1984 Los Angeles Volume 2 Part 1 - LA84 Foundation

A look back at the Games of the XXlllrd Olympiad
July 28 — August 12, 1984
28
Opening Ceremonies
set the tone for an
exciting two weeks
with a spectacular
four-hour production.
Highlights included an appearance by a
rocket man and a musical medley
played by the All-American Olympic
Marching Band entitled “Music of
America.” A procession of 140 nations
paraded into the Coliseum in slightly
less than 1½ hours. Remarks were
made by LAOOC President Peter
Ueberroth and IOC President Juan
Antonio Samaranch, while the
President of the United States, Ronald
Reagan, gave the welcoming
proclamation. The Olympic torch was
carried into the stadium by Gina
Hemphill and the Olympic flame was lit
by
29
Rafer Johnson.
Xu Haifeng (CHN)
wins the first gold
medal awarded at the
Games in the free
pistol competition
and it is the first medal ever won in
Olympic competition by the People’s
Republic of China. Steve Lundquist
(USA) and Michael Gross (FRG) set
world records in the 100-meter
breaststroke and 200-meter freestyle,
respectively. More than 200,000
spectators crowd the streets of
Mission Viejo to witness U.S. athletes
Connie Carpenter-Phinney and Alexi
Grewal win the individual road races in
cycling.
30
Alex Baumann (CAN)
establishes an
Olympic record in the
400-meter individual
medley, the first gold
medal in swimming for his country in 72
years. Michael Gross (FRG) sets his
second world record, finishing first in
the 100-meter butterfly. The 4 x 200meter
freestyle relay team from the
USA sets a world record edging the
quartet from the FRG anchored by
Gross. Wu Shude (CHN) wins the
bantamweight (56 kg) division in
weightlifting as China captures the
gold and silver medals for the second
straight day.
surprisingly wins the
team competition in
men’s gymnastics, its
first gymnastics team
31USA
medal in the 52 years the
team medal has been awarded. The
USA also captures five gold medals in
swimming as Tiffany Cohen (400meter
freestyle) and Rowdy Gaines
(100-meter freestyle) set Olympic
records. CHN extends its domination in
weightlifting, capturing the gold medal
for the third straight day, this time by
Weiqiang Chen in the featherweight
(60 kg) category.
1Romania captures the team title
in women’s gymnastics behind
the stellar performance of
Ecaterina Szabo while Malcolm
Cooper (GBR) equals the world
record in winning the small bore rifle
event. Steve Fraser (USA) wins the light
heavyweight (90 kg) division in Greco-
Roman wrestling, his country’s first
gold medal ever in the sport. Daniele
Masala (ITA) wins the modern
pentathlon and paces the Italians to the
team title. Steve Hegg (USA) captures
the 4000-meter pursuit in cycling and
CHN again wins the gold medal in
weightlifting.
2Koji Gushiken (JPN) wins the
all-around gymnastics
competition, scoring no less
than 9.9 in any of his six
routines. Karl-Heinz
Radschinsky (FRG) ends the CHN
winning streak in weightlifting by
winning the middleweight (75 kg)
division. Victor Davis (CAN) sets a
world record in his victory in the 200meter
breaststroke and Wu Xiaoxuan
(CHN) becomes the first Chinese athlete
ever to win two medals as she finishes
first in the small bore standard rifle
event after capturing the bronze medal
in air rifle three days earlier.
3Mary Lou Retton (USA) wins
the women’s all-around
championship in gymnastics,
the first medal ever for an
American woman in the allaround
competition. Mexico and
France win their first gold medals of the
Games: Ernesto Canto paces a 1-2
finish for Mexico in the 20-kilometer
walk and Philippe Heberle (FRA) tops
the field in the air rifle event. In cycling,
Australia wins the team pursuit
competition and Roger llegems (BEL)
captures the individual points race.
Mark Todd (NZL) wins the equestrian
three-day event aboard “Charisma”
for his country’s first medal in the
event.
4Li Ning (CHN) wins three gold
medals in individual
gymnastics competition:
rings, floor exercise and side
horse. Carl Lewis (USA) wins
the 100-meter dash and
Glynis Nunn (AUS) captures the firstever
Olympic women’s heptathlon.
Alex Baumann (CAN) wins his second
gold medal by winning the 200-meter
individual medley in world record time.
The USA sweeps all the relays to finish
with 21 gold medals in swimming.
Romanian rowers win five of six
events, finishing second in the one
event they did not win.
5Joan Benoit (USA) wins the
first women’s marathon in
Olympic history by nearly 1½
minutes. Edwin Moses (USA)
finishes first in the 400-meter
intermediate hurdle race, his 105th
consecutive victory and a repeat of his
1976 Olympic victory. Evelyn Ashford
(USA) set an Olympic record in scoring
an easy victory in the women’s 100
meters. Ecaterina Szabo (ROM) wins
three gold medals in individual
gymnastics events: vault, balance
beam and floor exercise. Nicu Vlad
(ROM) set an Olympic record in winning
the middle heavyweight (90 kg)
division in weightlifting. Canada wins
the glamour race in rowing, the men’s
eights, while Italy captures cycling’s
100-kilometer team time trial.
