1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics

Athletics at the 1932 Olympics
information
venue	Memorial Coliseum
Competition venue	los Angeles
date	July 31 to August 7, 1932
decisions	29 (23 , 6 )
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At the X. Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1932 , 29 competitions were held in athletics .

Olympic Games 1932 (athletics medal table)
space	team				Total
1	United States	16	13	6th	35
2	Finland	3	4th	4th	11
3	Great Britain	2	4th	2	8th
4th	Poland	2	-	1	3
5	Irish Free State	2	-	-	2
6th	Canada	1	3	5	9
7th	Japan	1	1	2	4th
8th	Italy	1	-	2	3
9	Argentina	1	-	-	1
10	German Empire	-	2	3	5
11	Latvia	-	1	-	1
	Sweden	-	1	-	1
13	France	-	-	1	1
	Philippines	-	-	1	1
	South African Union	-	-	1	1
	Czechoslovakia	-	-	1	1

Stadion

The Memorial Coliseum , built in 1921 and opened in 1923, served and serves v. a. hosting American football games. It holds more than 90,000 spectators and has a 400-meter circular track, which offers the athletes optimal conditions. In 1932 it was a cinder track, which was later replaced by a plastic track for the Olympic Games in 1984 . All facilities for athletics offered the athletes optimal conditions, which then led to a real explosion in performance.

Competitions

Walking (sport) has been resumed in the competition for men . The route length was now fifty kilometers for the first time. Compared to today, the only thing missing from the Olympic program was the 20 km walk . For women, the only middle distance , the 800-meter run, was canceled because the route was supposedly too long and not suitable for women. The 80-meter hurdles and the javelin were new to the program . With the 100 meters , the 80 meter hurdles and the 4 x 100 meter relay there were three running disciplines, with the high jump a jumping competition and the discus throw and javelin throw two throwing disciplines. With now six competitions, the number of women was still very reduced compared to that of men. It then grew slowly and successively in the decades to come, until it was the same as that of men, apart from small differences.

Sporting successes

These games went down as record-breaking games in athletics. There were a total of seventeen world records in thirteen disciplines . Fourteen Olympic records were set in another thirteen disciplines . The previous Olympic records remained in place in just three competitions.
The overwhelming nation was the host country USA with sixteen gold medals alone. The gap to Finland , which was able to get closer in the two previous games, was now huge, with the Finns taking three Olympic victories. There were still three nations with two gold medals each: Great Britain , Poland and Ireland . As four years ago, the athletes did not have the outstanding athletes that we had seen at previous games. In many disciplines, outstanding performances were achieved for the conditions at the time, but the medals were distributed among the individual athletes. The most successful men were:

• Eddie Tolan , USA - 2 gold medals: 100 meters , 200 meters
• Bill Carr , USA - 2 times gold: 400 meters , 4 times 400 meters relay
• Chūhei Nambu , Japan - 1 time gold: triple jump / 1 time bronze: long jump .

The most successful women were:

• Mildred Didrikson , USA - 2 times gold: 80 meter hurdles , javelin throw / 1 time silver: high jump
• Wilhelmina von Bremen , USA - 1 gold: 4 x 100 meter relay / 1 bronze: 100 meters .

The successful combination of such different disciplines as hurdles , javelin and high jump would no longer exist today in the world class - except in all-around competitions. But Mildred Didrikson was so versatile that she was able to achieve medals and victories with it in the early years of women's athletics. After these games she turned her back on athletics and became a very successful golfer after her marriage under the name Zaharias.

Results men

100 m

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 100 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Eddie Tolan	United States	10.3 WRe
2	Ralph Metcalfe	United States	10.3 WRe
3	Arthur Jonath	GER	10.4
4th	George Simpson	United States	10.5
5	Daniel Joubert	RSA	10.6
6th	Takayoshi Yoshioka	JPN	10.7

Final: August 1st

Olympic champion was Eddie Tolan, the 'Midnight Express', as his nickname was. Whether Tolan was really ahead of Ralph Metcalfe at the finish, at least not even from the finish photo. The times resulting from the electronic time measurement were also 10.38 s for both sprinters . The judges chose Tolan without realizing why. And this is the official result to this day: gold for Tolan, silver for the Metcalfe at the same time, both with 10.3 s, which meant a new Olympic record and at the same time the world record was set . The bronze medal was won by the German champion Arthur Jonath with 10.4 seconds.

200 m

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 200 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Eddie Tolan	United States	21.2 OR
2	George Simpson	United States	21.4
3	Ralph Metcalfe	United States	21.5
4th	Arthur Jonath	GER	21.5
5	Carlos Bianchi	ARG	21.6
6th	William Walters	RSA	21.9

Final: August 3rd

As in the 100-meter run , it was not exactly happy for Ralph Metcalfe over the 200 meters . After the race it turned out that he had been assigned the wrong expiry mark, so that his route was about 1.5 meters longer than that of the other runners. Eddie Tolan also won this competition after the 100 meters and became a double Olympic champion in the sprint . Metcalfe decided not to repeat the run. He said he could have been more careful and accepted the result with bronze for him and silver for George Simpson. The US-Americans won all three medals, the German Arthur Jonath came fourth after his third place in the 100 m.

