For the first time since 1916, the organization of the Olympic Games was awarded to the only city that applied.
On May 18, 1978, the competition of the International Olympic Committee for the organization of the XXIII Games, which were held in 1984, received only the application of Los Angeles.
The main reason why the other candidates dropped out of the race was the heavy losses that rocked Montreal two years earlier.
If Montreal was an example of a financial failure, Los Angeles was a real hit - the organizers made an incredible $200 million, which placed those Games in first place as the most profitable in history.
While the Canadians squandered themselves by building new, too avant-garde and expensive facilities, the people of California proved how practical they were - they only "made up" the existing facilities, and the only two that were built (the Olympic Velodrome and the Swimming Stadium) were financed by large corporations "7 -Eleven" and "McDonalds".
The Americans led the boycott of the Moscow Olympics four years earlier. The USSR retaliated with the same measure - the world's largest country led the communist bloc, made up of 14 countries, which did not perform in LA.
The Soviets announced the decision on May 8, two months and 20 days before the opening of the Games, citing "chauvinistic sentiments and anti-Soviet hysteria". It is clear that it was only a rematch, which is proven by the fact that from July to September in nine countries (USSR, Bulgaria, Cuba, DR Germany, Poland, Mongolia, North Korea, Hungary and Czechoslovakia) Friendship games.
Of the countries that signed the Warsaw Pact, only athletes from Romania arrived in the United States, and they were second on the list of the most successful countries (behind the USA, of course).
For the first time in the history of the Games, the Chinese appeared on the battlefields. Until then, the most populous country in the world had boycotted all the world's biggest sports competitions, because athletes from Taiwan and other islands performed under the name of the Republic of China.
That country was created in 1912 and covered most of the territory of today's People's Republic of China, but members of the Kuomintang (Chinese National Party) retreated to the islands after the defeat in the civil war with the Communists.
Already at the debut, the Chinese proved that they are a superpower - they took fourth place in the list of the most successful countries with 15 gold, eight silver and nine bronze medals, and the first title of the Games went to Xu Haifeng, who triumphed in the air pistol shooting from 50 meters .
The first star of the OI was Karl Lewis. One of the best athletes of all time achieved what Jesse Owens did 48 years earlier in Berlin - first he triumphed in the most attractive discipline - 100 meters (9,99), then with a jump of 8,54 meters he reached gold in the long jump.
Lewis also broke the Olympic record in the final of the 200m race (19,80), and finally, together with his team mates Sam Grady, Ron Brown and Kelvin Smith, he set a world record in the 4x100m relay (37,83).
Sir Steve Redgrave, the greatest rower of all time, won the first of five gold medals at five consecutive Games - he was fastest in the coxed four.
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The organizers expected that the football tournament would be the least attended. However, they were mistaken - over 100 people watched individual matches at the "Rose Bowl". In the most attractive Olympic football tournament of all time, the French ascended to the throne, who defeated Yugoslavia (4:2) in the semi-finals after extra time, and then Brazil with 2:0, with goals from Brison and Ćereb.
The organizing committee earned an incredible 200 million dollars, but one of the biggest sponsors, "McDonalds", made a big mistake - the fast food leader organized a promotional campaign, in which all spectators with tickets for the gold medal of the Americans were rewarded with a "big mac", for silver it was French fries followed, and Coke for bronze.
Given that no athletes from the Eastern superpowers, led by Russia, took part in the Olympics, the USA athletes won 174 medals and caused "McDonald's" a multi-million dollar loss.
The authors of the famous animated series "The Simpsons" made a parody years later, as a response to that "Meka" action.
Yugoslav athletes shone in Los Angeles - they won seven gold and bronze medals, as well as four silver medals.
Five of the brightest awards arrived in Montenegro - the residents of the then Titograd welcomed the golden handball players, sisters Svetlana and Ljiljana Mugoša, and the citizens of Danilovgrad welcomed Zorica Pavićević.
One of the best handball players of all time, Veselin Vujović from Cetinje, reached the throne with his teammates after the victory over West Germany (18:17), while Milorad Krivokapić, who was born in Bijela, and Andrija Popović from Kotor formed the goalkeeper tandem of the golden water polo team.
"Hey Slovenians" was chanted for wrestlers Vlad Lisjak and Šaban Trstena, canoeists Mirko Nisović and Matija Ljubek (in the 500-meter race), as well as boxer Anto Josipović.
The way in which Josipović reached the gold in the light heavyweight category was, to say the least, scandalous - Yugoslav referee Gligorije Novičić disqualified Ivander Holyfield in the semi-finals, because he allegedly knocked out Kevin Beri from New Zealand after the fight was stopped. The Americans protested in vain, Novičić stood his ground and Josipović won the final without a fight, because Beri could not recover from the heavy knockout.
Silver went to boxer Redžep Redžepovski, Milan Janić in canoeing (his daughter Nataša won two gold medals under the Hungarian flag at the Olympic Games in Athens 2004), Nisović and Ljubek (thousand meters) and Refik Memišević in Greco-Roman style wrestling.
Boxers Mirko Puzović and Aziz Salihu, rowing tandem Zoran Pančić - Milorad Stanulov, Greco-Roman wrestlers Šaban Sejdiju and Jozef Tertei, as well as basketball and soccer players, for whom Ljubomir Radanović played all six games, climbed to the lowest step of the podium. .
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