6Joaquim Cruz (BRA) sets an
Olympic record in the 800
meters, the only gold medal
captured by Brazil during the
Games. Valerie Brisco-Hooks
(USA) wins the women’s 400 meter
run, the first of her three gold medals.
Alberto Cova (ITA) wins the 10,000meter
run, the first time an Italian
runner has ever won this event. Japan
and USA advance to the baseball final
by scoring semi-final wins over TPE and
KOR, respectively. Sylvie Bernier (CAN)
finishes first in the women’s
springboard diving event, bettering
Canada’s best previous finish, a bronze
medal in 1956. Italy wins the men’s
team foil led by Mauro Numa who four
days earlier won the individual foil.
7On a day when many team
championships were decided,
China captures women’s
volleyball, Cheryl Miller paces
the United States women to
the basketball gold medal and Japan
defeats the USA 6–2 in baseball.
Yugoslavia clinches the championship
in men’s handball with a 19–18 victory
over Romania and the USA wins the
equestrian team jumping event. In
yachting, Spain, New Zealand and the
USA all clinch gold medals.
8Nawal El Moutawakel wins
the first women’s 400-meter
intermediate hurdle event—
the first gold medal ever won
by a Moroccan athlete.
Alonzo Babers (USA) wins an exciting
400-meter run edging Gabriel Tiacoh
(CIV), who wins his nation’s first-ever
medal, and Carl Lewis (USA) leads a
USA medal sweep in the 200 meter
dash. A crowd of more than 100,000 at
the Rose Bowl watches France defeat
Yugoslavia in overtime, 4–2, assuring
the French of their first medal ever in
football. Dinko Lukim (AUS) wins the
super-heavyweight weightlifting title
(110 + kg) and Greg Louganis (USA)
takes the springboard diving gold
medal.
9Daley Thompson (GBR) wins
the decathlon, repeating his
Moscow Olympic triumph in
1980, and misses setting a
world record by one point.
Yugoslavia clinches the gold medal in
women’s handball by scoring a 31–25
victory over China while Tracie Ruiz
and Candy Costie (USA) capture the
gold medal in the initial Olympic
synchronized swimming duet
competition. FRG wins the team
dressage event in equestrian and the
USA advances a total of 10 boxers to
the gold-medal bouts.
10 Julius
Korir (KEN)
becomes the only
Kenyan athlete to win a
gold medal at the Games
by scoring an
impressive victory in the 3000-meter
steeplechase. Ulrike Meyfarth (FRG)
repeats her 1972 Olympic victory by
capturing the women’s high jump and
Agneta Andersson (SWE) wins two
gold medals in canoeing as her King
and Queen look on. The USA wins the
gold medal in men’s basketball 96–65
over Spain and Yugoslavia edges Italy
2–1 to finish third in football. New
Zealand continues to dominate men’s
canoeing events and Yugoslavia ties
the USA 5–5 in water polo, but wins the
gold medal on goal differential. Zhao
Jihong (CHN) wins the women’s
platform diving competition and Italy
takes a fencing gold medal in team
sabre.
11 Carl
Lewis anchors the
USA 4 x 100-meter relay
team to victory in world
record time,
accomplishing his goal of
winning four gold medals. The USA also
wins all four athletics’ relays, the first
time one nation has done so in Olympic
history. Sebastian Coe (GBR) wins his
second consecutive Olympic 1500meter
crown to become the first runner
in Olympic history to attain this feat.
Pakistan wins the gold medal in men’s
hockey for its only medal in the 1984
Olympics. Stefan Edberg (SWE) and
Steffi Graf (FRG) win the men’s and
women’s tennis competitions,
respectively, and Alan Thompson (NZL)
takes the kayak singles and helps the
NZL team win the kayak fours crowns.
Darrell Pace (USA) repeats his 1976
Olympic archery championship as he
edges teammate Richard McKinney for
the gold medal. Hyang-Soon Seo and
Jin-Ho Kim (KOR) win their nation’s
first-ever archery medals finishing first
and third in the women’s competition.
France wins the gold medal in football
with a 2–0 victory over Brazil while the
USA captures nine gold medals in
boxing.
12 Carlos
Lopes (POR) wins
the men’s marathon for
his country’s first medal
in the event. Greg
Louganis (USA) and
Tracie Ruiz (USA) each win their second
gold medals in platform diving and
synchronized swimming, respectively,
and Joe Fargis and Conrad Homfeld
finish l-2 for the United States in
equestrian’s individual jumping event.
Closing Ceremonies conclude the
Games of the XXlllrd Olympiad with a
breathtaking show in the Coliseum.
Included in the show is a visit by a
spaceship, the traditional parade of
athletes, the extinguishing of the
Olympic flame and a spectacular
fireworks show. The evening and the
Games come to an end with a nineminute
performance by recording artist
Lionel Richie.