Editing Summer Olympic Games (section)

===Interwar era===
The [[1920 Summer Olympics|1920 Antwerp Games]] in war-ravaged [[Belgium]] were a subdued affair, but again drew a record number of competitors. This record only stood until 1924, when the [[1924 Summer Olympics|Paris Games]] involved 3,000 competitors, the greatest of whom was Finnish runner [[Paavo Nurmi]]. The "[[Flying Finn]]" won three team gold medals and the individual 1,500 and 5,000 meter runs, the latter two on the same day.<ref>{{cite web|title=Paavo Nurmi – Life Story|url=https://paavonurmi.fi/en/life-story/|access-date=16 March 2020|publisher=The Sports Museum of Finland|website=paavonurmi.fi|url-status=live|archive-date=14 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140114141920/https://paavonurmi.fi/en/life-story/ }}</ref>

The [[1928 Summer Olympics|1928 Amsterdam Games]] was notable for being the first games which allowed females to compete at track & field athletics, and benefited greatly from the general prosperity of the times alongside the first appearance of [[Sponsor (commercial)|sponsorship]] of the games, from the [[Coca-Cola Company]]. The 1928 games saw the introduction of a standard medal design with the IOC, choosing [[Giuseppe Cassioli]]'s depiction of Greek goddess [[Nike (mythology)|Nike]] with a winner being carried by a crowd of people. This design was used up until 1972.

The [[1932 Summer Olympics|1932 Los Angeles Games]] were affected by the [[Great Depression]], which contributed to the low number of competitors.

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R82532, Berlin, Olympia-Stadion (Luftaufnahme).jpg|thumb|[[Olympiastadion (Berlin)|Olympiastadion]] in Berlin, during the [[1936 Summer Olympics|1936 Games]]]]

The [[1936 Berlin Games]] were seen by the German government as a golden opportunity to promote their ideology. The ruling [[Nazi Party]] commissioned film-maker [[Leni Riefenstahl]] to film the games. The result, ''[[Olympia (1938 film)|Olympia]]'', was widely considered to be a masterpiece, despite the infusion of [[Adolf Hitler]]'s theories of [[Aryan race|Aryan]] racial superiority. Individually, African-American sprinter and long jumper [[Jesse Owens]] won four gold medals, while the host nation won the most gold and overall medals. The 1936 Berlin Games also saw the introduction of the Torch Relay.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7330949.stm|title=The Olympic torch's shadowy past|work=BBC News|access-date=4 August 2008|date=5 April 2008|url-status=live|archive-date=12 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090112104421/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7330949.stm}}</ref>

Due to World War II, the [[1940 Summer Olympics|1940 Games]] (due to be held in Tokyo and temporarily relocated to [[Helsinki]] upon the outbreak of [[Second Sino–Japanese War|the war]]) were cancelled. The [[1944 Summer Olympics|1944 Games]] were due to be held in London but were also cancelled; instead, London hosted the first games after the end of the war, in [[1948 Summer Olympics|1948]].