1928 Summer Olympics

The 1928 Summer Olympics were a big sports event held in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It started on July 28 and ended on August 12, 1928. Many athletes from all over the world came to compete in different sports.

Amsterdam 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.

For the first time, a symbolic fire was lit during the Olympics. This started a tradition that continues today. The parade of nations began with Greece, the country where the Olympics began, and ended with the host country, Netherlands.

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.

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

The 1928 Summer Olympics 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.

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.

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.