Know Your Olympics - Los Angeles Olympics 1932

The Olympics that were held after the Great Depression -

1932 Summer Olympics - the first Olympics held after the Great Depression

The 1932 Olympics were held in Los Angeles. After 28 years, the Olympics had returned to America. The city of Los Angeles hosted the Olympics in 1932. However, a lot had changed by then.

In 1929, a booming world economy crashed overnight. The Great Wall Street Crash led to a massive depression worldwide, economically. As the Olympics were held in 1932, most countries were just recovering from the after effects of the huge economic disaster.

Consequently, some nations did not travel to Los Angeles. Instead of the previous 46 nations that competed at Amsterdam in 1928, just 37 nations competed at the Los Angeles Games. Even Herbert Clark Hoover, the American President, himself chose to give the quadrennial event a miss.

Despite facing numerous challenges, the Los Angeles Olympics initiated several firsts. For the first time, an official Olympic village was built, with separate quarters for men and women. A Scottish terrier, Smoky, was used as the first ever Olympic mascot. This was a first in Olympic history.