervical disc injury and torn rib cartilage.
Bob Windle, a relative unknown, though now has a prominent place in Australia's fine 1500m swimming record. He won the event in 1964, in an Olympic record time of 17min 1.7seconds.
Ethiopian marathoner Abebe Bikila was the first man to successfully defend the marathon title (1960 and 1964). This time less than six weeks after having his appendix removed. He only wore shoes for the second victory.
Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina wins six medals for the third time in a row; she remains the Olympic athlete with the most medals (18) and the most medals in individual events (14).