British actor and director Charlie Chaplin was part of the showbiz crowd during the opening ceremony

KEY FACTS

• Dates: July 30-August 14

• Participants: 1,332 (126 women)

• Participating nations: 37

• Disciplines: 14

• Events: 117

• Medals given out: 348

• IOC president: Henri de Baillet-Latour (Belgium)

• Games declared open by: Charles Curtis, vice-President of the US

• Olympic oath read by: George Calnan (fencing)

• Accredited journalists: 303

ANECDOTES

Banned

Finnish long distance runner Paavo Nurmi was banned for life on the eve of the Games for professionalism. He was judged to have accepted a percentage of gate receipts for previous events.

Illegal technique

American star Mildred “Babe” Didrikson, who finished tied for first in the high jump with compatriot Jean Shirley, was eventually ruled second for illegal technique. Didrikson used a motion in which her head cleared the bar first. There was consolation for the gifted athlete as she won gold in the 80m hurdles and the javelin.

List of champions

Four champions either past, present or future lined up for the 400m hurdles: American Morgan Taylor (1924), Britain’s David Burghley (1928), Ireland’s Robert Tisdall (1932) and American Glenn Hardin (1936).

Durability

Swedish wrestler Carl Westergren won his third Olympic title in Greco-Roman. His success in the super-heavyweight class in 1932 followed on the heels of light-heavyweight gold in 1924 and middleweight success in 1920.

Tarzan

Johnny Weissmuller was not the only Olympic champion to play the role of screen hero Tarzan. American Clarence “Buster” Crabbe who won the 400m freestyle race also went on to play the king of the jungle in 1933.

Official blunder

American Joseph McCluskey, who eventually came third behind Finland’s Volmari Iso-Hollo declined to re-run the race despite the fact the competitors ran one lap too many. McCluskey was second after the 3000m steeplechase was completed but eventually finished third after judges made a mistake and allowed an extra lap. Britain’s Thomas Evenson took advantage to win silver after the controversial “extra lap”.

EXPLOIT

Didrikson, first female star

Thirty-two years after the arrival of women in the Olympic arena, the first female star made a shining appearance.

American Mildred Didrikson won three medals — two gold and one silver — taking part in so many events that she easily became the star of Los Angeles. Thanks to her amazing versatility she would later be considered the most complete athlete of this century.

Aged 21 when arriving in California, the tall Texan of Norwegian origin had already established a winning reputation in athletics.

SUMMARY

Games to forget the depression

The 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles came at a time when the US and much of the world was still reeling from the ‘Wall Street Crash’ that marked the beginning of a global economic depression back in 1929.

But the Californians pulled out all the stops to ensure a successful event. They renovated and enlarged the Coliseum stadium into a 105,000-seater venue for the athletics and housed the athletes themselves in a temporary 700 bungalow village on a golf course with panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean.

They also laid on a no-holds-barred Hollywoodesque opening ceremony with 3,000 singers, dancers and musicians.

Stars of the day Charlie Chaplin and Gary Cooper were part of the showbiz crowd.

While professionalism became the order of the day in terms of organisation the competitors themselves were still strictly constrained to the amateur status and two great middle distance runners, Finland’s nine time gold medallist Paavo Nurmi and Frenchman Jules Ladoumegue were both blacklisted for having earned money from sport.

The records tumble

New records were set in 100m, 400m, 800m, the 400m hurdles, the 4x100 relay, the 4x400m, the triple-jump, the javelin and in all six women’s events.

Mildred “Babe” Didrikson emerged as the first great female Olympic star with wins in the 80m hurdles and the javelin and also a silver in the high-jump.

The Texan was to later make her name as a top women’s golfer too.

Home star Eddie Tolan lifted a splendid sprint double with an impressive 10.3 sec 100m sprint to go with his 200m gold.

Unsurprisingly the US ended atop the medals table again with 41 gold including 16 in athletics, four in the women’s pool events and a staggering 12 out of a possible 12 in diving.

Another noteworthy performance was that of the Japanese swimmers who left Los Angeles with five gold medals.