In 1968, at the Mexico Summer Olympics, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, wearing PUMA running spikes, won Gold and Bronze in the 200m race. It was a big moment as Smith was the first athlete to run the 200m race under 20 seconds.

Before stepping on the podium, Tommie Smith and John Carlos split a pair of black gloves. Tommie took the right hand and John Carlos the left. Peter Norman, the Australian silver medalist, stood in support with them wearing the Olympic Project for Human Rights badges. Both men took off their PUMA Crack's as a symbol of poverty in the U.S. As the flags were rising, Smith and Carlos raised their closed fists in solidarity with black people and oppressed people around the world.