Logo of the 1928 Summer Olympics |
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| 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 |
| Olympic Torch | None |
| Stadium | Olympisch Stadion |
The 1928 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam had bid for the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, but had to give way to war-victim Antwerp, Belgium, and Pierre de Coubertin's Paris, respectively. The only other candidate city for the 1928 Games was Los Angeles, which would 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 less than that of the previous Games.[1]
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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.[2] Los Angeles was eventually selected as host city for the 1932 Summer Olympics.[3]
During the Summer Olympics, there were 15 sports and 109 events in the tournament. In parentheses is the number of events per sport.[3]
Women's athletics and gymnastics debuted at these Olympics, in spite of criticism. Halina Konopacka of Poland became the first female Olympic track and field champion. The 800 meter run ended with several of the competitors being completely exhausted, so running events for women longer than 200 meters were not included in the Olympics until the 1960s.
Tennis disappeared from the program, only to reappear in 1968 as a demonstration sport.
These Games also included art competitions, which the IOC no longer considers as official medal events.
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 banned in 1920 and 1924.[4]
These are the top ten nations that won medals at these Games.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 22 | 18 | 16 | 56 |
| 2 | Germany | 10 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
| 3 | Finland | 8 | 8 | 9 | 25 |
| 4 | Sweden | 7 | 6 | 12 | 25 |
| 5 | Italy | 7 | 5 | 7 | 19 |
| 6 | Switzerland | 7 | 4 | 4 | 15 |
| 7 | France | 6 | 10 | 5 | 21 |
| 8 | Netherlands (host nation) | 6 | 9 | 4 | 19 |
| 9 | Hungary | 4 | 5 | 0 | 9 |
| 10 | Canada | 4 | 4 | 7 | 15 |
The official poster for the Games was designed by Jos Rovers, and 10,000 copies were made. The poster displays a running man in a white shirt, with in the background the Olympic stadium and the Olympic flag (shown above). The IOC never succeeded in getting the copyright of the image. Therefore, out of practical considerations, the IOC has used a different poster, with the German text Olympische Spiele, and an athlete partly covered in the Dutch national flag, holding a peace leaf in his hand. This poster was made for a German book about the Amsterdam Olympics.[5]
| Preceded by Paris |
Summer Olympic Games Amsterdam IX Olympiad (1928) |
Succeeded by Los Angeles |
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