Summer Olympic (1980)

The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. The yachting events were held in Tallinn; preliminary matches and the quarterfinals of the football (soccer) tournament were held, besides Moscow, at the stadiums of Leningrad, Kiev, and Minsk. It was the first Games ever held in Eastern Europe.  A U.S.-led boycott reduced the number of participating nations to 80, the lowest number since 1956. Aleksandr Dityatin earned medals in every man’s gymnastics event to become the only athlete ever to win eight medals in one Olympics. Super-heavyweight Teófilo Stevenson became the first boxer to win the same division three times. Gerd Wessig became the first male high jumper to break the world record at the Olympics and swimmer Vladimir Salnikov broke the 15-minute barrier for the 1,500m. In adramatic confrontation, runners Steve Ovett and Sebastian Coe split the 800 and 1,500m.

Opening date: 19 July 1980

Closing date: 03 August 1980

Ceremonies

Official opening of the Games by: President Leonid Brezhnev

Lighting the Olympic Flame by: Sergei Belov (basketball)

Olympic Oath by: Nikolay Andrianov (gymnastics)

Official Oath by: Aleksandr Medved (wrestling)

Participations

80 NOCs (Nations)
5,179 athletes (1,115 women, 4,064 men)
203 events
5,615 media (2,685 written press, 2,930 broadcasters)

Country of the host city: USSR (URS)

Candidate cities: Los Angeles (USA)

Sports

• Aquatics
• Archery
• Athletics
• Basketball
• Boxing
• Canoe / Kayak
• Cycling
• Equestrian
• Fencing
• Football
• Gymnastics
• Handball
• Hockey
• Judo
• Modern Pentathlon
• Rowing
• Sailing
• Shooting
• Volleyball
• Weightlifting
• Wrestling

Venues

• Central Lenin Stadium area
• Grand Arena - opening/closing ceremonies, athletics, football/soccer finals, equestrian events
• Minor Arena - volleyball
• Swimming Pool - water polo
• Palace of Sports - gymnastics, judo
• Druzhba Multipurpose Arena - volleyball
• Olympiiski Sports Center
• Indoor Stadium - basketball, boxing
• Swimming Pool - swimming, diving, swimming event of modern pentathlon, water polo
• CSKA (Central Sports Club of the Army) Sports Complex
• Athletics Field house, Central Sports Club of the Army - wrestling
• Football Field house, Central Sports Club of the Army - fencing
• Palace of Sports, Central Sports Club of the Army - basketball, fencing event of modern pentathlon
• Venues in metropolitan Moscow
• Grand Arena, Dynamo Central Stadium - football/soccer preliminaries
• Minor Arena, Dynamo Central Stadium - hockey
• Young Pioneers' Stadium - hockey
• Dynamo Palace of Sports, Khimki-Khovrino - handball
• Trade Unions' Equestrian Complex - equestrian events, equestrian and cross-country events of modern pentathlon
• Izmailovo Palace of Sports - weightlifting
• Sokolniki Sports Palace - handball
• Dynamo Shooting Range, Mytishchi - shooting events, shooting event of modern pentathlon
• Krylatskoye Sports Complex
• Canoeing and Rowing Basin, Krylatskoye - canoeing, rowing
• Olympic Velodrome, Krylatskoye - cycling
• Archery Field, Krylatskoye - archery
• Venues outside Moscow
• Kirov Stadium, Leningrad, Russian SFSR - soccer/football preliminaries
• Dynamo Stadium, Minsk, Byelorussian SSR - soccer/football preliminaries
• Republican Stadium, Kiev, Ukrainian SSR - soccer/football preliminaries
• Olympic Yachting Center, Tallinn, Estonian SSR – yachting

Highlights

• Vladimir Salnikov (URS-swimming) won three gold medals, in the 400m freestyle, 4×200m relay and 1,500m. This was the first time any swimmer had swum the 1,500m in under 15 minutes. Eight years later, he would make an extraordinary comeback by winning the 1,500m again.

• Steve Ovett (GBR-athletics) and Sebastian Coe (GBR) faced each other in two memorable duels. In the 800m, Ovett won the gold medal ahead of his compatriot. Six days later, a determined Coe redeemed himself in the 1,500m. He took the gold, while Ovett managed only a bronze.

Facts

• The Olympics were disrupted by another, even larger boycott, this one led by U.S. president Jimmy Carter, part of a package of actions to protest the December 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Carter engaged in extensive arm-twisting to gain support from other nations. Some governments, like those of Great Britain and Australia, supported the boycott but allowed the athletes to decide for themselves whether to go to Moscow. No such freedom of choice was allowed U.S. athletes, as Carter threatened to revoke the passport of any athlete who tried to travel to the USSR. In the end, 65 nations turned down their invitations to the Olympics; probably 45 to 50 did so because of the U.S.-led boycott. Eighty nations did participate - the lowest number since 1956.

• The boycott deprived the inaugural women’s field hockey tournament of all of its entrants except the host Soviet Union. Five weeks before the Opening Ceremony, a late invitation went out to Zimbabwe to send a team. Members were selected less than a week before the Games and rushed to Moscow, where they surprised everyone by finishing first.

• Observers of the medal ceremony for the men’s coxless pairs rowing event might have been excused for rubbing their eyes. Both the gold - and silver-medal winning teams were identical twins. Bernd and Jorg Landvoigt of East Germany took first place, while Yuri and Nikolai Pimenov of Russia finished second.

• The Olympic Games are held in a socialist country for the first time ever.

• During the closing ceremony, Misha the bear, Olympic mascot of the 1980 Moscow Games appears with a tear in it's eye.