Peter Norman was born June 15th, 1942 and grew up in a Salvation Army family. His first achievement was that he won the 1960’s Victoria junior 200m championship alongside the Melbourne Harriers. He later became a physical education/training teacher and also took bronze in the Commonwealth Games in 1966.Norman won silver at the 1968 Olympics held in Mexico City, but after that he returned to “white Australia” where he was criticized for his stance alongside Tommie Smith and John Carlos. When returning back to his home country he kept running until 1985 even though his chances of joining the Olympics again alongside Australia was ruined. He had the chance to redeem himself if he condemned what Smith and Carlos did at the Olympics, though he didn’t take the offer because Norman knew he was right to stand alongside them.
In 1985 his Achilles tendon was infected with gangrene, it resulted in depression and drinking as he tried learning how to walk again. His nephew, Matthew Norman, later on produced a film named Salute that was released in 2008 as a tribute to his uncle. He died of a heart attack on October 3rd, 2006. October 9th, the day of his funeral, was named Peter Norman Day by the U.S. Track and Field Federation. His coffin was carried and accompanied by Tommie Smith and John Carlos who saw him as one of them, as a brother.