Lee Evans won the men’s 400 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics with a world-record time of 43.86 seconds.
Evans set the mark in the Mexico City final, becoming the first athlete to run 400 metres in under 44 seconds. The high altitude of Mexico City, about 2,240 metres above sea level, helped reduce air resistance in sprint events, although it also made endurance races more demanding.
Evans later won a second gold medal as part of the United States 4 × 400 metres relay team. His Olympic victory came at the same Games where fellow American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos made their famous Black Power salute during the medal ceremony for the 200 metres.
Evans’s 43.86-second record remained an important benchmark for years. It was eventually surpassed by fellow American Harry “Butch” Reynolds, who ran 43.29 seconds in 1988.