Babe Didrikson Wins Olympic Gold in Los Angeles

In the summer of 1932, Mildred Didrikson arrived at the Los Angeles Olympic Games already recognized across the United States as a versatile athletic prodigy. Born in Port Arthur, Texas, to Norwegian immigrant parents, she had spent her adolescence competing in several sports, earning All-American recognition in basketball with an industrial team in Dallas. Her path to the Olympics was cemented at the 1932 Amateur Athletic Union championships, where she entered eight of ten events as the sole representative of her squad, won most of them outright, tied for first in the high jump, and single-handedly secured the team championship.

At the Games in Los Angeles, Didrikson achieved historic marks across three separate track and field disciplines. She opened the 80-meter hurdles by matching the world record of 11.8 seconds, then captured the gold medal in the final by establishing a new record of 11.7 seconds. In the javelin, she secured another gold with an Olympic record throw of 43.69 meters. Her third contest, the high jump, resulted in a silver medal after she and fellow American Jean Shiley both cleared a world-record 1.65 meters; officials ultimately awarded the victory to Shiley after ruling that Didrikson had employed an improper clearance technique. Didrikson left the Games with medals in a running, a throwing and a jumping event.