The1928 Summer Olympics (Dutch:Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially theGames of the IX Olympiad (Dutch:Spelen van de IXe Olympiade), was an internationalmulti-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 inAmsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for the 1920 and 1924Olympic Games. Still, it was obliged to give way to war-tornAntwerp inBelgium for the1920 Games andPierre de Coubertin'sParis for the1924 Games.
The only other candidate city for the 1928 Olympics wasLos Angeles, which would eventually be selected to host the Olympics four years later. In preparation for the1932 Summer Olympics, theUnited States Olympic Committee reviewed the costs and revenue of the 1928 Games. The committee reported a total cost ofUS$1.183 million with receipts of US$1.165 million, giving a negligible loss of US$18,000, which was a considerable improvement over the 1924 Games.[2]
The United States won the most gold and medals overall.
The Olympic Games were canceled in 1916 due toWorld War I. In 1919, the Netherlands Olympic Committee abandoned the proposal of Amsterdam in favor of their support for the nomination ofAntwerp as host city for the1920 Summer Olympics. In 1921,Paris was selected for the1924 Summer Olympics on the condition that the 1928 Summer Olympics would be organized in Amsterdam. This decision, supported by the Netherlands Olympic Committee, was announced by theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) on 2 June 1921.
Los Angeles' bid for the 1928 Summer Olympics was unsuccessful in 1922 and again in 1923.[3] The city was eventually selected as host city for the1932 Summer Olympics, being the only bidder for that year.[4]: p.915
These Games were the first to bear the name "Summer Olympic Games", to distinguish them from theWinter Olympic Games (held since 1924).
These Games were the first to feature a fixed schedule of sixteen days, which is still followed since 1984. In previous Olympics, competition had been stretched out over several months.
The events were entirely funded through private donations with the government of the host nation providing no financial support for the first time.[5]
The American companyCoca-Cola made its first appearance as an official sponsor of the Olympic Games, remaining the oldest Olympic sponsor to this day.[6]
A symbolic fire was lit for the first time during the Olympics, a tradition that continues today.[7] The firstOlympic flame and torch relay, however, would not take place until the1936 Summer Olympics.
For the first time, the parade of nations started withGreece, which holds the origins of the Olympics, and ended with the host country, a tradition that has continued ever since.
The Games were officially opened byPrince Hendrik, consort ofQueen Wilhelmina, who had authorized her husband to deputize for her.[4]: p.294 The Queen was unable to attend the opening ceremony as she was on holiday inNorway and did not want to disrupt her trip.[8] This was the second time a head of state had not personally officiated at anOlympic opening ceremony (the first occasion being the1904 Games inSt. Louis,Missouri, which were officially opened byDavid R. Francis, the Mayor of St. Louis). The Queen had initially refused to appear at either the opening or closing ceremony; it is thought that she objected to the Netherlands hosting the 1928 Games as she considered the Olympics a demonstration of paganism.[9] However, she returned from Norway before the conclusion of the Games, to be present at the closing ceremony,[10] and she presented the first prizes at the prize distribution which was held immediately beforehand.[4]: p.913
Germany returned to the Olympic Games for the first time since 1912, after being banned from the 1920 and 1924 Games due to its role inWorld War I. The German team immediately finished second in the 1928 medal count.
During the 1928 Summer Olympics, there were 14 sports, 20 disciplines and 109 events in the tournament. In parentheses is the number of events per discipline.[4]: pp.973–985
Women'sathletics and teamgymnastics debuted at these Olympics,[13] in spite of criticism. Five women's athletics events were added: 100 meters, 800 meters, high jump, discus, and 400 meter hurdles. In protest of the limited number of events, British women athletes, boycotted the Games.[14]Halina Konopacka ofPoland became the first female Olympic track and field champion. Reports that the 800 meter run ended with several of the competitors being completely exhausted were widely (and erroneously) circulated. As a result, the IOC decided that women were too frail for long-distance running, and women's Olympic running events were limited to 200 meters until the 1960s.[15]
These Games also includedart competitions in five categories: architecture, painting, sculpture, literature, and music.[5] However, the IOC no longer considers these to be official medal events, so the medals awarded are not included in today's Olympic medal counts.[17]
Fourteen sports venues were used for the 1928 Summer Olympics. The Swim Stadium was demolished in 1929.[4]: p.193 The Het Kasteel football stadium was renovated in 1998–99. The Monnikenhuize stadium was demolished in 1950. The Schermzaal sports hall has also been demolished. The Olympic Stadium was renovated between 1996 and 2000, and is still in use. The Old Stadion was demolished in 1929 and replaced with housing in the Amsterdam area.
Many cars were expected for the Games, but Amsterdam had at most 2,000 single-car parking spaces. Consequently, several new parking sites were provided, and a special parking symbol was launched to show foreign visitors where they could park. The white P on a blue background was to become the international traffic sign for parking, and is still used today.[18][19]Athletics events were held on a 400-meter track, later becoming the standard for athletics tracks.
A total of 46 nations were represented at the Amsterdam Games.Malta,Panama, andRhodesia (nowZimbabwe) competed at the Olympic Games for the first time. Germany returned after having been banned in 1920 and 1924.[23]
The nations that participated in the previous games in Paris 1924 but were absent in Amsterdam 1928 wereBrazil andEcuador.
The official poster for the Games displaying a running man in a white shirt was designed by Jos Rovers however the IOC never succeeded in obtaining the copyright of the image. The IOC used a different poster, with theGerman textOlympische Spiele, and an athlete partly covered in theDutch national flag, holding a peace leaf in his hand. The poster was made for a German book about the Amsterdam Olympics.[24]
The last living competitor of the 1928 Summer Olympics wasCarla Marangoni, a member of the silver medal-winningItalian gymnastic team who had been twelve years old during the Olympics. Marangoni died 18 January 2018, at the age of 102 as the oldest living Olympic medalist at the time of her death.[25]
^abStanton, Richard (2000).The forgotten Olympic art competitions: the story of the Olympic art competitions of the 20th century. Victoria: Trafford.ISBN978-1-55212-606-6.
^Hargreaves, Jennifer (2007). O'Reilly, Jean; Cahn, Susan (eds.).Olympic Women. Boston: Northeastern University Press. p. 8.ISBN978-1-55553-671-8.{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)
