1928 Summer Olympics

The 1928 Summer Olympics (Dutch: Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (Dutch: Spelen van de IXe Olympiade), was an international multi-sport event held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, from July 28 to August 12, 1928.

Amsterdam had wanted to host the Olympics in 1920 and 1924, but other cities hosted those years.

Only one other city, Los Angeles, wanted to host the 1928 Olympics, but Amsterdam was chosen. Later, Los Angeles would host the Olympics in 1932. The United States Olympic Committee looked at the costs and earnings from the 1928 Olympics and found they were very close.

The United States won the most gold medals and the most medals overall in these Games.

Bidding process

A Dutch nobleman named Frederik van Tuyll van Serooskerken suggested that Amsterdam host the Summer Olympic Games in 1912, before the Netherlands Olympic Committee was formed.

The Olympics in 1916 were canceled because of World War I. In 1919, the Netherlands Olympic Committee decided to support Antwerp to host the 1920 Summer Olympics. In 1921, Paris was chosen to host the 1924 Summer Olympics, and Amsterdam was chosen to host the 1928 Olympics. This decision was made by the International Olympic Committee on June 2, 1921.

Los Angeles tried to host the 1928 Olympics in 1922 and 1923 but wasn’t chosen. The city later hosted the 1932 Summer Olympics.^: p.915

Organization and Innovations

The 1928 Summer Olympics were the first to be led by Henri de Baillet-Latour. These games were also the first to be called the "Summer Olympic Games" to make them different from the Winter Olympic Games, which began in 1924. The games lasted sixteen days, a pattern that is still used today. Before this, Olympic events had taken place over many months. For the first time, the games were paid for completely by private donations, with no money from the government of the Netherlands. The company Coca-Cola became an official sponsor of the Olympic Games for the first time, and it is still one of the oldest sponsors of the Olympics.

Ceremonies and Traditions

For the first time ever, a symbolic fire was lit during the Olympics, starting a tradition that still continues today. The parade of nations began with Greece, the country where the Olympics began, and ended with the host country, Netherlands. This order has been kept ever since.

The Games were officially opened by Prince Hendrik, the husband of Queen Wilhelmina. The Queen could not attend because she was on holiday in Norway, so she asked her husband to do it instead. This was the second time a head of state did not personally open the Olympics. The Queen later returned to attend the closing ceremony and gave out the first prizes.

Athlete highlights

• Paavo Nurmi from Finland won his ninth gold medal in the 10,000 m race.
• Canadian athlete Percy Williams surprised everyone by winning both the 100 m and 200 m sprints.
• Crown Prince Olav, who later became King of Norway, won gold in the 6 meter sailing event.
• Pat O'Callaghan won the first ever medal for Ireland, taking gold in the hammer throw.
• Mikio Oda of Japan won the triple jump event, becoming the first gold medalist from an Asian country.
• Betty Robinson of the USA won the women's 100 metres in a world record time. She was only 16 years old at the time.
• Algerian-born marathon runner Boughera El Ouafi won a gold medal for France in the men's marathon.
• Johnny Weissmuller, who later appeared in Tarzan movies, won two gold medals in swimming: one in the men's 100 m freestyle, and one in the men's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay.
• Germany returned to the Olympic Games for the first time since 1912, after being banned from the 1920 and 1924 Games because of World War I.
• South American football made a strong showing, as Uruguay won again by defeating Argentina.
• India won its first ever gold medal in field hockey.

Sports

The 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam had 14 sports with 109 events. These sports included diving, swimming, water polo, athletics, boxing, cycling, equestrian, fencing, field hockey, football, gymnastics, modern pentathlon, rowing, sailing, weightlifting, and wrestling.

Women’s athletics and team gymnastics were new to the Olympics. Women could compete in five events: 100 meters, 800 meters, high jump, discus, and 400 meter hurdles. Halina Konopacka from Poland was the first woman to win an Olympic track and field gold medal. Tennis was not part of the Olympics then and did not return until 1968. The Games also had demonstration sports like kaatsen, korfball, and lacrosse, as well as art competitions, but these do not count toward official Olympic medals today.

Venues

Fourteen different places were used for the sports events during the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. Some of these places were torn down later. Others, like the Olympic Stadium, are still used today.

Because many people were expected to drive to the Olympics, Amsterdam made special parking spots and created a parking symbol — a white P on a blue background — that we still use today. Athletics events took place on a 400-meter track.

Athletics

Buiten-IJ

Olympic Stadium

Olympic Sports Park Swim Stadium

Sloten

Zeeburg

Zuiderzee

Map of the Amsterdam region with Olympic venues marked

The Krachtsportgebouw, Oude Stadion and Schermzaal were located next to the Olympic Stadium.

Amersfoort

Hilversum

Monnikenhuize

Sparta Stadion Het Kasteel

Amsterdam

Zuiderzee

Ringvaart

Map of the Netherlands with Olympic venues marked

Participating nations

A total of 46 nations took part in the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. Some countries, like Malta, Panama, and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), joined the Olympics for the very first time. Germany was also back after missing the games in 1920 and 1924.

Some nations that were in the 1924 Olympics in Paris did not come to Amsterdam in 1928. These included Brazil and Ecuador.

At that time, places like Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, and Ireland were part of the British Empire. Other areas, such as India and Rhodesia, were also linked to the British Empire but were not called dominions.

Number of athletes by National Olympic Committees

Medal count

These are the top ten countries that won medals at the 1928 Games.

Poster

The poster for the 1928 Summer Olympics showed a running man in a white shirt. It was made by an artist named Jos Rovers. The Olympic leaders could not use his design, so they used a different poster for a German book about the Olympics. This poster had the words "Olympische Spiele" and showed an athlete holding a peace leaf, with the Dutch flag partly covering him.

Last surviving competitor

The last person who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics was Carla Marangoni. She was on the silver medal-winning Italian gymnastics team. She was only twelve years old during the Olympics. She died in 2018 at the age of 102.