Listed 9 sub titles with search on: Olympic games for destination: "LOS ANGELES Town CALIFORNIA".
In 1932 the Olympics are hosted for the second time on American
soil. The Los Angeles Games mark also the begging of the electronics era
in transmitting the events results throughout the world.
Despite the fact that the U.S. had not recovered completely from
the 1929 financial crash and, also, that the Olympics affair was receiving severe
negative comments and criticism from the large media as well as from some Congressmen,
Americans through a series of smart activities managed to collect all the money
needed. A great source proved to be the 3c stamp that people would buy even
when they had nothing to... mail. Another source was the large sponsorings by
private companies who undertook all transportation, residence and other expenses.
Following this very thought the Brazilian team arrived in Los Angeles on a chartered
commercial vessel loaded with coffee to be sold to coffee lovers of California.
Well, it turned out to be not such a smart idea with the prices of coffee so
low throughout the world. It was judged that the coffee wouldn't even fetch
enough money to cover the money spent by the boat's engines for petrol...
Nurmi appeared escorting the Finnish Team but his participation
was rejected because his money receiving for advertising was now officially
proven. He was granted, though, a seat among dignitaries, for the whole duration
of the Games. A good seat indeed, while a few meters away, Jim Thorp was begging
ticket money...
In the Olympic Village alcohol was strictly prohibited, with the
exception of the French who were granted a special permit after they claimed
that Beaujolais was part of their nourishment! Eduard Tolan was the first black
American athlete to win consecutively the 100m and the 200m races, a living
prophecy of the black athletes dominance in these events.
Los Angeles marks a first also for the three-level pedestal for
the 1st, 2nd and 3rd winners, where a hilarious public watched a Philippino
3rd winner who refused to climb on the lower level and stepping on the tallest
announced that he does this because he is short and wouldn't see clearly...
The last innovation of the Los Angeles Games was the use of the
phrase: "It is far more important to participate than to win, just as important
in life is not the triumph but the struggle". The sentence, originally attributed
to de Coubertin, is actually a part of the Sunday speech by Bishop Ethelbert
Talbot in Saint Paul's Cathedral in London...
Text by Dimitri N. Marcopoulos
Los Angeles 1932
Links with various Organizations' WebPages:
The Olympic Movement
American Sport Art Museum and Archives , a division of the United States Sports Academy
International Sailing Federation
Los Angeles 1932
Links with various Media's WebPages:
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
British Broadcasting Corporation
1932 Los Angeles Olympics: Various WebPages
It's the 3rd time that the Olympic Games travel to the United
States. New systems were devised and applied, many financed by large corporations
who acted as sponsors. TV rights alone surpassed $ 267 million while world wide
TV viewers have been estimated to have been more than 2.5 billion!
The day the Olympian torch was landing on American soil, the 8th
of May, the Soviet Union announced officially their denial to participate. That
was the Soviet answer to the American 1980 Moscow boycotting.
The opening day was inaugurated by President Ronald Reagan. Right
after his opening speech the world saw a Hollywood style extravaganza that drew
much caustic criticism, especially for its low taste. At a certain stage, after
a parade of 43 brass bands, an orchestra comprised of 86 silver pianos played
old Hollywood film tunes and operetta highlights! The Olympic song itself was
out of the film Stand By Me, a big commercial 1983 hit. The media projected,
on a daily basis, whatever there was to be considered American such as how to
tie and throw a lasso rope, how to bake apple-pie, how to cook stuffed turkey
et alia!
The U.S. collected the greatest number of golds: 83. Games-star
is Carl Louis who equaled Jesse Owen's performance winning golds for 100m and
200m, the long jump and the last leg in the 4x100m. relay that brought the victory
to the U.S. team.
Carl Louis was called the Black Apollo by sportswriters, a nickname
he seemed to like very much. A magazine published a photograph of one of the
postcards Carl had sent once to his mother. "To mamma with love..." and signed:
"Your Black Apollo". Carl Louis studied at the UCLA and ever since his early
years he had shown how lonely and a boy of few words he was. In the Santa Monica
Athletic Club where he used to train he could outrun well known Californian
sprinters. He was devoted to his mother who was the only company he seemed to
prefer. There are a number of things that have been written as to his erotic
choices. Answering once to a certain impolite question posed on him by a scandal-chaser
reporter he answered: "Can't you find a job in a decent magazine?" After this,
one of the greats in sportswriting, Ian McCloud, wrote: "It's a pity for America
to have discovered such a sporting treasure and leave to the mad dogs to feed
their vanity..."
Accountancy announced a profit of $ 215 million. It's worth to
be noted that part of this profit came from the percentage paid by ad agencies
who had sold, mile to mile, the Olympic Torch route-run, from the East to the
West Coast!
Text by Dimitri N. Marcopoulos
Los Angeles 1984
Links with various Organizations' WebPages:
The Olympic Movement
American Sport Art Museum and Archives , a division of the United States Sports Academy
International Sailing Federation
Los Angeles 1984
Links with various Media's WebPages:
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
British Broadcasting Corporation
1984 Los Angeles Olympics: Various WebPages
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