He won the silver medal in the 200 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, with a time of 20.06 seconds, which remained the Oceania 200 m record for more than 56 years.

He knew the salute was to occur and wore a badge of the Olympic Project for Human Rights in support of fellow athletes John Carlos and Tommie Smith.

Norman grew up in a devout Salvation Army family,[4] living in Coburg, a suburb of Melbourne in Victoria.

Initially an apprentice butcher, Norman later became a teacher, and worked for the Victorian Department of Sport and Recreation towards the end of his life.

[9] The Australian Olympic Committee maintains that Norman was not selected for the 1972 Munich Olympics because he did not meet the selection standard of equalling or bettering the IOC qualifying standard (20.9)[10] and performing credibly at the 1972 Australian Athletics Championships at which he finished third behind Greg Lewis and Gary Eddy in a time of 21.6.

In 1985, Norman contracted gangrene after tearing his Achilles tendon during a charity race, which nearly led to his leg being amputated.

"[14] On the way to the medal ceremony, Norman saw the OPHR badge being worn by Paul Hoffman, a white member of the US rowing team, and asked him if he could wear it.

"[18] On the other hand, Australasian Amateur Athletics' magazine stated "The dilemma for selectors here was how could they select Norman and not Lewis.

[19] For his involvement as an ally in the 1968 Olympics Black Power salute protest, Norman has appeared in many works of public art, as well as movies on the subject.

(1) recognises the extraordinary athletic achievements of the late Peter Norman, who won the silver medal in the 200 metres sprint running event at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, in a time of 20.06 seconds, which still stands as the Australian record;(2) acknowledges the bravery of Peter Norman in donning an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge on the podium, in solidarity with African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who gave the 'black power' salute;(3) apologises to Peter Norman for the treatment he received upon his return to Australia, and the failure to fully recognise his inspirational role before his untimely death in 2006; and (4) belatedly recognises the powerful role that Peter Norman played in furthering racial equality.The original plan for the apology had point (3) state that the House: 'apologises to Peter Norman for the wrong done by Australia in failing to send him to the 1972 Munich Olympics, despite repeatedly qualifying'.

[31][32] In a 2012 interview advocating for the apology, Carlos said:[33] There's no-one in the nation of Australia that should be honoured, recognised, appreciated more than Peter Norman for his humanitarian concerns, his character, his strength and his willingness to be a sacrificial lamb for justice.After the parliamentary apology, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) and others disputed the claims made about Norman being ostracised for supporting Carlos and Smith.