United States at the Olympics facts for kids
Quick facts for kids United States at theOlympics |
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| IOC code | USA | ||||||||
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United States at the Olympics is a history which starts in the 1890s.
The International Olympic Committee's official abbreviation for the United States is USA.
Contents
History
The United States has been to every Olympic Games, except the boycotted 1980 Summer Olympics. The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) is the National Olympic Committee for the United States.
Thomas Burke was the first athlete to represent the United States at the Olympics. He took first place in both the 100 meters and the 400 meters of the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. US athlete Michael Phelps has won the most medals of any Olympic athlete of any nation. He has 22 Olympic medals, including 18 golds.
American athletes have won a total of 2400 medals at the Summer Olympic Games and another 253 at the Winter Olympic Games.
Hosted Games
The United States has hosted the Games eight times, four times each for the Summer and Winter Games:
| Games | Host city | Dates | Nations | Participants | Events |
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| 1904 Summer Olympics | St. Louis, Missouri | July 1 – November 23 | 12 | 651 | 91 |
| 1932 Winter Olympics | Lake Placid, New York | February 7–15 | 17 | 252 | 14 |
| 1932 Summer Olympics | Los Angeles, California | July 30 – August 14 | 37 | 1332 | 117 |
| 1960 Winter Olympics | Squaw Valley, California | February 2–20 | 30 | 665 | 27 |
| 1980 Winter Olympics | Lake Placid, New York | February 13–24 | 37 | 1072 | 38 |
| 1984 Summer Olympics | Los Angeles, California | July 20 – August 18 | 140 | 6829 | 221 |
| 1996 Summer Olympics | Atlanta, Georgia | July 18 – August 4 | 197 | 10318 | 271 |
| 2002 Winter Olympics | Salt Lake City, Utah | February 8–24 | 77 | 2399 | 78 |
Related pages
Images for kids
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Swimmer Michael Phelps and President George W. Bush on August 10, 2008 at the National Aquatic Center in Beijing. Phelps is the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time.
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Francis Olympic Field of Washington University in St. Louis, site of the 1904 Olympics Games. The 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri were the first ever Olympic Games held outside of Europe.
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Margaret Abbott competing in golf.
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Bob Mathias became the star of the 1948 London games by winning the decathlon event at the age of 17. He would go on to repeat this feat at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, setting a new world record.
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Gold medal game in basketball at the 1952 Olympics between the US and the USSR. The Americans won, 36–25.
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Bobby Morrow won gold in 100 meters, 200 meters, and 4x100 meters relay (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.
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Wilma Rudolph became the first woman in history to sweep 100 meters, 200 meters, and 4x100 meters relay at the 1960 Rome Games.
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Don Schollander won 4 golds in swimming at the 1964 games in Tokyo, the largest individual medal haul in a single Olympics since Jesse Owens in 1936.
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There were many historic achievements at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics but, perhaps, the most significant among them was Bob Beamon's performance in the long jump, where he improved the world record by 55 centimeters.
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In 1976, Margaret Murdock captured the silver in the three positions shooting event. Lanny Bassham and Murdock tied for the first place, but Murdock was placed second after review of the targets. Bassham suggested that two gold medals be given, and after this request was declined, asked Murdock to share the top step with him at the award ceremony. Women had no separate shooting events at the time and were allowed to compete with men. Murdock became the first woman to win an Olympic medal in shooting.
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Inside view (in 2014) of the Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle, where the final was played
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The 1992 "Dream Team" was the first American Olympic team to feature National Basketball Association (NBA) players
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An amateur photo featuring U.S. vs USSR matchup
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Several members of America's first Olympic team in 1896. Standing: T.E. Burke, Thomas P. Curtis, Ellery H. Clark. Seated: W.W. Hoyt, Sumner Paine, trainer John Graham, John B. Paine, Arthur C. Blake.
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President Ronald Reagan and Mary Lou Retton with the U.S. Olympic Team in Los Angeles, 1984. she had just recovered in time from surgery. She put forth a valiant effort for the all-around title, and in the end Retton exploded for two perfect 10s and defeated her Soviet-bloc competitor by .05 points for the gold medal.
