Blank Olympic Gold Medal from the 1984 Summer Olympic Games held in Los Angeles, California
date: label: date made
content: 1984
name: label: associated institution
content: Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: Blank Olympic gold medal representing the 1984 Summer Olympic Games held in Los Angeles, California. The medal has an embossed image of an athlete being hoisted on the shoulders of other athletes on one side and a woman draped in a toga holding a wreath on the reverse. Loop on top with two chain links, suspended by silk ribbon of pink, gold, and light blue/green stripes. Valvet blue container for gold medal, with blue velvet and white silk inside. This was not awarded at the Games but is a representation of what the athletes were given.
label: Description (Brief)
content: The 1984 Summer Olympics, also known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad were held in Los Angeles, California with 140 countries, 5,263 men and 1,566 women athletes participating. These Games were boycotted by fourteen countries, including the Soviet Union because of America’s boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. American Carl Lewis won four gold medals in track and field while Joan Benoit won gold for the U.S. in the first women’s marathon. Mary Lou Retton dominated women’s gymnastics becoming the first American to win the gymnastics all-around competition and the American men won the gold in the gymnastics team competition. With the addition of women’s only events of rhythmic gymnastics and synchronized swimming and the addition of women’s events in track and field, shooting and cycling, women athletes were just beginning to see results from Title IX legislation of twelve years prior. The United States won the medal count with 174.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: associated place
content: United States: California, Los Angeles
topic: label: web subject
content: Sports
label: name of sport
content: Olympics
label: level of sport
content: Amateur
label: related event
content: Olympic Summer Games: Los Angeles, 1984
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Sport and Leisure
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee (through Carol Daniels)
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1985.0297.05
label: accession number
content: 1985.0297
label: catalog number
content: 1985.0297.05
objectType: label: Object Name
content: medal, olympic
label: Object Name
content: medal, summer olympics
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: velvet (box material)
label: Physical Description
content: silk (box material)
label: Physical Description
content: silk (metal material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal, gold (metal material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 1/4 in x 2 1/4 in; .635 cm x 5.715 cm