Japan was promised the 1940 Olympics, but World War II forced the country to give up this honor. It was only in 1964 that the capital of Japan was re-elected as the venue for the Olympic Games. These were the first Olympics to be held in Asia.
Tokyo has seriously approached the preparation for the huge holiday. On the eve of the Games, a significant reconstruction of the city was carried out: many old districts were demolished, new highways, bridges were built, modern sports facilities were erected, old stadiums and swimming pools were restored.
The XVIII Games brought together 5140 athletes from 93 countries. For the first time, Algeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Congo, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Zanzibar, Chad, Trinidad and Tobago, the Mongolian People's Republic, and Nepal took part in the Olympics. A team from the Republic of South Africa was barred from participating in the competition for racial discrimination. Teams from North Korea, Indonesia, Barbados and Ecuador were also suspended from the competition.
On October 10, about 90 thousand spectators gathered at the Olympic stadium. The athletes were greeted by the Emperor of Japan Hirohito and the president of the organizing committee, Dangoro Yasukawa.
Never before has the Olympic program been so extensive. It was joined by judo and women's and men's volleyball. A distinctive feature of these Games has become a significantly increased competition in all types of competitions. During the competition, 77 Olympic records and 35 world records were set.
At the 1964 Games, athletes from the USSR retained their primacy in the unofficial team event, winning 96 medals, of which 30 were gold. Athletes from the United States brought 90 medals to the national team, the Japanese team took third place, entering the top three for the first time.
The Japanese Summer Olympics were remembered for the brilliant performance of Soviet weightlifters. Alexey Vakhonin, Rudolf Plyukfelder, Vladimir Golovanov and Leonid Zhabotinsky received gold medals, Viktor Kurentsov, Yuri Vlasov and Vladimir Kaplunov - silver.
Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina won 2 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals. She brought the total number of her Olympic awards to 18, becoming the record holder for the number of medals won.
For the first time in the Olympic Games, computers were used to collect and store results. In addition, for the first time, telecasts were broadcast from the Olympic arenas to other continents.
