Athletics at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games:

The Soviet-led boycott made this a second-class meet, as the best throwers were the women from the USSR, the GDR, and Bulgaria. The favorite to win was Dutchwoman Ria Stalman and she came through. She took the lead in round one with 64.50 (211-7½) but American Leslie Deniz moved ahead in the fifth round with 64.86 (212-9½). Stalman came through in the final round, however, with 65.36 (214-5¼) to win her gold medal. Concurrent with the Olympics, the Eastern Bloc competed at the Spartakiade Meet in Praha, Czechoslovakia. There GDR thrower Irina Meszynski (who never competed in the Olympics) broke the world record with 73.36 (240-8¼). The first seven throwers in that competition bettered Stalman’s gold medal winning throw.