400 m

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 400 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Bill Carr	United States	46.2 WR
2	Ben Eastman	United States	46.4
3	Alex Wilson	CAN	47.4
4th	William Walters	RSA	48.2
5	James Gordon	United States	48.2
6th	George Golding	OUT	48.8

Final: August 5th

The two Americans Bill Carr and Ben Eastman fought for the gold medal among themselves. By early July was Eastman, who's with 46.4 over 440  yards the pre-existing 400-meters - a world record s had significantly undercut by 47.0, the clear favorite. But on July 2, 1932, he was beaten by the hitherto little known Bill Carr and so the outcome of this race was open again. After 300 meters Eastman was ahead by a tenth of a second. In the end, Carr had the better reserves and won the gold medal with a two-tenths advantage with a new world record. Third was Canadian Alex Wilson, who had already won silver over 800 meters three days earlier, one second behind Eastman .

800 m

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 800 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Tommy Hampson	GBR	1: 49.7 WR
2	Alex Wilson	CAN	1: 49.9
3	Phil Edwards	CAN	1: 51.5
4th	Edwin Genung	United States	1: 51.7
5	Edwin Turner	United States	1: 52.5
6th	Charles Hornbostel	United States	1: 52.7
7th	John Powell	GBR	1: 53.1
8th	Séra Martin	FRA	1: 53.6

Final: August 2nd

The 800-meter run became a race with historic dimensions. For the first time the limit of 1:50 min was undercut. The Canadian Phil Edwards, who won the Olympic Games in 1928 , ran from the front at high speed using his usual tactics and was even able to pull away from the field with a 400 meter run time of 52.4 s. But he had to pay tribute to this hellish pace and at that moment the Briton Thomas Hampson accelerated. Edward's compatriot Alex Wilson followed in Hampson's slipstream and the two of them easily passed Edwards. Hampson won the sprint on the home straight and became Olympic champion with a new world record time of 1: 49.7 minutes ahead of Wilson, who with 1: 49.9 minutes also remained below the 1: 50-minute mark. The IAAF recognized world record improvements at that time only in the fifth of a second range and so Hampson's world record was officially 1: 49.8 min.

1500 m

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 1500 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Luigi Beccali	ITA	3: 51.2 OR
2	Jerry Cornes	GBR	3: 52.6
3	Phil Edwards	CAN	3: 52.8
4th	Glenn Cunningham	United States	3: 53.4
5	Eric Ny	SWE	3: 54.6
6th	Norwood Hallowell	United States	3: 55.0
7th	Jack Lovelock	NZL	3: 57.8
8th	Frank Crowley	United States	3: 58.1

Final: August 4th

There were several favorites for this race. Above all, the New Zealander Jack Lovelock, the American Glenn Cunningham and the world's best of the year Luigi Beccali from Italy awaited the experts at the front. The first round was led by Lovelock and the second by Cunningham. But even before the 800-meter mark, it was too slow for the Canadian 800-meter Olympic third party Phil Edwards. He now set the pace with split times of 2: 04.5 min for 800 meters and 3: 07.0 min for 1200 meters. Only Cunningham followed. At the beginning of the last lap, the two had worked out a lead of about twenty meters over Beccali and the Briton Jerry Cornes, everyone else was even further behind. On the exit of the last corner, Edwards was still ahead of Cunningham, but Beccali and Cornes had caught up. At the start of the home stretch, Beccali easily passed the exhausted Edwards and Cunningham and became Olympic champion with a new Olympic record . Cornes finished second, not far behind Edwards won his second bronze medal. The time of Cunningham - here in fourth place - and Lovelock - here seventh - should come four years later in Berlin .

5000 m

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 5000 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Lauri Lehtinen	FIN	14: 30.0 OR
2	Ralph Hill	United States	14: 30.0 OR
3	Lauri Virtanen	FIN	14: 44.0
4th	John Savidan	NZL	14: 49.6
5	Jean-Gunnar Lindgren	SWE	14: 54.7
6th	Max Syring	GER	14: 59.0
7th	Alec Burns	GBR	15: 04.4
8th	Daniel Dean	United States	15: 08.5

