This ABC telecast of Day 11 at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics starts off at the boxing venue….as Howard Cosell is calling the Super Flyweight gold medal match between USA Paul Gonzales vs. GBR John Lyons….as the telecast picks up in the 3rd and final round of a really hard fought fight between two very talented boxers.
As the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games turn the corner on the last couple of days of competition….ABC’s coverage shifted to the Women’s Olympic Basketball Finals between USA vs. South Korea….after one round-robin group was formed containing all six teams in the tournament…..USA, South Korea, China, Yugoslavia, Canada and Australia….where the first two places in the preliminary group (USA and Korea) compete for the gold medal….while the 3rd and 4th places (China and Canada) competed for the bronze….with the remaining teams’ group ranking determines their positions in the final standings.
With the withdrawal of the Soviet Union’s women’s team….a new Olympic champion was to be crowned in Los Angeles….as the host nation’s team went through the first round undefeated and won their first gold medal in women’s basketball history against South Korea 85 – 55….as South Korea was one of the teams invited to replace the Soviet Union and Hungary in the Olympic tournament. China, the other Asian representative, earned a bronze medal by defeating Canada. Team USA was led by head coach Pat Head Summit (of University of Tennessee fame)…..with such outstanding players as Cheryl Miller (Olympic tournament MVP), Anne Donovan, Pam Magee, Lea Henry, Kim Mulkay, Teresa Edwards, Janice Lawrence, Lynette Woodard, Cindy Noble, Cathy Boswell and Carol Jean Menken-Schaudt….for this was a really good American team.
This Olympic telecast also included an interesting ABC News Brief with Peter Jennings….who covers major stories like President Ronald Reagan’s proposed tax cut that his opponent Bob Dole was against….along with information about a huge illegal drug bust….which just continues to prove that no matter how much time passes….when it comes to politics and government….very little ever changes….for if you turn on the TV in September 2017….the news is covering proposed tax cuts by the Trump administration….with the Democrats united in opposition…..along with the issue of an opioid epidemic in America today.
