1928 Summer Olympics

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Games of the IX Olympiad
Games of the IX Olympiad

Logo of the 1928 Summer Olympics
Host city Amsterdam, Netherlands
Nations participating 46
Athletes participating 2,883 (2,606 men, 277 women)
Events 109 in 15 sports
Opening ceremony July 28
Closing ceremony August 12
Officially opened by Prince Hendrik
Athlete's Oath Harry Dénis
Judge's Oath None
Olympic Torch None
Stadium Olympisch Stadion
The Olympisch Stadion in 1928
The Olympisch Stadion in 1928

The 1928 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad, were celebrated in 1928 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Amsterdam had made a bid for the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, but had to give way to war-victim Belgium and De Coubertin's Paris before finally being awarded with the organisation. The only other candidate city was Los Angeles. Los Angeles would eventually host the Olympics four years later.

The United States Olympic Committee measured the costs and revenue of the 1928 Games in preparation for the 1932 Summer Olympics. The committee reported a total cost of US$1.183 million with receipts of US$1.165 million for a loss of US$18,000 (much smaller than the previous celebration's financial loss).[1]

Contents

[edit] Highlights

  • For the first time, the Olympic Flame was lit during the Olympics. The torch relay, however, would not occur until the 1936 Summer Olympics.
  • For the first time, the parade of nations started with Greece, which holds the origins of the Olympics, and ended with the host country, a tradition which continues today.
  • The Games were officially opened by Prince Hendrik, consort of Queen Wilhelmina, who had authorised him to deputise for her. This was the first time a head of state had not personally officiated at an Olympic opening ceremony.
  • Athletics events were held on a 400 metre track and would become the standard for athletics tracks.
  • Johnny Weissmuller, who later appeared in several Tarzan movies, won two gold medals in swimming.
  • Paavo Nurmi of Finland won his 9th and final gold medal by finishing first in the 10000 m.
  • Canada's Percy Williams surprised everyone by winning both the 100 m and 200 m sprint events.
  • South American football made a definite breakthrough, as Uruguay retained its title by defeating Argentina.
  • India took its first ever gold in field hockey, the beginning of a winning streak which continued until 1956 with six gold medals won during the period.
  • The first appearance of the sponsor Coca-Cola at the Olympic Games.
  • These games were the first to bear the name "Summer Olympic Games".
  • Germany, which had last entered the Olympic games in 1912, had been scheduled to host the 1916 games in Berlin, and had been banned in 1920 and 1924, ranked second in the medal count.

[edit] Selection of the host city

Frederik van Tuyll van Serooskerken first proposed Amsterdam as host city for the Summer Olympic Games in 1912, even before the Netherlands Olympic Committee was established. In 1916, the Olympic Games were cancelled due to World War I. In 1919, the Netherlands Olympic Committee abandoned the proposal of Amsterdam in favour of their support of the nomination of Antwerp as host city for the 1920 Summer Olympics. In 1921, the city of Paris was selected for the 1924 Summer Olympics on the condition that the 1928 Summer Olympics would be organized in Amsterdam. This decision, supported by the Netherlands Olympic Committee, was announced by the International Olympic Committee on June 2, 1921. The decision was disputed by the Americans, but their request to allocate the 1928 Summer Olympics to Los Angeles was without success in 1922 and again in 1923. Los Angeles was eventually selected as host city for the 1932 Summer Olympics.[2]

[edit] Sports

Eight Dutch stamps from 1928, showing different sports of the 1928 Summer Olympics
Eight Dutch stamps from 1928, showing different sports of the 1928 Summer Olympics

During the Summer Olympics, there were 15 sports and 109 events in the tournament. In parentheses is the number of events per sport.[2]

Women's athletics and gymnastics debuted at these Olympic, in spite of criticism. Halina Konopacka of Poland became the first female Olympic track and field champion. The 800 metre run ended with several of the competitors being completely exhausted, so running events for women longer than 200 metres were not included in the Olympics until the 1960s.

Tennis disappeared from the programme, only to reappear in 1968 as a demonstration sport.

[edit] Demonstration sports

These Games also included art competitions, which the IOC no longer considers as official medal events.

[edit] Participating nations

Participants
Participants

A total of 46 nations were represented at the Amsterdam Games. Malta, Panama, and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) competed at the Olympic Games for the first time. Germany returned after having been deliberately not invited in 1920 and 1924.[3]

[edit] Medal count

Main article: 1928 Summer Olympics medal count

These are the top ten nations that won medals at these Games.

 Rank  Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 United States United States 22 18 16 56
2 Germany Germany 10 7 14 31
3 Finland Finland 8 8 9 25
4 Sweden Sweden 7 6 12 25
5 Italy Italy 7 5 7 19
6 Switzerland Switzerland 7 4 4 15
7 France France 6 10 5 21
8 Netherlands Netherlands (host nation) 6 9 4 19
9 Hungary Hungary 4 5 0 9
10 Canada Canada 4 4 7 15

[edit] References

  1. ^ Zarnowski, C. Frank (Summer 1992). "A Look at Olympic Costs". Citius, Altius, Fortius 1 (1): 16-32. 
  2. ^ a b G. van Rossem (ed.) (1928). The Ninth Olympiad Amsterdam 1928 Official Report (PDF), Amsterdam: J. H. de Bussy, pp. 973–985. Retrieved on 2008-03-25. 
  3. ^ Guttmann, Allen (1992). The Olympics: A History of the Modern Games. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, p. 38. ISBN 0-252-01701-3. 

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:


v • d • e
Olympic Games
Sports • Medal counts • NOCs
Medalists • Symbols
Summer Games
1896 • 1900 • 1904 • (1906) • 1908 • 1912 • 1916 • 1920 • 1924 • 1928 • 1932 • 1936 • 1940 • 1944 • 1948 • 1952 • 1956 • 1960 • 1964 • 1968 • 1972 • 1976 • 1980 • 1984 • 1988 • 1992 • 1996 • 2000 • 2004 • 2008 • 2012 • 2016 • 2020 • 2024 • 2028
Winter Games
1924 • 1928 • 1932 • 1936 • 1940 • 1944 • 1948 • 1952 • 1956 • 1960 • 1964 • 1968 • 1972 • 1976 • 1980 • 1984 • 1988 • 1992 • 1994 • 1998 • 2002 • 2006 • 2010 • 2014 • 2018 • 2022
Youth Games
Recent and upcoming Games: Athens 2004 • Turin 2006  • Beijing 2008 • Vancouver 2010