1928 - Amsterdam

The 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam, Netherlands May 17 - August 12, 1928 Mascot - none 46 countries, 3014 athletes (290 women) 14 sports (hockey added / tennis, polo, rugby & shooting dropped), 109 events Opening - Prince Hendrik of Mecklenburg Torch lit by - none Candidates: Los Angeles Amsterdam - burning brightly Amsterdam hosted the Olympic Games from May 17 to August 12, made possible thanks to public support as the Queen of the Netherlands Wilhelmine was against the event, considering it a "demonstration of paganism". For the first time the Olympic flame lit up the stadium night and day but Queen Wilhelmine refused to attend the opening ceremony. The 9th Olympiad in Amsterdam was noted not only for the appearance of the olympic flame, but for the appearance of women in athletics events (100m, 800m, 4x100m relay, the high jump and the discus) - despite recommendations to the contrary by Baron de Coubertin. Germany, enforced absentees during the Games in 1920 and 1924, made up part of the 3,000 athletes from 46 countries. Flying Finn Paavo Nurmi harvested more medals, Canada's Percy Williams surprised in the 100 and 200m and the Franco-Algerian Boughera El Ouafi won the marathon. Despite the addition of two countries since the Games of 1924, Amsterdam failed to produce a true Olympic star. They did, however, reconfirm the superiority of Paavo Nurmi, who won three medals, including a gold in the 10,000m. Nurmi failed to grab all gold - falling to compatriots Loukola in the 3000m steeple, and Ritola in the 5000m. American swimmer Johnny Weissmuller was another star of the Games - and added to his medal tally (five in total between 1924 and 1928) before heading for the bright lights of Hollywood and a career as Tarzan, Lord of the jungle in 1930. Young Canadian athlete, Percy Williams, was among a number of competitors to make an impression in Amsterdam - with victories in the 100m and 200m. The Finn, Harri Larva, successfully completed an epic duel with France's Jules Ladoumegue in the 1500m, while the historic success of little Mohammed Boughera El Ouafi in the marathon left a memorable impression. Originally from Algeria, he gave France an unanticipated gold medal and was the only African at that time to have won a medal in athletics. Pierre de Coubertin finally ended his connection with the Games. He played no part in the organization of the Amsterdam Olympiad. AMSTERDAM 1928 GOLD MEDAL WINNERS 87 Men, 14 Women, 8 Open Events 9 events added; 1 sport added - Hockey, Women's Athletics/Gymnastics introduced 4 sports removed (17) - Polo (1), Rugby (1), Shooting (10), Tennis (5) 9 more events removed (5 Athletics, 1 Cycling, 1 Diving, 2 Gymnastics) ATHLETICS, Men 100m: Percy Williams, Canada 200m: Percy Williams, Canada 400m: Ray Barbuti, USA 800m: Douglas Lowe, Great Britain 1500m: Harri Larva, Finland 5000m: Ville Ritola, Finland 10000m: Paavo Nurmi, Finland 110m Hurdles: Sid Atkinson, South Africa 400m Hurdles: David Burghley, Great Britain 4x100m: United States 4x400m: United States 3000m Steeplechase: Toivo Loukola, Finland Marathon: Boughera El Ouafi, France Decathlon: Paavo Yrjola, Finland Discus Throw: Bud Houser, USA Hammer Throw: Pat O'Callaghan, Ireland High Jump: Bob King, USA