'68 MEDALIST WHO SHOCKED WORLD JOINS TORCH RELAY.

Byline: Beth Harris Associated Press 

Twenty-seven years after he stunned the world by raising a fist in the black power salute as he accepted a gold medal in Mexico City, a mellower Tommie Smith returned to the Olympic fold Saturday.

But he's still disgusted by the racism he says pervades American society.

Smith, now 51, was one of 10,000 runners who will crisscross the country with the Olympic torch en route to the summer games in Atlanta.

The invitation to participate was only the second time Smith has had contact with the U.S. Olympic Committee since the panel suspended him at the 1968 games. He was a coach for the U.S. national track team briefly last year.

``We've come full circle,'' he said in an interview. ``It's nostalgia, seeing the other people do things, which mean probably more to them than this does to me, because I've been there, done that. Not a torch, but I think I have a gold medal still,'' he said, smiling.

Saturday, his half-mile jog took him through the heart of Chinatown, where hundreds of people waved American and Chinese flags and yelled their support. A few yelled, ``Way to go, Tommie!''

Some said they hadn't heard of Smith, who was once one of the world's fastest sprinters and who embodied African-American anger.

But as the cheering grew, Smith hoisted the torch high into the air.

When his leg ended, Smith handed off the torch to Steven Lewis before ducking into a waiting shuttle.

He didn't flash the symbol that had touched off an international firestorm more than a quarter-century ago.

Smith had won the gold in the 200-meter dash, and John Carlos had won the bronze. On the winner's podium, the two wore black gloves, raised their fists and bowed their heads as the U.S. national anthem played during a medal ceremony. They said they were protesting racism.

The silver-medal winner, Peter Norman of Australia, who was white, stood in front of them looking straight ahead.

The U.S. Olympic Committee consequently banned Smith and Carlos from the U.S. Olympic team and ordered them to leave Mexico within 48 hours. The International Olympic Committee denounced them.

Smith, his 6-foot-3-inch frame still imposing, said he was surprised when the U.S. Olympic Committee asked him to participate in the torch relay this year. He immediately accepted.

The world hasn't changed much since he raised his fist and stood on the podium in bare feet to symbolize African-American poverty in 1968, he said, although that time feels like a lifetime ago.

``What happened back then is happening now, the same thing, the racist tendencies, but it's more covert now,'' he said.

``But I think (people) have come to their senses now, that I was only one man doing what hundreds of thousands of people should be doing all the time, fighting for human rights.''

Smith said he has been teaching sociology and health at Santa Monica College for 25 years. He said he has changed his approach, but not his core beliefs.

``I don't teach hate, I don't teach killing, I don't teach shooting,'' he said. ``I don't teach the obvious thought of a lot of other people - which concerns me - that I hate the system, and I'm going to do everything to destroy it. I feel sorry for people like that.''

Tugging his T-shirt, he said: ``I'm still wearing the red, white and blue.''

But, he said: ``I don't give up because people think what Tommie Smith thinks or does is wrong.''