Final: August 5th

This race left the winner Lauri Lehtinen a little lacking in sportiness and Olympic spirit. Together with his Finnish compatriot Lauri Virtanen, he was seen as a favorite for this competition. As expected, the two Finns set the pace right from the start, runner after runner from the rest of the field gradually fell behind. Halfway through the course, only John Savidan, Jean-Gunnar Lindgren and Ralph Hill could follow. After Savidan and Lindgren lost touch, it was surprisingly too fast for Virtanen too. Only the American could not be shaken off and was cheered on loudly by the audience. On the home straight, Hill tried to overtake twice. At first he wanted to pass to the left, but Lehtinen at the same time pulled to the left and blocked his way. Then the same scene played out on the right. Both runners reached the finish line with an Olympic record at the same time , but Lehtinen had a tiny lead. He was booed by the audience for his unfair behavior. But the announcer was able to calm the situation down again. The referees discussed the question of disqualification of the Finn for a long time. Despite his clearly illegal behavior, he was awarded the gold medal.
The award ceremony did not take place until the following day. Obviously the Finnish team management had given their runner instructions, because Lehtinen wanted to take Hill with him to the top step of the podium. This, however, refused, pointing out that he saw the displacement as unintentional. Lehtinen then stuck the Finnish team pin on his opponent and Hill reciprocated with the same gesture. The audience cheered at this reconciling sportiness.

10,000 m

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 10,000 m (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Janusz Kusociński	POLE	30: 11.4 OR
2	Volmari Iso-Hollo	FIN	30: 12.6
3	Lauri Virtanen	FIN	30: 35.0
4th	John Savidan	NZL	31: 09.0
5	Max Syring	GER	31: 35.0
6th	Jean-Gunnar Lindgren	SWE	31: 37.0
7th	Juan Morales	MEX	32: 03.0
8th	Clifford Bricker	CAN	k. A.

Date: July 31

In June of the Olympic year, the Pole Janusz Kusociński had improved Paavo Nurmi's world record over 3000 meters with 8: 18.8 minutes , making himself one of the favorites for the long distances of these games. For many years there had been a great dominance of runners from Finland at these distances, which was now in danger. Pretty soon after the start, the two Finns Volmari Iso-Hollo and Lauri Virtanen, together with Kusociński, pulled away from the rest of the field at high speed. Like later over 5000 meters , Virtanen had to tear down before the actual final phase, but had no problems securing the bronze medal. In the finish curve, Kusociński decided the race for himself with a determined start and improved Nurmi's Olympic record by more than seven seconds with 30: 11.4 minutes .

marathon

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - marathon (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (h)
1	Juan Carlos Zabala	ARG	2:31:36 OR
2	Sam Ferris	GBR	2:31:55
3	Armas Toivonen	FIN	2:32:12
4th	Dunky Wright	GBR	2:32:41
5	Seiichiro Tsuda	JPN	2:35:42
6th	Onbai Kin (Kim Un-bae)	JPN	2:37:28
7th	Albert Michelsen	United States	2:39:38
8th	Oskar Hekš	TCH	2:41:35

Date: August 7th

As early as 1931, the then 19-year-old Argentine Juan Carlos Zabala made people sit up and take notice with a time of 2:33:19 h in his first marathon . However, the top favorite was the Brit Sam Ferris, who had the experience of two Olympic participations and also had very successful appearances in recent years. Halfway through the course, Zabala, who always ran in the lead group from the start, was ahead of the two Finns Armas Toivonen and Lauri Virtanen . Virtanen had won bronze over 5000 meters and 10,000 meters respectively. At thirty kilometers, Virtanen, who was completely inexperienced in marathon matters, passed Zabala. But a few kilometers further the Finn was at the end of his strength and had to give up. In the meantime the runners behind Zabala had made up a lot of time. Especially Ferris came closer and closer at the end. But the Argentine was able to save a nineteen seconds lead at the finish and became Olympic champion at the age of twenty. Behind Ferris, Toivonen ran for the bronze medal ahead of the British Dunky Wright and the Japanese Seiichiro Tsuda.

110 m hurdles

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 110 m hurdles (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (s)
1	George Saling	United States	14.6
2	Percy Beard	United States	14.7
3	Don Finlay	GBR	14.8
4th	Jack Keller	United States	14.8
5	Lord Burghley	GBR	14.8
	Willi Welscher	GER	DSQ

Final: August 3rd

This competition was short and exciting. After a very good start, Jack Keller took the lead, which he lost to Percy Beard at hurdle five. This collided with the sixth hurdle, George Saling passed him and became Olympic champion. The three US flags were hoisted at the award ceremony, and Keller was initially seen in third place. The exact evaluation of the target photo then showed that the Briton Donald Finlay was in front of Keller. The result was officially corrected accordingly and Finlay received the bronze medal.

