Los Angeles in 1984 joined the club of the elite cities who were hosts to two Olympiads.  The other two cities were Paris and London, while in 2004 Athens will be added.

In retaliation for the boycotting of the 1980 Olympics the Soviet Union and 13 other countries of the Eastern bloc did not send their athletes, with the exception of Romania.  Despite this, a record number of countries participated (140) with 6,800 athletes in 224 events.  In these Games, China also participated for the first time.

The dominance of the Americans was overwhelming, with Carl Lewis in the spotlight, winning four gold in track and field (100m and 200m dash, long jump and 4x100 relay), equaling the medals won by Jesse Owens in the Olympics of 1936.

The Games of 1984 were the first to be organized by a corporation and not by a city or a country.  The management was undertaken by a travel agent from California who began by selling the right to use the Olympic emblem on different products, to companies.  These activities combined with television revenue generated profits of $230 million for the organizers.  The travel agent, Peter Ueberroth, earned a fee of $475,000.
 
 

MEDAL STANDINGS

RANKINGS	COUNTRY	GOLD	SILVER	BRONZE	TOTAL
1	USA	83	61	30	174
2	Romania	20	16	17	53
3	West Germany	17	19	23	59
4	Canada	10	18	16	44
5	China	15	8	9	32
6	Italy	14	6	12	32
7	Japan	10	8	14	32
8	France	5	7	15	27
9	Australia	4	8	12	24
10	Great Britain	5	11	7	23
30	GREECE	0	1	1	2