Approximately i,000 men and women, representing 28 nations, took part, 307 representatives of 17 countries being the highest previous total. Before the Games closed on February 16, Norway had established a clear supremacy with 8 wins, no other nation scoring more than 2 first places. Great Britain wrested the ice hockey title from Canada. Many records were broken.
No less than 53 nations took part in the summer session of the Games, held at Berlin from August 1 to August 16, 1936. The Germans, on their own soil, achieved the highest honours; for in the total of 120 odd events they achieved 31 first places. U.S.A. came next with 25 wins, Hungary being a poor third with 9 wins. Great Britain, scoring only 4 victorics, was loth in total reckon ing. Twenty-one nations won medals for first places. World's records were set up in athletics (6), shooting (2) and swimming (I) ; Olympic records being established in athletics (19), swim ming (io), weight-lifting (6) and shooting (2).
The preponderant nations in the various sports were : athletics, U.S.A. 14 first places, followed by Germany 5; weight-lifting, Egypt and U.S.A. 2 each ; boxing, Sweden 4, Hungary 3; cycling, France 3, Germany 2 ; fencing, Italy 4, Hungary 3; canoeing (a new Olympic event) Austria 3, Germany and Czechoslovakia 2 each; shooting, Germany, Norway and Sweden 1 each. The team games resulted in wins for British India, hockey; Italy, Associa tion football; Germany, handball; U.S.A. basketball and Argen tina, polo. In the modern pentathlon Sweden's supremacy was at last broken, the result being Germany Ist,U.S.A. 2nd and Italy 3rd.
A significant circumstance of the last two celebrations of the Games has been the advance of negro athletes. At Los Angeles Tolan, Metcalfe, Johnson and Gordon, U.S.A. and Edwards, Canada, were outstanding; at Berlin, J. Owens, U.S.A. who has made 4 World's records in one afternoon, was pre-eminent, while his fellow negroes, Williams, Metcalfe, Luvalle, Robinson, Pollard, Woodruff, Johnson and Albritton (U.S.A.) and Edwards and Richardson (Canada), all attained distinction. The Japanese, in whose country the XIIth Games take place in 194o, are hardly less remarkable in athletics and more so in swimming.
Of the 23 Olympic records given in Table I., not a single one of these standing when the Olympic Games were held at Amster dam in 1928 now remains unbroken.
At'the Xth Celebration at Los Angeles in 1932, 19 new Olympic records were made. Those which remained unbroken in the now
standardized Olympic Programme were the high jump, 6 ft. 6 ins., H. M. Osborn, U.S.A., 1924; broad jump, 25 ft. 4a ins., E. B. Hamm, U.S.A., 1928, and 16 lb. hammer, 179 ft. 8.4 ins., M. McGrath, U.S.A., 1912.
At the XIth Olympic Games, Berlin, 1936, the last of the pre 1932 records was disposed of. Of the records made in 1932, that for ioo metres was equalled and 16 new records were made.
As regards World's records (Table II.) :—Of those given for comparison with the Olympic records, only that for throwing the hammer (P. Ryan, U.S.A., 189 ft. 6-1- ins.) dates from the pre War period, and this was closely approached by W. Hein, Ger many, throwing over 185 ft. for his Olympic title in 1936. None of the other records is older than the celebration of the Olympic Games at Los Angeles in 1932.
In the course of the 1932 Olympic Games 8 new World's records, and at Berlin, 1936, 6 new World's records were made, and two of the older World's records were equalled.
That the Olympic movement is fulfilling the ideals of its founder there can be no doubt. Early celebrations of the Games were sometimes marred by undignified squabbles and unpleasant incidents. In those days the number of competitors was small and unrepresentative of a world-wide movement. In the days of ancient Greece competitive athletics were confined to the cities, islands and colonies of the eastern end of the Mediterranean. Today the sport is followed throughout the world, and all five continents and the islands of the seven seas send their competitors to the modern Olympic Games. There is no distinction of creed, class or colour, and by comparison with the modern festivals the ancient celebrations must appear parochial.
The world has become sport-minded through the example set and the sporting education provided by the English-speaking races. In individual sports unpleasantness at the Olympic Games is now unknown. It is, moreover, significant that, except for the bad behaviour of a South American water polo team at Los Angeles in 1932, and some small bickering among Association football players in Berlin in 1936, the last two celebrations of the Games have been entirely free from incidents of an un pleasant character in team events.
The celebrations at Los Angeles and Berlin, in the matter of organization, management, equipment and housing, were surpris ingly efficient. The XIIth Celebration of the Games is due to take place in 1940, and the festival has been allotted to Tokyo. National fervour in Japan rose to fever pitch when this decision was made public, and there seems little doubt that the next Games will be outstanding.
reports of each session of the Olympic Games from igo8 onwards have been issued by the U.S.A. and British Olympic Associations. F. A. M. Webster, The Evolution of the Olym pic Games (1914); W. Keizan, The Olympic Games (1936).