It was a time of great economic crisis, which spread from the United States of America to the whole world, but the Americans organized the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1932 much more successfully than it was the case in St. Louis 28 years earlier.
Some calculations, which have never been made public, say that the organizers made a profit of one million dollars, which is the exact opposite of the previous Games, in Amsterdam and especially in Paris.
The economic crisis, however, left its mark in another way, as well as California's distance from the rest of the world, primarily Europe - only 1.332 competitors took part in the Games, which is almost half as many as in the Netherlands four years earlier.
The most vivid example is the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which had only two competitors in athletics - they are the dentist from Zagreb, Veljko Narandžić, and the professor from Zemun, Vilim Mesner, who traveled to California at their own expense after the Yugoslav Olympic Committee (JOK) was closed due to the economic crisis. refused to fund the travel of any contestant.
Narandžić competed in the javelin throw and took the penultimate place in the qualifications, while Mesner was injured before the competition and did not participate.
So, one competitor, who arrived at his own expense, but Yugoslavia at least preserved the continuity of participation in the Olympic Games.
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In Los Angeles, for the first time in the history of the Olympics, an Olympic village was built, with 550 two-room houses, but only male competitors were accommodated in them. The ladies stayed in a hotel called "Chapman Park".
A fantastic stadium, "Coliseum", was also built, which received all 105 thousand spectators during the opening ceremony. Photo-finish cameras were also installed at athletic competitions, so at such, more modern Olympic Games than before, as many as 18 world records were broken, despite the smaller number of competitors.
So many records have not been set at any previous Games.
The incredible dominance of the Japanese marked the men's swimming program. Led by the phenomenal Yasushi Mizaki, swimmers from the Land of the Rising Sun won five out of six possible gold medals (a total of 11 medals in six disciplines), and American honor was saved by Buster Crabb, who triumphed in the 400-meter freestyle race.
The Americans, however, dominated the women's swimming program, winning four out of five possible gold medals. The most successful was Helen Madison with three golds - in the 100 and 400 meter freestyle races, as well as the 4x100 meter relay.
Domestic competitors, as expected, dominated in athletics, where they took 17 out of a possible 29 gold medals (11 men, five women). However, it was much easier for them since they did not have the legendary Finn Pavo Nurmi as their rival. This champion, winner of nine Olympic gold medals, wanted to participate even at the age of 35, but according to the decision of the competent bodies of the IOC, in accordance with the strict amateur principles of the time, he was disqualified for life. Namely, it was established that in 1925, for 55 performances in halls across America, he charged more than 250 thousand dollars, which was fabulous money at the time.
The American Eddie Tolen won the 100 and 200 meter races, while his countryman Henry Carr set a new record in the 400 meters (46,2), which was broken only 16 years later.
Jim Thorpe, the hero of the Stockholm Games in 1912, appeared in Los Angeles, who was stripped of his gold medals in the modern pentathlon and decathlon by the IOC due to his professional practice of baseball. But what was a 45-year-old Native American doing in LA? He was engaged in journalism, reporting for some of the most influential American media.
As expected, the Americans won the most medals in Los Angeles (41 gold, 32 silver, 30 bronze), ahead of Italy (12 - 12 - 12), France (10 - 5 - 4), Sweden (9 - 5 - 9). .
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