As part of the preview of the sights, sounds and statistics of the Los Angeles Summer Olympics that appeared in its July 30 issue, TIME presented closeups of several individual athletes, many little known outside their home countries and specialties. Nineteen athletes appeared in a Neil Leifer photo essay that showed each of them against a background of a national landmark. In addition, nine American athletes, participating in events like archery that normally attract scant U.S. public attention, were introduced. How did these competitors fare in the Olympics?

Japan's Koji Gushiken left Los Angeles with five medals in gymnastics: two gold, two bronze and a silver. Italian Super-heavyweight Boxer Francesco Damiani won a silver medal. China's Chen Xiaoxia came in fourth in women's platform diving. Greco-Roman Wrestler Charalambos Holidis of Greece took a bronze in the 57-kg (126-lb.) class. Britain's Sebastian Coe won a gold medal in the 1 ,500-meter run and a silver in the 800 meters. Fellow 1,500 Runner Kipkoech Cheruiyot of Kenya, however, failed to qualify for the semifinals. Neither, surprisingly, did the Indian field hockey team, which had previously won eight Olympic gold medals. Egyptian Discus Thrower Muhammad Neguib, injured in training, did not compete.

Among the unknown Americans, Archer Rick McKinney won a silver medal. Pentathlete Mike Storm helped his team to a silver and finished fifth in individual competition. Single-Scull Rower John Biglow came in fourth, the women's flatwater kayaking team also placed fourth, and Fencer Jana Angelakis lost in the preliminaries. Weight Lifter Kevin Winter dropped out because of injuries.

TIME has also managed some noteworthy Olympic feats. In its three issues covering the action, TIME has premiered a new system for transmitting color photographs that can reduce the time between shutter snap in the Los Angeles Coliseum and finished picture in TIME'S U.S. printing plants to as little as 6 1/4 hours. Immediately after an important shot, the film was processed and edited, then flown twelve miles by helicopter to Torrance, Calif., where Time Inc.'s corporate manufacturing and distribution division had installed a scanner to turn the pictures into digital signals. These were beamed by satellite to New York City, where they were reassembled on a video monitor. After review by TIME'S editors, the final selections were retransmitted to the printing sites. To Technical Director John Mitchell, the new system is "a significant breakthrough." It also means that TIME'S readers can see color photographs in their magazines only 36 hours after a news event.

John A. Meyers