eight medals and was tied with Finland and Sweden
in winning four gold medals. Canada acquired two
gold medals and a total of four medals.
Summer Olympic Games The twenty-third Sum-
mer Olympics were held in Los Angeles from July 28
to August 12, 1984. A total of 6,829 athletes, 1,566
women and 5,263 men, were in attendance repre-
senting 140 nations. The Olympic program featured
221 events in twenty-three sports. Seventeen new en-
tries were added to the Olympic program that in-
cluded thirteen for women. Among the new events
for women were the marathon, 3,000-meter run,
400-meter hurdles, synchronized swimming, three
rifle competitions, rhythmic gymnastics, and indi-
vidual road racing in cycling. In addition, tennis re-
turned for the first time since the 1924 Olympics as
a demonstration sport. Baseball was held as an ex-
hibition sport. President Ronald Reagan officially
opened the Games.
Los Angeles had been selected to host the 1984
summer Olympic Games on May 18, 1978, during
the eightieth International Olympic Committee
(IOC) meeting in Athens, Greece. Los Angeles was
the only city to bid for the 1984 Summer Games. The
$1 billion debt that Montreal had encountered host-
ing the 1976 Olympic Games deterred many nations
from submitting bids to host the Games. The $9 bil-
lion that was required to host the 1980 Moscow
Games brought concern that the future of the Games
may be in danger of economic disaster.
Voters in Los Angeles by a margin of 5-1 votedThe Eighties in America Olympic Games of 1984 729
Leading Medal Winners of the 1984 Winter OlympicsTotal Medals Athlete Country Sport Gold-Silver-Bronze
4 Karin Kania East Germany Speed skating 2-2-0
4 Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi Finland Cross-country skiing 3-0-1
4 Gunde Anders Svan Sweden Cross-country skiing 2-1-1
3 Gaetan Boucher Canada Speed skating 2-0-1
3 Andrea Ehrig East Germany Speed skating 1-2-0
2 Thomas Wassberg Sweden Cross-country skiing 2-0-0
2 Tomas Gustafson Sweden Speed skating 1-1-0
2 Matti Nykanen Finland Ski jumping 1-1-0
2 Jens Weissflog East Germany Ski jumping 1-1-0Leading Medal Winners of the 1984 Summer OlympicsTotal Medals Athlete Country Sport Gold-Silver-Bronze
4 Carl Lewis United States Track and field 4-0-0
4 Michael Gross West Germany Swimming 2-2-0
3 Valerie Brisco-Hooks United States Track and field 3-0-0
3 Mary T. Meagher United States Swimming 3-0-0
3 Reiner Klimke West Germany Equestrian/dressage 3-0-0
2 Greg Louganis United States Diving 2-0-0
2 Marco Marin Italy Fencing 1-1-0
2 Sebastian Coe Great Britain Track and field 1-1-0
2 Merlene Ottey Jamaica Track and field 0-0-2