This edition of Olympic Wednesday brings us to the Summer Olympiad in Mexico City, renowned for many reasons which we won’t necessarily discuss here. Over 5,500 athletes from 112 countries participated in these high-altitude Games, in 172 events across 23 disciplines. A lot of notoriety came out of the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, events and moments that would not be forgotten for a long time forward.

The United States triumphed on the medal table, winning 107 medals to outdo the Soviet Union (91). Surprisingly, it was Hungary that ended up taking third place, with 32 medals. Thirteen different nations won double-digit medals, including West Germany (26) and East Germany (25), which competed separately for the first time. Japan also secured 25 medals, including 11 gold medals, which was the third-best effort.

Most Outstanding Male Athlete: Akinori Nakayama, Japan

When we were growing up in the 1970s and the 1980s, we loved watching the Japanese men in gymnastics. This phenomenon perhaps started in Mexico City with Akinori Nakayama: three individual golds (parallel bars, horizontal bar, rings), a team gold (all-around event), an individual silver (floor), and an individual bronze (individual all-around event). No other man in these Games won as many individual or total golds.

While a competitor did win 7 medals (Soviet Mikhail Voronin), Nakayama won the most golds of any male competitor in Mexico City. For that, we salute him here—and thank him for the enjoyment he provided us.

Most Outstanding Female Athlete: Věra Čáslavská, Czechoslovakia

Yes, she is a repeat winner from 1964: this time, Věra Čáslavská took home four individual golds (individual all-around event, vault, floor, and uneven bars), one team silver (all-around event), and one individual silver (beam). Over three olympiads (1960-1968), she won 11 medals total, as she also claimed a team silver in Rome. Not a bad career, overall, right? She joins three other athletes as two-time winners.

Most Outstanding Male Team: American Swimming

This was so close, and it came down to percentages: the U.S. men’s swimming team claimed 66.7 percent of the available medals, barely edging out the Japan gymnasts, who scored 63.1 percent of the available medals. Winners of multiple individual golds? Mike Burton (400m and 1,500m free) and Charlie Hickcox (200m individual medley, 400m individual medley). Multiple swimmers won multiple non-gold medals.

Most Outstanding Female Team: American Swimming

The U.S. women did the U.S. men one medal better, winning 68.4 percent of the available awards in a stunning display that included 11 gold medals, 9 silvers, and 6 bronzes. Debbie Meyer won three individual golds (200m free, 400m free, 800m free), while Claudia Kolb won two individual events (200m individual medley, 400m individual medley). Pretty dominating showing by all American swimmers, obviously.