400 m hurdles

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 400 m hurdles (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Bob Tisdall	IRL	51.7
2	Glenn Hardin	United States	51.9 WR
3	Morgan Taylor	United States	52.0
4th	Lord Burghley	GBR	52.2
5	Luigi Facelli	ITA	53.0
6th	Kell Areskoug	SWE	54.6

Final: August 1st

On this route there was a newcomer as an Olympic champion. Robert Tisdall had written to the President of the Irish Athletics Federation in April of the Olympic year to apply for participation in the Olympics, although he had never run in this discipline. For the fulfillment of his wish he was made the condition to become Irish champion and to achieve the time of 55.0 s. Irish champion was Tisdall with 56.2 s and reached the qualification edition in another race with 54.2 s.
In the final, the Irishman was ahead at high speed from the start. When he broke the last hurdle, Glenn Hardin came up dangerous again, but could no longer prevent Tisdall's Olympic victory. Morgan F. Taylor, 1924 Olympic Champion , won the bronze medal and Lord Burghley, 1928 Olympic Champion , finished fourth.
Since Tisdall had broken a hurdle, his time was not recognized as a world record according to the rules of the time . Curiously, the world record holder was silver medalist Glenn Hardin.

3000 m obstacle

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 3000 m obstacle (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (min)
1	Volmari Iso-Hollo	FIN	10: 33.4
2	Tom Evenson	GBR	10: 46.0
3	Joe McCluskey	United States	10: 46.2
4th	Martti Matilainen	FIN	10: 52.4
5	George Bailey	GBR	10: 53.2
6th	Glen Dawson	United States	10: 58.0
7th	Giuseppe Lippi	ITA	11: 04.0
8th	Walter Pritchard	United States	11: 04.5

Final: August 6th,
actual route length 3460 meters

In the first run, Tom Evenson improved the Olympic record to 9: 18.8 minutes. Volmari Iso-Hollo won the second run with 9: 14.6 minutes, and with Joe McCluskey, Glen Dawson and George Bailey, three other runners remained under the Evenson brand. In the final, Iso-Hollo took the lead in the second lap and steadily expanded his lead. Due to an error in the lap counter, the runners had to complete an additional 460 meters. Iso-Hollo had passed the regular 3000 meter mark in 9: 08.4 minutes. On the additional lap, Evenson overtook McCluskey, who was still silver after 3000 meters. McCluskey was offered a re-race, but he turned it down.

4 × 100 m relay

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 4 × 100 m (men)

space	country	Athletes	Time (s)
1	United States	Bob Kiesel Emmett Toppino Hector Dyer Frank Wykoff	40.0 WR
2	German Empire	Helmut Körnig Friedrich Hendrix Erich Borchmeyer Arthur Jonath	40.9
3	Italy	Giuseppe Castelli Ruggero Maregatti Gabriele Salviati Edgardo Toetti	41.2
4th	Canada	Percy Williams James Brown Harold Wright Birchall Pearson	41.3
5	Japan	Takayoshi Yoshioka Chūhei Nambu Izuo Anno Itaro Nakajima	41.3
6th	Great Britain	Don Finlay Stanley Fuller Stanley Engelhart Ernest Page	41.4

Final: August 7th

The US season could afford not to use three of their best sprinters this season. Missing were the double Olympic gold medalists over 100 and 200 meters, Eddie Tolan , Ralph Metcalfe , Olympic runner-up over 100 meters and Olympic knight over 200 meters , as well as George Simpson , Olympic medalist over 100 meters and bronze medalist over 200 meters . Nevertheless, the four runners from the USA won the race by almost a second and also set a new world record with 40.0 seconds . The seats behind it were much tighter. Germany took silver with 40.9 s ahead of Italy - 41.2 s, Canada - 41.3 s and Japan - 41.3 s.

4 × 400 m relay

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 4 × 400 m (men)

space	country	Athletes	Time (min)
1	United States	Ivan Fuqua Edgar Ablowich Karl Warner Bill Carr	3: 08.2 WR
2	Great Britain	Crew Stoneley Tommy Hampson Lord Burghley Godfrey Rampling	3: 11.2
3	Canada	Ray Lewis James Ball Phil Edwards Alex Wilson	3: 12.8
4th	German Empire	Joachim Büchner Walter Nehb Adolf Metzner Otto Peltzer	3: 14.4
5	Japan	Itaro Nakajima Iwao Masuda Seikan Oki Teiichi Nishi	3: 14.6
6th	Italy	Giacomo Carlini Giovanni Turba Mario De Negri Luigi Facelli	3: 17.8

Final: August 7th

The United States did not start with the best line -up even over 4 x 400 meters . However, they 'only' did without the 400-meter Olympic runner-up Ben Eastman and, like over 4 x 100 meters, could not be conquered. With 3: 08.2 min they improved the world record that had existed up to these games by more than four seconds. The British relay took second place ahead of Canada, Germany came fourth.

