The XXIII Summer Olympic Games in 1984 were held in Los Angeles, California, USA, from July 28 to August 12. Los Angeles became the host city for the Summer Olympics for the second time since 1932.
Due to the boycott of the American team of the 1980 Olympic Games held in Moscow, the 1984 Summer Games were boycotted by the USSR and most of the socialist countries (except Romania, Yugoslavia and China). According to official information, the Soviet team was absent from the Los Angeles Olympics due to an unsatisfactory level of security.
Since the athletes of the GDR, the USSR and their allies did not take part in the games, the level of the Olympics dropped significantly. 125 world champions could not participate in the competition. A total of 140 countries participated in the 1984 Summer Olympics. The number of Olympic athletes is 6829 people (5263 men, 1566 women).
The first place in the overall medal standings of the XXIII Olympiad was taken by the US team, having received 174 medals, of which: 83 gold, 61 silver and 30 bronze. Romania came in second with 20 gold, 16 silver and 17 bronze medals; on the third - Germany: 17 gold medals, 19 silver and 23 bronze. China, Italy and Canada were in fourth, fifth and sixth positions, respectively.
11 world records were set at the Olympics. The American Carl Lewis distinguished himself, repeating the success of Jesse Owens, a participant in the 1936 Olympics. He became the winner in the 100 and 200 meter races, in the 4x100 meter relay and in the long jump. The latter is especially surprising since Olympians rarely participate in several different sports disciplines at once.
The three-time Olympic champion was Pertti Johannes Karppinen, an athlete from Finland who participated in rowing in singles races. In swimming, both among men and among women, almost all the awards went to the Americans, who were slightly ousted by the Canadian Bauman and the German Gross.
American athlete Jeff Blatnik became the Olympic champion in Greco-Roman wrestling. Several years before the competition, he was diagnosed with cancer. Despite the illness, the athlete continued his preparatory training for the Olympics and eventually won. During the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games, he carried the national flag.
