The '1928 Summer Olympics', officially known as the 'Games of the IX Olympiad', were held in
1928 in
Amsterdam,
Netherlands. Amsterdam had made a bid for the 1920 and 1924
Olympic Games, but had to give way to war-victim Belgium and
De Coubertin's
Paris before finally being awarded with the organisation. The only other candidate city was
Los Angeles. Los Angeles would eventually host the Olympics four years later.
The
United States Olympic Committee measured the costs and revenue of the 1928 Games in preparation for the
1932 Summer Olympics. The committee reported a total cost of
US$1.183 million with receipts of US$1.165 million for a loss of US$18,000 (much smaller than the previous celebration's financial loss).
[ A Look at Olympic Costs, , C. Frank, Zarnowski, Citius, Altius, Fortius, 1992 ]

The Olympisch Stadion in 1928
Highlights
★ For the first time, the
Olympic Flame was lit during the Olympics. The torch relay, however, would not occur until the
1936 Summer Olympics.
★ For the first time, the parade of nations started with
Greece, which holds the origins of the Olympics, and ended with the host country, a tradition which continues today.
★ Women's
athletics and
gymnastics debuted at these Olympic, in spite of criticism.
Halina Konopacka of
Poland became the first female Olympic track and field champion. The 800 m run ended with several of the competitors being completely exhausted. Because of this, running events for women longer than 200 m were not included in the Olympics until the
1960s.
★
Johnny Weissmuller, who later appeared in several
Tarzan movies, won two gold medals in
swimming.
★
Paavo Nurmi of
Finland won his 9th gold medal by finishing first in the 10000 m.
★
Canada's
Percy Williams surprised everyone by winning both the 100 m and 200 m sprint events.
★
South American
football made a definite breakthrough, as
Uruguay retained its title by defeating
Argentina.
★
India took its first ever gold in
field hockey, the beginning of a winning streak which continued until
1956 with six gold medals won during the period.
★ Is the first appearance of the sponsor
Coca-Cola for the Olympic Games.
★ These games were the first to bear the name "Summer Olympic Games".
★ Germany, which had last entered Olympic games in 1912, had been scheduled to host the 1916 games in Berlin, and had been deliberately not invited in 1920 and 1924, ranked second in the medal count
Medals awarded
See the medal winners, ordered by sport:
Demonstration sports
★
Kaatsen (
unofficial demonstration sport)
★
Korfball
★
Lacrosse
Participating nations

participants
A total of 46 nations were represented at the Amsterdam Games.
Malta,
Panama, and
Rhodesia (now
Zimbabwe) competed at the Olympic Games for the first time.
Germany returned after having been deliberately not invited in 1920 and 1924.
[ The Olympics: A History of the Modern Games, , Allen, Guttmann, University of Illinois Press, 1992, ]
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ |
Medal count
These are the top ten nations that won medals at these Games.
| 1 | | 22 | 18 | 16 | 56 |
| 2 | | 10 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
| 3 | | 8 | 8 | 9 | 25 |
| 4 | | 7 | 6 | 12 | 25 |
| 5 | | 7 | 5 | 7 | 19 |
| 6 | | 7 | 4 | 4 | 15 |
| 7 | | 6 | 10 | 5 | 21 |
| 8 | (host nation) | 6 | 9 | 4 | 19 |
| 9 | | 4 | 5 | 0 | 9 |
| 10 | | 4 | 4 | 7 | 15 |
See also
★
International Olympic Committee
★
IOC country codes
References
External links
★
IOC Site on 1928 Summer Olympics
★
Louis S. Nixdorff, 1928 Olympic Games Collection, 1926-1978 Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.