On this day of August 4 at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games…..ABC’s Jim Lampley and Donna de Varona man the host desk as they cover a variety of men’s competitions taking place throughout the Olympic venues…..as they lead off with the final minutes of the Yugoslavia vs Italy final Group A game….which was won by Yugoslavia by a score of 69 – 65.
This telecast then switches to the gymnastics mens horizontal bar competition….where 71 gymnasts competed in the compulsory and optional rounds on July 29th and 31st….as the eight highest scoring gymnasts advanced to the finals on August 4th….which ended with Japan’s Shinji Morisue winning gold after posting perfect 10’s throughout his finals competition….followed by China’s Tong Fei winning silver….with Japan’s Koji Gushiken taking bronze….while the USA’s Peter Vidmar and Timothy Daggett finishing tied for 4th place.
Highlights of the men’s water polo rounds play competition comes next on this video, with clips of all the major teams in group competition….as the six teams to advance to the finals round would be Yugoslavia, USA, West Germany, Spain, Australia and the Netherlands…..which Yugoslavia won gold over the USA…who would win the silver medal after tying Yugoslavia on points but losing on goals differentiation.
The telecast switches to track and field competition with heats for the men’s 800m dash….as Brazil’s Joaquim Cruz would place 1st in heat 3….with USA’s Johnny Gray placing 3rd. Next comes the final jumps of USA Mike Connely & USA Willie Banks in the men’s triple jump finals….in which gold was won by Conley….with silver being captured by USA Al Joyner….and bronze being won by West Germany’s Jurgen Connor.
A light heavyweight boxing match between Yugoslavia’s Anton Josipovic vs Markus Bott of West Germany….in a closely contested match won on split decision by Jospipovic….as this fight is followed by the men’s swimming 1500m finals….in which USA Mike O’Brien won gold….with USA George DiCarlo taking silver….and West Germany’s Stefan Pfeiffer capturing bronze.
ABC wraps up this daytime telecast with previews of the greatest female marathon runners in the world….who are about to start on their 26 mile Olympic journey. Simply put, for any fan of the Olympics….this video is well worth the watch.
