1. The Olympics were held between July 28th and August 12th, during that two week period far away from Los Angeles in Spain and Australia two babies were born that would attend the 2000 Olympics sixteen years later, Esther Moya (July 31st, 1984) and Trudy McIntosh (July 30th, 1984)
2. The Olympic Games were boycotted by the Eastern Bloc countries resulting in the absence of the Soviet Union and East Germany, top powerhouses in gymnastics; instead, the countries attended the Friendship Games held in Olomouc (Czechoslovakia) where Olga Mostepanova (USSR) won the all-around competition after scoring four perfect 10s.
3. Back in 1980, the United States had boycotted the Moscow Olympic Games, still, a team had been named despite the fact they would not be competing. From that team comprised by Luci Collins, Marcia Frederick, Kathy Johnson, Beth Kline, Amy Koopman, Julianne McNamara and Tracee Talavera, three managed to make it into the 1984 Team that won the team silver medal: Johnson, McNamara and Talavera.
4. Romi Kessler (5th on bars and floor and 6th on floor) married fellow 1984 Olympian Swiss Olympian Marco Piatti. The couple had three children but they are currently divorced.
5. Wu Jiani who was part of the Chinese Team that won the bronze team medal was married in 1986 to Li Yuejiu a member of the Men’s Olympic Team that won silver.
6. Wu Jiani and Li Yuejiu opened Legacy Elite in Aurora, Illinois where they coached the Caquatto sisters and their own daughter Anna Li who was an alternate to the 2012 Olympic Team.
7. None of the members of the three top medalling countries (Romania, United States and China) returned for the 1988 Olympics.
8. The music used by Mary Lou Retton (Sanie Cu Zurgalai) had been previously used by Romanians Teodora Ungureanu and Emlia Eberle.
9. 1984 Olympic All-around Champion Mary Lou Retton has four daughters. One of them is McKenna Kelley who in 2014 tied for first place with Mackenzie Brannan for the Nastia Liukin Cup Title. McKenna currently competes NCAA for LSU.
10. Two gymnasts won 5 medals each:
- Ecaterina Szabo: 4 Gold (Team, VT, BB & FX) and 1 Silver (AA)
- Mary Lou Retton: 1 Gold (AA), 2 Silver (Team & VT) and 2 Bronzes (UB and FX)
BONUS COOL FACT: Romanian teammates Cristina Grigoras and Lavinia Agache share birthdays since they were both born on February 11th.
UPDATE COOL FACT: Julianne McNamara’s daughter Hannah Zeile (father baseball player Todd Zeile) is in the entertainment industry and in January of 2018 she won a Screen Actor’s Guild Award for her role in the series “This Is Us”
SECOND UPDATE COOL FACT: When Los Angeles applied to host the 1984 Olympic Games they ended up being the sole bidders after Tehran withdrew. Los Angeles will again host the Olympic Games in 2028
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