The Great Depression meant the number of competitors was half what it had been four years previously but 18 world records were broken.
The 16-day event set a precedent for the future as past Games had not been shorter than 79 days.
For the first time, the male athletes were housed in a single Olympic village, although the women were afforded the luxury of a hotel, while official automatic timing and the photo-finish camera were introduced for the track events.
Japan's 14-year-old swimmer Kusuo Kitamura became the youngest male in any sport to take gold in an individual event when he won the 1,500m freestyle.
The 18-year-old American Babe Didrikson qualified for all five women's track and field events but, as women were restricted to competing in three, she won the javelin and set world records in the high jump and the 80m hurdles.
British fencer Judy Guinness surrendered the chance of a gold medal when she pointed out to officials they had not noticed two touches scored against her by her final opponent Austria's Ellen Preis.
British gold medals: 3
