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Olympic Torch used during the Torch Relay for 1984 Summer Olympic Games held in Los Angeles, California

National Museum of American History

Object Details

associated institution
Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee
Turner Industries, Inc.
Description (Brief)
Olympic relay torch with spun brass body is fueled by propane. The stem is encased in cross-stitched leather with two brass rings. The torch bowl engraving depicts the gateway to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. There is a filler valve and dust cap assembly at the base. There is a plastic zippered case with a stenciled striaded runner and torch in white at the top, which is the logo for the AOOC Torch Relay Foundation. 1984 Olympic Torch Operating and Safety Instruction booklet accompanys the torch; 10 pages; photo of lighted torch on purple and pink ground on cover. This was the torch the relay runners carried during the torch relay in preparation for the1984 Summer Olympic Games held in Los Angeles, California.
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.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee (through Carol Daniels)
1984
ID Number
1985.0297.08
accession number
1985.0297
catalog number
1985.0297.08
Object Name
torch, olympic
torch, summer olympics
Physical Description
plastic (case material)
paper (brochure material)
brass (torch material)
leather (torch material)
Measurements
overall: 22 in x 5 in; 55.88 cm x 12.7 cm
place made
United States: California, Irwindale
associated place
United States: California, Los Angeles
See more items in
Culture and the Arts: Sport and Leisure
National Museum of American History
web subject
Sports
name of sport
Olympics
level of sport
Amateur
related event
Olympic Summer Games: Los Angeles, 1984
Record ID
nmah_681424
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ad-dec9-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Related Content

  • Going for the Gold: Summer Olympics

Olympic torch, used during the1984 Summer Olympic Games held in Los Angeles, California
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
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