Moscow, 1980 Olympic Games
The 1980 Olympic Games were held in Moscow, Russia.
These were the first Games to be held in a communist country. These games were greatly affected by the US led boycott -the Americans stayed home, and in total 62 countries including West Germany and Japan refused to attend. In all, 80 nations participated in the Games, down from the high of 121 nations in Munich eight years earlier.
Due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, President Carter called upon the U.S. Olympic Committee to boycott the Games. The Olympic Charter requires such committees to "resist all pressures of any kind whatsoever, whether of a political, religious or economic nature," but this was largely ignored.
Trivia
- The USSR won 195 medals, but allegations of cheating tainted this astonishing result.
- Zimbabwe's gold medal winning women's hockey players were each rewarded with an ox when they returned home from the 1980 Games.
- Both the gold and silver medal-winning rowing teams in the coxless pairs event were identical twins - Gold went to Bernd and Jorg Landvoigt (East Germany), silver to Nikolai and Yuri Pimenov (Soviet Union).
The Moscow Olympic mascot was a bear called MishaAthlete Highlights
- Gymnast Nadia Comaneci added two more gold medals to her total.
- Soviet athlete Alexander Dityatin won a record eight medals in gymnastics.
- Super-heavyweight Teófilo Stevenson of Cuba became the first boxer to win in the same weight division three times in a row.
- Russian swimmer Vladimir Salnikov became the first swimmer ever under 15 minutes (14:58.27) in the 1500m freestyle.
Related Pages
- List of sports at the 1980 Olympic Games
- Medal tally from 1980
- Arnhem 1980 Paralympic Games
- Complete list of Olympic host cities
- Russia at the Olympic Games
- Videos from the 1980 Olympics
- 1980: The Year in Sport
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