Javelin Throw: Erik Lundqvist, Sweden Long Jump: Ed Hamm, USA Pole Vault: Sabin Carr, USA Shot Put: John Kuck, USA Triple Jump: Mikio Oda, Japan ATHLETICS, Women (NEW) 100m: Betty Robinson, USA 800m: Lia Radke, Germany 4x100m: Canada Discus Throw: Halina Konopacka, Poland High Jump: Ethel Catherwood, Canada BOXING 50.8kg: Antal Kocsis, Hungary 53.5kg: Vittorio Tamagnini, Italy 57.2kg: Bep Van Klaveren, Netherlands 61.2kg: Carlo Orandi, Italy 66.7kg: Edward Morgan, New Zealand 72.6kg: Piero Toscani, Italy 79.4kg: Victor Avendano, Argentina 79.4kg+: Arturo Rodriguez Jurado, Argentina CYCLING, Men Road Race: Henry Hansen, Denmark Team Road Race: Denmark 1km Time Trial: Willy Falck Hansen, Denmark 2000m Tandem Sprint: Benard Leene/Daan van Dijk, NED Sprint: Roger Beaufrand, France Team Pursuit: Italy EQUESTRIAN, Open Ind. Dressage: Carl Friedrich Freiherr von Langen-Parow, GER Ind. Jumping: Frantisek Ventura, Yugoslavia Ind. 3-day Event: Charles Pahud de Mortanges, Netherlands Team Dressage: Germany Team Jumping: Spain Team 3-day Event: Netherlands FENCING M\Ind. Foil: Lucien Gaudin, France M\Ind. Epee: Lucien Gaudin, France M\Ind. Sabre: Odon Terstyanszky, Hungary M\Team Foil: Italy M\Team Epee: Italy M\Team Sabre: Hungary W\Ind. Foil: Helene Mayer, Germany FOOTBALL Team, men: Uruguay GYMNASTICS M\Horizontal Bar: Georges Miez, Switzerland M\Parallel Bars: Ladislav Vacha, Czechoslovakia M\Pommel Horse: Hermann Hanggi, Switzerland M\Rings: Leon Stukelj, Yugoslavia M\Vault: Eugen Mack, Switzerland M\Individual All-Around: Georges Miez, Switzerland M\Team: Switzerland W\Team: Netherlands HOCKEY (NEW) Team, men: India MODERN PENTATHLON Individual: Sven Thofelt, Sweden ROWING, Men Single Sculls: Henry Pearce, Australia Double Sculls: Charles McIlvaine/Paul Costello, USA Coxed Pair: Switzerland Coxless Pair: Bruno Muller/Kurt Moschter, Germany Coxed Four: Italy Coxless Four: Great Britain Eight: United States SAILING X\6m Class: Norway X\8m Class: France M\Finn: Sven Thorell, Sweden SWIMMING  M\100m Freestyle: Johnny Weissmuller, USA M\400m Freestyle: Alberto Zorrilla, Argentina M\1500m Freestyle: Arne Borg, Sweden M\100m Backstroke: George Kojac, USA M\200m Breaststroke: Yoshiyuki Tsuruta, Japan M\4x200m Freestyle Relay: United States M\3m Springboard: Pete Desjardins, USA M\10m Platform: Pete Desjardins, USA M\WATER POLO: Germany W\100m Freestyle: Albina Osipowich, USA W\400m Freestyle: Martha Norelius, USA W\100m Backstroke: Marie Braun, Netherlands W\200m Breaststroke: Hidle Schrader, Germany W\4x100m Freestyle Relay: United States W\3m Springboard: Helen Meany, USA W\10m Platform: Elizabeth Becker, USA WEIGHTLIFTING 60kg: Franz Andrysek, Austria 67.5kg: Kurt Helbig, GER & Hans Haas, AUT (tie) 75kg: Roger Francois, France 82.5kg: Sayed Nosseir, Egypt 82.5kg+: Josef Strassberger, Germany WRESTLING, FREESTYLE 56kg: Kaarlo Edvin Makinen, Finland 61kg: allie Roy Morrison, USA 66kg: Oswald Kapp, Estonia 72kg: Arvo Haavisto, Finland 79kg: Ernst Kyburz, Switzerland 87kg: Thure Sjoested, Sweden 87kg+: Johan Cornelis Richthoff, Sweden WRESTLING, GRECO-ROMAN  58kg: Kurt Leucht, Germany 62kg: Voldemar Vali, Estonia 67.5kg: Lajos Keresztes, Hungary 75kg: Valno Anselmi Kokkinen, Finland 82.5kg: Ibrahim Moustafa, Egypt 82.5kg+: Rudolf Svensson, Sweden