The 1984 Summer Olympics were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, United States. It marked the second time that Los Angeles had hosted the Games, the first being in 1932. California was the home state of the incumbent U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who officially opened the Games. These were the first Summer Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Juan Antonio Samaranch.
Djibouti took part in the 1984 Summer Olympics, which were held in Los Angeles, United States from July 28 to August 12. The 1984 Summer Olympics were Djibouti's first Olympic appearance. The delegation included three marathon athletes, Djama Robleh, Ahmed Salah, and Omar Abdillahi Charmarke, none of whom won a medal.
Malawi sent a delegation to compete at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States from 19 July to 4 August 1996. This was the African nation's fifth appearance at a Summer Olympic Games. The Malawian delegation consisted of two competitors in the sport of athletics; Henry Moyo failed to advance past the first round heats of the 5,000 meters, and John Mwathiwa finished 65th in the marathon.
The Friendship Games, or Friendship-84, was an international multi-sport event held between 2 July and 16 September 1984 in the Soviet Union and eight other socialist states which boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
The men's marathon at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, was held on Sunday August 12, 1984. The race started at 5:00 pm local time. There were 107 competitors from 59 countries. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. A total number of 78 athletes completed the race, with Dieudonné LaMothe from Haiti finishing in last position in 2:52:18. Twenty-nine athletes did not finish. Carlos Lopes of Portugal won in 2:09:21 which set the Olympic record for 24 years. It was Portugal's first medal in the men's marathon, as well as its first gold medal in any Olympic event. Ireland also won its first men's marathon medal, with John Treacy's silver. Great Britain returned to the podium for the first time since 1964 with Charlie Spedding taking bronze.
Yakov Grigoryevich Tolstikov is a former Russian distance runner. Tolstivov rose to worldwide prominence following his surprise upset of favorite Gelindo Bordin in the 1991 London Marathon. He set a personal best of 2:09:17 hours at the race which went unbeaten as a Soviet record. This time was the fastest by any European in the 1991 season, and the third fastest time in the world after Kōichi Morishita and Takeyuki Nakayama of Japan.
Athletics at the Friendship Games was contested in 41 events, 24 events by men and 17 by women. Men competed at the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Soviet Union between 17 and 18 August, while women's events took place at the Evžen Rošický Stadium in Prague, Czechoslovakia between 16 and 18 August 1984.
Dereje Nedi is a retired male long-distance runner from Ethiopia. He represented his native country at the 1980 Summer Olympics in the men's marathon. He set his personal best (2:10:31) in the classic distance on August 18, 1984, winning the marathon race at the Friendship Games in Moscow.
The men's 4 × 100 metres relay event at the Friendship Games was held on 17 August 1984 at the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Soviet Union.
The men's 4 × 400 metres relay event at the Friendship Games was held on 18 August 1984 at the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Soviet Union.
The men's 800 metres event at the Friendship Games was held on 17 and 18 August 1984 at the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Soviet Union.
The men's 1500 metres event at the Friendship Games was held on 18 August 1984 at the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Soviet Union.
The men's 5000 metres event at the Friendship Games was held on 18 August 1984 at the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Soviet Union.
The men's 20 kilometres walk event at the Friendship Games was held on 17 August 1984 in Moscow, Soviet Union.
The men's high jump event at the Friendship Games was held on 18 August 1984 at the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Soviet Union. The competition took place in a pouring rain which affected the results. Two Soviet athletes starting out of competition recorded better results than the official medallists.
The men's triple jump event at the Friendship Games was held on 18 August 1984 at the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Soviet Union.
The men's shot put event at the Friendship Games was held on 17 August 1984 at the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Soviet Union.
The men's discus throw event at the Friendship Games was held on 17 August 1984 at the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Soviet Union.
The men's discus throw event at the Friendship Games was held on 17 August 1984 at the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Soviet Union.
The men's decathlon event at the Friendship Games was held on 17 and 18 August 1984 at the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Soviet Union.
