From WikiRun
| 1984 Summer Olympics
|
| Olympiad
| XXIII
|
| Host City
| Los Angeles, CA
|
| # Nations
| 140
|
| Events
| 221
|
| Sports
| 21
|
| Males
| 5,458
|
| Females
| 1,620
|
| Total Athletes
| 7,078
|
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1984 in Los Angeles, California, United States. Los Angeles was selected on May 18 1978 on the 79th IOC session at Athens, Greece, without voting, because it was the only city that entered a bid to host the 1984 Summer Olympics. Many blamed this on the massive cost overruns of the 1976 Summer Olympics hosted in Montreal.
In view of the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, the Soviet-led boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics caused 14 Eastern Bloc countries and allies including the Soviet Union, Cuba and East Germany (but not Romania) to boycott these Olympics. For differing reasons, Iran and Libya also boycotted. The USSR announced its intention not to participate on May 8, 1984, citing security concerns and "chauvinistic sentiments and an anti-Soviet hysteria being whipped up in the United States"[1]. The Los Angeles boycott influenced a large number of events that were normally dominated by the absent countries. Boycotting countries organized another major event in July-August 1984, called the Friendship Games.
The host state of California was the home state of U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who was governor of the state from 1967 to 1975, and who, himself opened the games. The official mascot specially designed for the games was Sam the Olympic Eagle.
Highlights
- The organizers of the Los Angeles Olympics, Chief Executive Officer Peter Ueberroth and Chief Operating Officer Harry Usher, were able to produce a profit of over $200 million. The 1984 Games were the second to make a profit, after only the 1932 Summer Olympics (also in Los Angeles).
- Though a Warsaw Pact country, Romania (then ruled by Nicolae Ceauşescu) did not boycott the Games and finished second in the medal rankings, winning 53 medals, more than in any other Olympics.
- This Olympics marked the first time the President of the United States opened Olympic games held in the United States, although past Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Richard Nixon had opened the 1932 Winter Olympics and the 1960 Winter Olympics in their roles as Governor of New York and Vice President of the United States, respectively.
- Carl Lewis makes his first of four appearances in the Olympics, and equals the performance of Jesse Owens of 1936 and wins four gold medals in the 100 m, 200 m, 4x100 m relay and the Long Jump.
- The success of the Los Angeles Olympics led to the 1986 birth of the Los Angeles Marathon, held on the first Sunday of every March.
- During the women's 3000 meter track final, U.S. contender Mary Decker collides with the lead runner Zola Budd, representing Great Britain, causing the American to stumble and fall onto the infield, unable to continue. Amidst a loud and hostile crowd reaction to the incident, Budd falls back to a 7th place finish. Zola Budd told journalists that she tried to apologise to Decker in the tunnel leading away from the track after the race, but was told abruptly, "Don't bother."[2] At first, Budd was disqualified, but the disqualification was reversed only an hour after the race when the jury had seen that she had not purposely done anything to stop Decker, which was what had been claimed by the American team officials.[3]
- Nawal El Moutawakel of Morocco becomes the first female Olympic champion of an Islamic nation, and the first of her country in the 400 m hurdles.
- A marathon for women is held for the first time at the Olympics, won by Joan Benoit Samuelson. The event is also noted because of Swiss runner Gabi Andersen-Schiess, who - suffering from heat exhaustion - stumbles through the last lap, providing dramatic images.
- Following the IOC agreement to designate the Republic of China (Taiwan) Chinese Taipei, the People's Republic of China appears in the Olympics as China and wins 15 gold medals. In weightlifting, athletes from the Chinese Taipei and China teams win medals at the same event.
- Tennis returns for the first time since the 1924 Summer Olympics, this time as a demonstration sport. Baseball is held as an exhibition for the sixth time.
- Daley Thompson apparently misses a new world record in winning his second consecutive gold medal in the decathlon; the next year his score is retroactively raised to 8847, giving him the record.
- After the 1984 Games it was admitted that many of the United States cycling team had indulged in "blood doping" procedures - not illegal at the time but made illegal shortly afterwards.
- 11 athletes failed drug tests. It was reported that as many as 17 other A samples were found to be positive but as the athletes code numbers went missing no B samples were tested.
Athletics medal summary
At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, 41 events in athletics were contested, 24 events by men and 17 by women. There were a total number of 1,273 participating athletes from 124 countries.
Men's events
Women's events
Medal table
References
- ↑ Burns, John F. Protests are Issue: Russians Charge 'Gross Flouting' of the Ideals of the Competition. New York Times, 9 May 1984
- ↑ "Zola Budd in race trip controversy", BBC ON THIS DAY, 11 August (1984). Accessed January 29, 2007.
- ↑ "Los Angeles 1984", Official Website of the Swedish Olympic Committee, English version. Accessed January 28, 2007.
United States 
West Germany 
Great Britain 
Romania 
Italy 
Finland 
Mexico 
Morocco 
France 
Australia 
Portugal 
Kenya 
Brazil 
Netherlands 
Canada 
Sweden 
Jamaica 
Côte d'Ivoire 
Ireland 
Norway 
Switzerland 
China 
Nigeria 
Spain