50 km of walking

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 50 km walk (men)

space	athlete	country	Time (h)
1	Tommy Green	GBR	4:50:10 OR
2	Jānis Daliņš	LAT	4:57:20
3	Ugo Frigerio	ITA	4:59:06
4th	Karl Hähnel	GER	5:06:06
5	Ettore Rivolta	ITA	5:07:39
6th	Paul Sievert	GER	5:16:41
7th	Henri Quintric	FRA	5:27:25
8th	Ernest Crosbie	United States	5:28:02

Date: August 3

In the brooding midday heat, the walkers were sent to the new Olympic distance of fifty kilometers. Everyone suffered a lot from the hardships and many athletes had to give up. The 39-year-old Brit Thomas Green became Olympic champion. Jānis Daliņš reached the finish line a good seven minutes behind, thus winning the first ever medal for Latvia. Bronze went to Ugo Frigerio from Italy, who dominated the walking distances at the Olympic Games in 1920 and 1924 . In 1928 , walking was temporarily removed from the Olympic program.

high jump

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - high jump (men)

space	athlete	country	Height (m)
1	Duncan McNaughton	CAN	1.97
2	Bob Van Osdel	United States	1.97
3	Simeon Toribio	PHI	1.97
4th	Cornelius Johnson	United States	1.97
5	Ilmari Reinikka	FIN	1.94
6th	Kazuo Kimura	JPN	1.94
7th	Misao Ono	JPN	1.90
	Jerzy Pławczyk	POLE	1.90

Date: July 31

The fight for the medals in this competition was very exciting, which was also due to the fact that there were still no multiple or failed attempts. With Duncan McNaughton, Bob Van Osdel and Simeon Toribio, three jumpers had mastered 1.97 m and failed at the next jump height. So there was a jump-off that began, as usual, at the height that the jumpers involved in the jump-off had no longer managed. Even now none of the three succeeded. Now the jump-off was continued at 1.99 m. When no one could skip this height either, the failed attempt rule that was actually not yet valid was used. McNaughton, who was the first to cross the victory height of 1.97 m, was declared Olympic champion, Van Osdel received the silver and Toribio the bronze medal.
The high jump was one of the three competitions in which the Olympic record was not reached.

Pole vault

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - pole vault (men)

space	athlete	country	Height (m)
1	Bill Miller	United States	4,315 OR
2	Shuhei Nishida	JPN	4,300
3	George Jefferson	United States	4,200
4th	William Graber	United States	4.150
5	Shizuo Mochizuki	JPN	4,000
6th	Lúcio de Castro	BRA	3,900
7th	Petros Chlentzos	GRC	3,750
	Carlos Nelli	BRA	ogV

Date: August 3

The only favorites for the pole vault were the US athletes, above all William Graber, who had won his country's Olympic qualification with the world record height of 4.37 m. Second there was William Miller with 4.31 m. But things didn't look too good for Graber, Miller, and George Jefferson, the third US jumper, as the competition progressed. At 4.15 m, Graber and Miller each needed three attempts, Graber was eliminated at the next height of 4.20 m, and Jefferson, who won bronze with this 4.20 m, finished at 4.25 m. The Japanese Shūhei Nishida increased significantly and became a great opponent for Miller in the fight for the gold medal. Both Nishida and Miller jumped the next four feet. Only at 4.32 m, which Miller mastered, the Japanese had to pass. At the world record height of 4.38 m, which Miller had now set up, he failed three times. His skipped 4.32 m turned out to be 4.315 m when measuring.

Long jump

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - long jump (men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Ed Gordon	United States	7.64
2	Lambert Redd	United States	7.60
3	Chuhei Nambu	JPN	7.45
4th	Eric Svensson	SWE	7.41
5	Dick Barber	United States	7.39
6th	Naoto Tajima	JPN	7.15
7th	Héctor Berra	ARG	6.66
8th	Clóvis Raposo	BRA	6.43

Date: August 2nd

In contrast to most other competitions, the long jump was a little lacking in class. The Japanese Chūhei Nambu held the world record with almost eight meters - exactly 7.98 m. But he had to be content with 7.45 m, which was enough for a bronze medal. Two US jumpers lay in front of him. Ed Gordon became Olympic champion with a rather meager 7,64 m. In second place came four centimeters behind Lambert Redd. Robert LeGendre's Olympic record , which he had set in 1924 as part of his pentathlon with 7.765 m, was not in danger.

Triple jump

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Triple Jump (Men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Chuhei Nambu	JPN	15.72 WR
2	Eric Svensson	SWE	15.32
3	Kenkichi Ōshima	JPN	15.12
4th	Eamonn Fitzgerald	IRL	15.01
5	Willem Peters	NED	14.93
6th	Sol Furth	United States	14.88
7th	Sidney Bowman	United States	14.87
8th	Rolland Romero	United States	14.85

Date: August 4th

In the triple jump , Chūhei Nambu, whom his weak long jump performance had taken off, made up for everything. His compatriot Mikio Oda , the world record holder and Olympic champion of 1928 , was the real favorite . But Oda was far below his means due to an injury. Nambu set a new world record with 15.72 m and thus became Olympic champion. Thirty centimeters behind, the Swede Eric Svensson took silver and with Kenkichi Ōshima another Japanese came third with 15.12 m.

