Skip to main content

Link to Smithsonian homepage

Smithsonian Music

Main menu

  • Calendar
  • Listen
  • Learn
    • Ask Smithsonian
    • Collections Spotlights
    • Music Stories
  • Watch
  • Blog

Olympic Button used at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles

Object Details

Description (Brief)
Round pin-back buttons with a printed design of "LA 84 / I'm A Part if History" in lavendar, pink, orange, and green. Russian printed within an orange band at top. This was given to the donor, Marla Lind, an official hostess at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California.
The 1984 Summer Olympics, also known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad were held in Los Angeles, California with 140 countries participating. These Games were boycotted by fourteen countries, including the Soviet Union because of America’s boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. American Carl Lewis won four gold medals in track and field while Joan Benoit won gold for the U.S. in the first women’s marathon. Mary Lou Retton dominated women’s gymnastics becoming the first American to win the gymnastics all-around competition and the American men won the gold in the gymnastics team competition. With the addition of women’s only events of rhythmic gymnastics and synchronized swimming and the addition of women’s events in track and field, shooting and cycling, women athletes were just beginning to see results from Title IX legislation of twelve years prior. The United States won the medal count with 174.
Location
Currently not on view
Data Source
National Museum of American History
date made
1984
Credit Line
Marla Ann Lind
Physical Description
plastic (overall material)
metal (overall material)
paper (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 3 in; 7.62 cm
Object Name
button
button, olympics
LA 84 Olympic Button
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
View manifest View in Mirador Viewer

Link to Smithsonian homepage

  • About
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
Back to Top