In 1932, Los Angeles hosted the Olympic Games for the first time. It was a difficult time for the whole world - the height of the Great Depression. As a result, the number of participants was the lowest since 1904 - half the number at the 1928 Games.
Few tickets were sold for spectators. Then several movie stars, including Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, Marlene Dietrich and Mary Pickford offered to speak to the public in between competitions to increase the popularity of the event.
Competitions were held at the Colosseum Memorial. Male athletes were housed in a specially built Olympic Village. It covered 321 acres of land and consisted of 550 double bungalows. The village also housed a hospital, post office, library and many restaurants and cafes. The women were accommodated in a hotel in Chapman Park. In total, about 1300 athletes from 37 countries took part in the competition.
Vice President Charles Curtis opened the Olympics because President Herbert Hoover did not show up for the Games. In these games, the winners took to the podium for the first time with national flags in hand. Another innovation is the photo finish.
The political situation inevitably had to affect the Olympics. Japan, which recently occupied the Chinese province of Manchuria, tried to nominate an athlete from the state of Manchukuo, but the Olympic committee refused to participate. From China, the only athlete participated - Liu Changchun, who competed in the 200 m race. The Italian Luigi Beccali, who won the gold medal in the 1500 m race, went up the podium and greeted the audience with a fascist salute.
British fencer Judy Guinness demonstrated the truly Olympic spirit. She herself, giving up hopes for a gold medal, pointed out to the judges 2 unnoticed touches, which she received from her rival Ellen Price from Austria.
The opening of the Olympics was an athlete from Dallas, Mildred Didrickson, nicknamed "Babe". In those days, women were not allowed to participate in the pentathlon, but "Baby" easily won in javelin throwing, running with obstacles on 80 meters and high jumping. Subsequently, Mildred became a professional golfer and the US women's champion in the sport.
Most of the gold, silver and bronze medals were taken by the US athletes - 41, 32 and 30. The Italian team took the second place - 12 medals each. On the third - French: 10, 5 and 4 medals, respectively.