Shot put

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Shot Put (Men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Leo Sexton	United States	16.005 OR
2	Harlow Rothert	United States	15.675
3	František Douda	TCH	15.610
4th	Emil Hirschfeld	GER	15,560
5	Nelson Gray	United States	15,460
6th	Hans-Heinrich Sievert	GER	15.070
7th	Zygmunt Heljasz	POLE	14,800
8th	József Darányi	HUN	14,670

Date: July 31

The top of the world were very close together before these games. With the Poland Zygmunt Haljasz, world record holder with 16.05 m, František Douda, Czechoslovakia and Emil Hirschfeld, Germany, three Europeans with bests over sixteen meters were just ahead of the US-Americans who qualified for the Olympic competition. But in their homeland, the US shot putters presented themselves at their best, while the Europeans lagged behind their potential. Leo Sexton was the only one to exceed the 16-meter mark with 16.005 m. That meant an Olympic record and brought him the gold medal. Silver went to his compatriot Harlow Rothert, bronze went to František Douda. Emil Hirschfeld, bronze medalist from 1928 , came in a thankless fourth place five centimeters behind Douda.

Discus throw

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Discus throw (men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	John Anderson	United States	49.49 OR
2	Henri LaBorde	United States	48.47
3	Paul Winter	FRA	47.85
4th	Jules Noël	FRA	47.74
5	István Donogán	HUN	47.08
6th	Endre Madarász	HUN	46.52
7th	Kalevi Kotkas	FIN	45.87
8th	Paul Jessup	United States	45.25

3rd August

The American world record holder Paul Jessup stayed about six and a half meters below his record. Olympic champion was his compatriot John Anderson, who also had the best series of all throwers and threw three times over 49 meters. However, there was a blatant faux pas by the judges. While the French Jules Noël clearly surpassed the 49-meter mark with his first final throw, the entire jury watched the decision in the pole vault . So Noël's attempt could neither be measured nor rated. After much back and forth it was decided that the French could repeat his throw. But he stayed below 48 meters and was cheated of at least the silver medal by this bad mistake by the judges. This silver went to the American Henri LaBorde, bronze went to Noël's compatriot Paul Winter.

Hammer throw

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - hammer throw (men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Pat O'Callaghan	IRL	53.92
2	Ville Pörhölä	FIN	52.27
3	Peter Zaremba	United States	50.33
4th	Ossian Skiold	SWE	49.25
5	Grant McDougall	United States	49.12
6th	Federico Kleger	ARG	48.33
7th	Gunnar Jansson	SWE	47.79
8th	Armando Poggioli	ITA	46.90

Final: August 1st

Pat O'Callaghan, Olympic champion in Amsterdam four years ago , was at the height of his career. He only had to be careful of the Finn Ville Pörhölä, who had changed disciplines after his Olympic victory in the shot put twelve years ago. And the already 35-year-old Pörhölä led quite surprisingly to the fifth round. With his last attempt the Irishman showed strong nerves and surpassed the Finn by half a meter. With that the gold and silver medals were distributed. The bronze medal went to local Peter Zaremba, who, along with O'Callaghan and Pörhölä, was the only one who exceeded the 50 meter mark. The Swedish Olympic runner-up from 1928 Ossian Skiöld finished fourth this time.

Javelin throw

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Javelin Throw (Men)

space	athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Matti Järvinen	FIN	72.71 OR
2	Matti Sippala	FIN	69.80
3	Eino Penttila	FIN	68.70
4th	Gottfried Weimann	GER	68.18
5	Lee Bartlett	United States	64.46
6th	Kenneth Churchill	United States	63.24
7th	Malcolm Metcalf	United States	61.89
8th	Kosaku Sumiyoshi	JPN	61.14

Final: August 4th

The German Gottfried Weimann opened this competition with the new Olympic record of 68.18 m. But this distance was no challenge for Matti Järvinen from Finland, world record holder with 74.02 m. Järvinen dominated this competition. He exceeded the seventy meters five times; all these attempts would have been enough for him to get gold. Weimann could not improve any more and had to watch as Järvinen's compatriots Matti Sippala and Eino Penttilä still overtook him in rounds five and six, so that all medals in the javelin went to Finland.

