1928 Amsterdam Summer Games

The biggest story of the 1928 Olympics was probably the emergence of women. The ancient Olympic Games did not allow women as competitors, or even as spectators. If they were found to be watching they were supposedly put to death. Baron de Coubertin did not want women in the Olympics and he explicitly said so several times in his writings. In the modern Olympics, probably because of Coubertin’s opposition, women were admitted slowly and only grudgingly.

In 1900, women competed in croquet, golf, tennis, Sailing, and probably archery, although evidence of that is lacking. In 1904, women competed only in archery. In both of those years, the events were hard to define and women’s participation was never officially accepted or approved by the IOC. That was to come in 1912 when women’s swimming was admitted to the Olympics.

Track & field athletics has always been the showcase sport of the Olympics. Women were not allowed to compete until 1928, not that they didn’t try. Track & field is controlled by the IAAF (International Amateur Athletic Federation) and they did not support the admission of women’s track & field to the Olympics. So the women formed a separate organization, the FSFI (Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale). The FSFI held its own events, the Women’s “Olympics” in 1922 in Paris, and the 1926 “2nd International Ladies’ Games” in Göteborg, Sweden.

It was only after these games proved the success of women’s athletics that the IAAF acquiesced and allowed the sport into the Olympics. On 5 April 1926, the IOC capitulated as well and accepted the recommendation of the IAAF to allow women to compete in track & field athletics at the Olympics. However, in 1928, only five events were held for women, which the FSFI felt was far too few (the men had 21). So the FSFI also held Women’s World Games in 1930 and 1934, before the organization was absorbed into the IAAF. The 1928 Olympic track & field events were so few and in such varied disciplines that no single woman could dominate. They were marred when several women finalists were on the verge of collapse after the 800 metres, a not uncommon sight among men either. The IOC reacted by barring the women from running over 200 metres, and this was not changed until 1960.

The 1928 Olympics were one of the last truly peaceful Olympics. The depression had not yet occurred, which would mar the 1932 Olympics. Hitler was still in prison and the post-World War II boycotts had not yet occurred. They were missing the single standout athlete and one other thing. Because of illness, Coubertin missed his first Olympics since 1906. He did not get to see women compete in track & field.