Mildred "Babe" Didrickson is considered one of the greatest all-around female athletes of all times. In Los Angeles Didrikson became the only athlete ever to win medals in running, throwing, and jumping. The "Babe" earning her nickname for her baseball exploits, won the 80m hurdles gold in world record time, through the javelin to an Olympic record and gold medal. She also set another world record, in the high jump, which was only good enough for a silver medal, behind Jean Shiley. Earlier at the American championships, Didrikson won six of eight events she participated in, all in the space of three hours, setting three world records. But rules of the time limited a woman athlete's participation to three events.

Japanese swimmers amazed the world by winning all but one of the men's gold medals. What was even more impressive was the age of some of these champions: 100m freestyle winner, Yasuji Miyazaki, was only 15 years old, and traveled to Los Angeles with his school books. Even younger, in fact the youngest men's swimming champion ever, was 1,500m freestyle champion, Kusuo Kitamura, just 14 years old. The boy-wonder would grow up to Japan's representative to the World's Labor Organization.