Decathlon

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Decathlon (men)

space	athlete	country	P - official value.	P - 85 value.
1	James Bausch	United States	8462,235 WR	6736
2	Akilles Jarvinen	FIN	8292,480	6879
3	Wolrad Eberle	GER	8030,805	6623
4th	Wilson Charles	United States	7985,000	6718
5	Hans-Heinrich Sievert	GER	7941.075	6515
6th	Paavo Yrjölä	FIN	7687.990	6385
7th	Clyde Coffman	United States	7534,410	6265
8th	Bob Tisdall	IRL	7327.170	6398

Date: 5th / 6th August

As in 1928 in Amsterdam , the Finn Akilles Järvinen, brother of the javelin Olympic champion Matti Järvinen, won the silver medal. With excellent jumping and throwing performance on the second day, the American James Bausch had overtaken the Finn. Both athletes were better with their results than the previous world record set by Akilles Järvinen in 1930. Third was the German champion Wolrad Eberle, who also increased to over 8000 points. The 1928 Olympic champion Paavo Yrjölä came in sixth this time.
The rating table from 1920 was used to determine the points.
The rating table from 1912 was used to determine the points.
For a better classification of the performance, the points converted according to the current rating system from 1985 are also given. According to this table, which is valid today, Järvinen would have been the Olympic champion. But these comparisons are only indicative, because the different standards of the time must apply as a basis. This is most noticeable in the pole vault , where people jumped with completely different poles than they do today.

Results women

100 m

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 100 m (women)

space	Athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Stanisława Walasiewicz	POLE	11.9 WRe
2	Hilda Strike	CAN	11.9 WRe
3	Wilhelmina of Bremen	United States	12.0
4th	Marie Dollinger	GER	12.2
5	Eileen Hiscock	GBR	12.3
6th	Elizabeth Wilde	United States	12.3

Final: August 2nd

In the final there was an exciting and high-class duel between the Pole Stanisława Walasiewicz - later active in the USA under the name Stella Walsh - and the Canadian Hilda Strike. With the better start, Strike was slightly ahead at the beginning. But Walasiewicz caught up and was just ahead of the Canadian at the finish. Both runners set the existing world record with 11.9 s.
In this competition, too, the jury was not particularly competent. The placement of the American Wilhelmina von Bremen in third place was still clear. But behind that, the officials first put Eileen Hiscock in fourth and Marie Dollinger and Elizabeth Wilde together in fifth. Only the much later evaluation of the target film recordings resulted in the correction of the result as listed here.

80 m hurdles

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 80 m hurdles (women)

space	Athlete	country	Time (s)
1	Mildred Didrikson	United States	11.7 WR
2	Evelyne Hall	United States	11.7 WR
3	Marjorie Clark	RSA	11.8
4th	Simone Schaller	United States	11.8
5	Violet Webb	GBR	11.9
6th	Alda Wilson	CAN	12.0

Final: August 4th

In this competition, Mildred Didrikson showed her special class for the second time after throwing the javelin . The outcome was wafer-thin after Didrikson was clearly ahead until shortly before the finish. But she hit the last hurdle and her compatriot Evelyne Hall came very close to her again. But Didrikson was just before Hall in the finish, both improved the existing world record by a tenth of a second. The bronze medal went to the South African Marjorie Clark, who with 11.8 seconds reached exactly the time with which she had previously held the world record. Simone Schaller also came in fourth with 11.8 seconds.

4 × 100 m relay

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - 4 × 100 m (women)

space	country	Athletes	Time (s)
1	United States	Mary Carew Evelyn Furtsch Annette Rogers Wilhelmina of Bremen	47.0 WR
2	Canada	Mildred Fizzell Lillian Palmer Mary Frizzell Hilda Strike	47.0 WR
3	Great Britain	Eileen Hiscock Gwendoline Porter Violet Webb Nellie Halstead	47.6
4th	Netherlands	Johanna Dalmolen Cornelia Aalten Elly du Mée Tollien Schuurman	47.7
5	Japan	Mie Muraoka Michi Nakanishi Asa Dogura Sumiko Watanabe	48.9
6th	German Empire	Grete Heublein Ellen Braumüller Tilly Fleischer Marie Dollinger	50.0

Final: August 7th

This season was impressive, exciting and high-class. Mary Carew and Evelyn Furtsch initially brought the US relay forward two meters. But in the final corner, Mary Frizzell made a very strong race for Canada and made up the gap. The last change of the Canadians did not work out. The 100-meter Olympic runner-up Hilda Strike took up the pursuit of the 100-meter Olympic third party Wilhelmina von Bremen, two meters behind. But it wasn't quite enough for Canada. Both seasons were at the same time and ran a new world record with 47.0 s . There was bronze for Great Britain. Fourth place just behind the British went to the Dutch. The German relay ran with three throwers and only one real sprinter and was so clearly behind without a chance.
Only six teams were at the start.

