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The Winter Olympic Games were held in Lake Placid, USA, in 1980, between Feb 13-24. 37 Nations with 1072 participants competed in 38 events. Lake Placid also hosted the Winter Olympics in 1932.

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Trivia

• These Games were the first to use artificial snow.
• American Eric Heiden won all five speed skating events, the first time that's ever been done. The other Gold medal for the US was in ice hockey, in what has been called the 'miracle on ice'.
• The first country to boycott the Winter Games was Taiwan when they refused to change their name from the Republic of China as the IOC tried to appease China in 1980.
• The first person to win five individual gold medals in one Games (Summer and Winter) was Eric Heiden, when he won all five men's speed skating titles in 1980 (three of Mark Spitz's swimming gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympics were in relays).
• The USA ice hockey team pulled off an upset victory over the heavy favorites USSR in the match now called the 'Miracle on Ice'. (see video)

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Related Pages

• Videos from the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid
• About the Lake Placid Winter Olympics in 1932
• More Winter Olympics Host Countries
• Winter Olympics main page.
• Sport in the USA