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Olympian Peter Norman dead at 64

MELBOURNE, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Australian runner Peter Norman, who supported the silent protest of black U.S. sprinters at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, has died in Melbourne at 64.

Norman, who brought home a silver medal in 1968, died Tuesday of a heart attack, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

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Standing on the podium with gold medal winner Tommie Smith and bronze medalist John Carlos, Norman stood silent during "The Star-Spangled Banner" with his hands at his sides and wearing an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge while his fellow winners bowed their heads and raised black-gloved fists in protest of racial discrimination in the United States.

"My attitude was they'd earned the right to do what they thought they had to do with their 1 square meter of Olympic dais," Norman said later. "I was glad they were doing it, and I was glad I was with them."

Carlos, now a counselor at Palm Springs High School, said he and Smith remained friends with Norman after the Olympics. "Peter Norman was my brother," he said.

"We had a bond," Smith said. "It was a long-lasting friendship because of that day."

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Norman is survived by his wife and two daughters.

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