high jump

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - high jump (women)

space	Athlete	country	Height (m)
1	Jean Shiley	United States	1,650 WR
2	Mildred Didrikson	United States	1,650 WR
3	Eva Dawes	CAN	1,600
4th	Lien Gisolf	NED	1.575
5	Marjorie Clark	RSA	1.575
6th	Annette Rogers	United States	1.575
7th	Helma Notte	GER	1,550
8th	Yuriko Hirohashi	JPN	1,500

Date: August 7th

Both Jean Shiley and Mildred Didrikson kept clear up to and including 1.625 m. Both athletes, Shiley in the first and Didrikson in the second attempt, also jumped the new world record height of 1.65 m. However, both failed at the next height of 1.67 m. Since there was still no rule of multiple attempts or failed attempts, there was now a jump-off. Both now crossed the 1.67 m. Didrikson's attempt was not recognized, however, because she crossed the bar head first - referred to as "diving", which was not permitted under the rules of the time. It was strange, however, that Didrikson had contested the entire competition with this jumping style, which should no longer be legal in the jump-off. The Canadian Eva Dawes won the bronze medal with 1.60 m.

The 1.67 meters jumped by Jean Shiley were not recognized as a world record, as they had been crossed in the jump-off and not during the regular three attempts. The end result also shows the regularly skipped height as the end result.

Discus throw

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Discus throw (women)

space	Athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Lillian Copeland	United States	40.58 OR
2	Ruth Osburn	United States	40.12
3	Yadwiga Vajsovna	POLE	38.74
4th	Tilly Fleischer	GER	36.12
5	Grete Heublein	GER	34.66
6th	Stanisława Walasiewicz	POLE	33.60
7th	Mitsue Ishizu	JPN	33.52
8th	Ellen Braumüller	GER	33.15

Date: August 2nd

The discus throw was not a competition with technically mature performances. The Polish Jadwiga Vajsowna, who had set a new world record in June with 42.43 m , was only a shadow of herself and just won the bronze medal with 38.74 m, because the German Grete Heublein did not already have her before achievements shown. Gold and silver surprisingly made the two Americans Ruth Osburn and Lillian Copeland between themselves. Until the last round, the only 18-year-old Osburn led the way. She picked up a disc for the first time less than six months before the Games, but had already won the US Olympic eliminations. With her last attempt, Copeland was able to counter and won the gold medal with a new Olympic record . Osburn and Copeland were the only female throwers who got more than forty yards.

Javelin throw

→ Main article : 1932 Summer Olympics / Athletics - Javelin Throw (women)

space	Athlete	country	Width (m)
1	Mildred Didrikson	United States	43.69 OR
2	Ellen Braumüller	GER	43.50
3	Tilly Fleischer	GER	43.01
4th	Masako Shinpo	JPN	39.08
5	Nan Gindele	United States	37.95
6th	Gloria Russell	United States	36.74
7th	Maria Uribe	MEX	33.66
8th	Mitsue Ishizu	JPN	30.81

Date: July 31

The top favorite was the US-American Nan Gindele, who set a world record with 46.74 m in June of the Olympic year . The German champion Tilly Fleischer was also in the favorites field due to her preliminary performances. In the first attempt, Mildred Didrikson set a new Olympic record of 43.69 m , which everyone else struggled with. The two Germans Ellen Braumüller and Tilly Fleischer came close to the Olympic record length with 43.50 m and 43.01 m respectively, but Didrikson won her first gold medal, Braumüller and Fleischer won silver and bronze, while the world record holder Nan Gindele was almost fifth stayed nine meters below her world record. In front of her was the Japanese Masako Shinpo in fourth place.

literature

• Ekkehard zur Megede : The History of Olympic Athletics. Volume 1: 1896-1936. 2nd Edition. Bartels & Wernitz publishing house, Berlin 1970, DNB 368759857 .

Web links

• IOC website on athletics at the 1932 Games on olympic.org, accessed August 6, 2017
• Los Angeles 1932: Games in Times of Depression from sportschau.de, accessed on August 6, 2017
• Athletics - Olympic Games 1932 from sport-komplett.de, accessed on August 6, 2017
• Olympic Games 1932: Find in Kleinmachnow. The riddle about the gold medal on pnn.de, accessed on August 6, 2017
• Olympic timekeeping highlights on trustedwatch.de, accessed on August 6, 2017

Videos

• LOS ANGELES X OLYMPIC GAMES 1932 TRACK & FIELD SILENT NEWSREEL 86554b MD , published February 12, 2016 on youtube.com, accessed August 6, 2017
• 1932 LA Olympic Men's 100m final - Olimpiadas Los Ángeles 1932 final 100 metros lisos masculinos , published on January 11, 2013 on youtube.com, accessed on August 6, 2017
• The Fastest Men On Earth (1932 - Los Angeles) 9/20 , published July 13, 2012 on youtube.com, accessed August 6, 2017
• 1932 Olympic Games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum , published February 19, 2016 on youtube.com, accessed August 6, 2017