1932 Los Angeles

Los Angeles 1932

Artistic Gymnastics

Athletics

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Argentina

France

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Italy

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United States

All-American and all-round star athlete Mildred "Babe" Didrikson picks up two gold medals at the Olympic Games Los Angeles 1932.

Mildred DIDRIKSON

Los Angeles 1932 | Olympic Games

Originals

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Mildred Didrikson Wins Gold in Los Angeles 1932

Eddie Tolan makes Olympic history by winning 100m gold at Los Angeles 1932 despite recording the same time as American rival Ralph Metcalfe.

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Tolan Wins Historic 100m Gold in Los Angeles 1932

“The time had truly come to bestow recognition upon the sporting youth of the United States for the effort they have made since Athens and for their ever\-brilliant and numerous contributions to Games past,” wrote Pierre de Coubertin in his Olympic Memoirs\. “It was for these three reasons that the

Los Angeles 1932: California welcomes the world

“All eyes turned again to the huge tunnel from which, two short weeks previously, had emerged the flower of the youth of forty nations come to celebrate the Games
of the Xth Olympiad on the shores of the Pacific,” the Official Report recalls\. “And, as the first martial notes sounded

Los Angeles leaves a legacy

Having failed to place highly in Amsterdam, the Hungarian gymnast hardly looked like a future Olympic champion\. But an upturn in Pelle&rsquo;s fortunes came two years later at the 1930 World Championships, where he won the gold medal in the horizontal bar\.

Gymnast Pelle takes double gold

Born on 26 June 1911 in Port Arthur \(Texas\) to Norwegian immigrants Hannah and Ole Didriksen \(which would later be changed to Didrikson\), Mildred Ella was the sixth of seven children\. She acquired the nickname &ldquo;Babe&rdquo; &ndash; a nod to one of the greatest baseball players in history, Babe Ruth

The legend of Babe Didrikson

The Dutch, who faced the most arduous journey, travelling by ship via the Panama Canal, even went to the innovative lengths of building a treadmill to keep their horses fit during their passage to the Games\.

Nishi springs a last day surprise

Born Gy&ouml;rgy Jekelfalussy\-Piller in the town of Egerin 1899, he joined Ludovica after deciding to embark on a military career, but what had begun as a sporting hobby soon grew into an all\-embracing passion\. After graduating from Ludovica, he became an army officer, and continued to pursue his interest in

Hungary’s Piller of strength shines in the fencing

Until that point, Edwards may rightfully have considered the 1932 Olympic Games to be his finest achievement in a boat\.

Jumbo rows to victory

&ldquo;They are a chairless nation,&rdquo; he told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper in March 1933\. &ldquo;To eat, to sit from their earliest days, they squat, with their legs under them\. Their legs are always flexible, always strong as steel\.&rdquo;

Teen tyro Kitamura strikes a blow for youth in the pool

Born in 1910 in the village of Yasberen, Gerevich was introduced to the art of fencing at a young age and, at 21, was selected for the team that won the sabre title at the 1931 European Championships\.

Fencing great Gerevich comes of age

The man at the centre of the dispute was Swedish rider Bertil Sandström who, despite finish\-ing second, was demoted to last place after it was ruled that he had unlawfully encouraged his horse during the contest by "clicking" at him\.

Lesage dazzles in the dressage

Faced with a 17\-day trip, the last five by rail, the Italian contingent ordered their gymnasts to run a lap around their train at each stop in order to prevent their muscles and joints seiz\-ing up\.

Indestructible Guglielmetti earns golden reward

By 1932 Italy’s prized performer was 29\-year\-old Romeo Neri, who had won the national championships in the parallel bars in 1926 before earning silver in the men's horizontal bar at the Amsterdam Games two years later\.

Neri raises the bar

Aged 15, Yasuji Miyazaki was the second youngest of a prodigiously talented troupe of Japanese swimmers to compete in Los Angeles\. Born in Kosai, Shizuoka Prefecture in 1916, he had shown his promise from a young age and it was little surprise when he was named in the team to

Record breaker Miyazaki makes a splash

The American freestyle swimmer spent much of her adolescence near Green Lake in Seattle, doing her best to avoid aquatic competition, paranoid that her inexpert diving would show her up in front of other more talented and graceful girls\.

Madison makes her mark in the pool

The pre\-eminent American middle\-distance runner of the time was “Blazin’ Ben” Eastman, a reigning 400m world record holder who had been described in the New York Times as ''the greatest quarter\- and half\-miler the world ever saw\.” It is fair to say that in sporting terms the pair were poles

Carr makes his name on the track

“This difficulty, however, was overcome by the splendid co\-operation of the fencers themselves,” the Official Report notes\. “One of the features of the fencing events was the entire lack of friction and of all conduct of an unsportsmanlike character\. While the hall resounded constantly with the voices of the contestants,

Piot leads French fencing charge

Born in Rosario, Argentina in 1911, Zabala was orphaned at an early age\. It was at the Marcos Paz children&rsquo;s home in Greater Buenos Aires that he met sports instructor Alexander Stirling, who eventually became his coach and manager\.

Zabala claims epic marathon triumph

According to the Official Report, the exceptionally high standard of performance was attributable to numerous factors, ranging from “the fine mental and physical condition of the athletes due to pleasant surroundings in the Olympic Village, the adequate training facilities, favourable weather conditions, excellent Track and Field facilities, and to the

Nambu leaps into the record books

The journalist claimed that Pavesi had with him on his handlebars &ldquo;a bowl of soup and a bucket of water\. In his bib that hung from his shoulders were a dozen bananas, cinnamon buns, jam, cheese sandwiches and spaghetti\.&rdquo; For good measure, the article continued, &ldquo;around his neck were two

Pavesi crowned king of the road

Long before coming to wider global attention at the Los Angeles Games, Texas\-born Didrikson had proved accomplished in a myriad of sports including running, swimming, diving, high\- jumping, baseball and basketball\.

Golden cyclone Didrikson takes LA by storm

The Australian cyclist had fallen ill on the eve of the Los Angeles Games and, as he fought to recover, it appeared doubtful that he would be in a fit state to participate at all, let alone mount a credible medal challenge\.

Cycling ace Gray swaps sickbed for podium

Just five\-foot\-four and weighing 145 pounds, Tolan wore round spectacles taped to the side of his head while running\. All things considered, he was a world away from the finely\-tuned physical specimens that have dominated the track in more recent times\.&nbsp;

Fast Eddie Tolan claims double sprint gold

Some 1,300 amateur athletes, representing 37 countries, had congregated in Los Angeles for what would prove to be, in the eyes of many, the most spectacular Olympic Games so far\.

The greatest show on earth

The financial hardship brought on by the Depression left grave doubts over whether the Los Angeles Games would even take place\. This was only the second time that the Games were due to be held outside of Europe, which in the days before transatlantic flights entailed travelling a vast distance

Los Angeles lifts the global gloom