July 18, 1984 Table Of Contents
The 1984 Olympics
By being less than promised, the L.A. Games are just living up to Olympic tradition. Still, they should be a spectacle worthy even of their host city
Carl Lewis
As a favorite to win four gold medals in track and field, Carl Lewis is the definition of multitalented, but he's definitely a singular man
By Gary Smith
Track And Field
An assessment of the top Olympic track and field events shows that the competition in L.A. will be very good, but athletes and fans will still wonder how much better it would have been without the boycott
By Kenny Moore
The Albatross
This aquatic creature with an incredible 7'4‚Öù" wingspan is the Albatross—a.k.a. Michael Gross of West Germany—who has set world records in freestyle and butterfly and is the swimmer most likely to soar to a multiple gold medal Performance in Los Angeles
By Craig Neff
Swimming
Led by the likes of backstroker Rick Carey (right) and aided by the boycott, America's team could win gold in 20 of the 29 Olympic swimming events. The men should break a few world records, too
By Craig Neff
Buster Crabbe
Dashing Buster Crabbe was the perfect hero for the '32 Games, to which Hollywood 'luminaries' flocked. He cracked Japan's dominance of men's swimming, then broke into the movies to become King of the Serials
By William Oscar Johnson
Daley Thompson
To world champion Daley Thompson of England, the decathlon is an event of such beauty that he gladly gives all his considerable speed, strength and fervor in trying to conquer it
By Kenny Moore
HINGSEN: 'I DO THE LAST ONE FOR DALEY'
By Dan Levin
Rhythmic Gymnastics
By Bob Ottum
Photographic Credits
Jim McKay
You Can't Keep Him Down On The Farm
ABC war-horse Jim McKay, better known to friends as Maryland horseman Jimmy McManus, is charging out of the gate for his 10th and perhaps final Olympics
By William Taaffe
TV Listings
THE ABCs OF THE OLYMPICS ON TELEVISION
The times (E.D.T.) given below of the Games telecasts are according to ABC's schedule, but the listing of events for each broadcast is SI's view of what is most likely to be newsworthy during that time slot. The network will determine, as the Olympics in Los Angeles unfold, which events will be put on the air.
Tiina Lillak
Finland, Known for its male javelin throwers, now has a female champion in Tiina Lillak, who brings to her event a balance of strength and beauty
By Kenny Moore
Basketball
The U.S. men's basketball team may be highly favored, but it's vulnerable to attack, and Spain, Italy and Yugoslavia are the assailants most likely to do the deadly deed
SPAIN: THE RUNNING OF THE BULLS
YUGOSLAVIA: 'THE LAST STRIKE OF THE TAIL'
De Castella
Rob de Castella of Australia became the top marathoner—here laurels are bestowed on him as he wins the 1983 world title in Helsinki—by being impervious to injury, unvarying in his training and unswerving in his goals
By Kenny Moore
DeWit And O'Sullivan
No Canadian has gone to the victory stand for an Olympic boxing gold medal since '32, but Toronto's Shawn O'Sullivan and Willie deWit, a son of the plains, should alter that
By Pat Putnam
And why aren't they wearing skirts? After all, everyone knows field hockey in the U.S. is a girls' sport. Well, now some American boys have taken up the game for the Games
By Steve Wulf
For Yasuhiro Yamashita of Japan, an eater of Olympian proportions and possibly the best judo player in history, the competition in the Los Angeles Games should prove to be a real feast
By Gary Smith
Klaus Maran
A Candidate For Chairman Of The Board
After losing 20 pounds, former heavyweight boardsailor Klaus Maran is almost as thin as the air that may propel him to a gold medal in one of the new Olympic sports
THE WRONG BOARD, THE WRONG RACE
Mary Lou Retton
Little Mary Lou Retton has vaulted so high that she may well do what no U.S. woman gymnast has ever done, win an Olympic medal—perhaps even a gold
By Bob Ottum
Greg Louganis
There's no surer bet for a gold medal than Greg Louganis of the U.S., a diver who is so skilled in his complex sport that he soars far above his rivals. Here's why
Gable
Dan Gable willed himself to become the best U.S. wrestler ever. Now he's applying his singular dedication to coaching the American team in L.A.
By Douglas S. Looney
Appropriately, Zhu Jianhua of China was born in the Year of the Rabbit, for no man has jumped higher than he and only a very few are as skittish
By Gary Smith