1980 Summer Olympics

The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially called Moscow 1980, were held in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, from July 19 to August 3, 1980. These games brought together athletes from many countries to compete in a variety of sports.

However, the games were marked by a big problem. Because of a war that the Soviet Union was involved in, called the Soviet–Afghan War, many countries decided not to join. Led by the United States, 66 countries boycotted the games completely. Some of these countries held their own events instead.

Even with the boycott, athletes from many places still came to compete. The Soviet Union was very successful, winning the most gold medals and overall medals, with the help of East Germany. These games were the last ones led by Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin as head of the Olympic committee before Juan Antonio Samaranch took over.

Host city selection

The 1980 Summer Olympics were offered to two cities: Moscow and Los Angeles. Leaders chose Moscow during a meeting in Vienna, Austria, on October 23, 1974. Later, Los Angeles hosted the Olympics in 1984.

Participation and boycott

Eighty nations took part in the Moscow Olympics, which was the smallest number since 1956. This included seven nations joining the Olympics for the very first time: Angola, Botswana, Cyprus, Jordan, Laos, Mozambique and Seychelles. Vietnam also joined after its war ended.

Many countries chose not to attend these Olympics. The United States led a large group in protest of the Soviet Union's actions in Afghanistan. As a result, 66 invited countries and regions did not participate. Some followed the United States, while others had economic reasons for not joining. Iran, Israel, People's Republic of China, and Taiwan also did not take part for various reasons.

Instead, many of these countries competed in an event called the Liberty Bell Classic in Philadelphia. The boycott changed the results of some sports, with the Soviet Union and East Germany winning most of the medals.

Events, records and drug tests

The 1980 Summer Olympics featured 203 events, more than any Olympics before. Athletes set 36 world records, 39 European records, and 74 Olympic records, which was more than at the previous games in Montreal. New Olympic records were set 241 times, and world records were broken 97 times.

Although no athletes were found using banned substances during the official tests, later reports suggested that some athletes may have used drugs that were not yet detectable by the tests at the time. A new method to detect certain substances was tested privately by an IOC Medical Commission member, which later became an official part of Olympic testing. This was also the first time a case of "blood doping" was documented during the Olympics.

Media and broadcasting

Many television networks around the world showed the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Major broadcasters included USSR State TV and Radio, Eurovision, and Intervision. TV Asahi covered the event for Japan, OTI for Latin America, and the Seven Network for Australia. NBC planned to broadcast the Games but could not due to the U.S. boycott and only showed highlights later. ABC showed parts of the opening ceremony on its Nightline program but could not show daily highlights because of NBC's exclusive rights. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation almost did not broadcast because Canada joined the boycott. The Olympics were shown on 20 television channels, more than in previous games like Montreal, Munich, and Mexico City. This was the first time people in North Korea could watch the Olympics, thanks to KCTV, their first satellite television service.

Commemoration

A series of commemorative coins was released in the USSR between 1977 and 1980 to celebrate the event. The collection included five platinum coins, six gold coins, 28 silver coins, and six copper-nickel coins.

Budget

The 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow cost a lot to prepare and run. The official report said that the total spending was about US$1.35 billion, but the money made from tickets and other sources was about US$231 million. To help pay for the games, the organizers held lotteries. The money from these lotteries paid for one-quarter of the total cost.

Cost

The Moscow 1980 Summer Olympics cost about US$6.3 billion when adjusted for today’s prices. This amount covers expenses directly tied to running the Games, like technology, transportation, and building special places for athletes to stay. It does not include bigger projects like improving roads or airports. For comparison, other recent Olympics have had costs ranging from US$4.6 billion to over US$50 billion. The average cost for Summer Olympics since 1960 is around US$5.2 billion.

Opening ceremony

The 1980 Summer Olympics opening ceremony was a big celebration that marked the start of the games in Moscow. It brought together athletes and officials from many countries to begin the competition in a joyful and exciting way.

Event highlights

Archery

Main article: Archery at the 1980 Summer Olympics

Tomi Poikolainen of Finland came from behind on the last day to win the men's archery competition. The women's archery gold was won by Ketevan Losaberidze of the USSR. The U.S. archery team was strong but did not get to compete because of a boycott.

Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 1980 Summer Olympics

Ethiopian Miruts Yifter won both the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres. Allan Wells of Great Britain won the 100 metres, becoming the first Briton to do so since 1924. Gerd Wessig of East Germany won the high jump with a new personal best. Poland's Władysław Kozakiewicz won the pole vault, and Waldemar Cierpinski of East Germany won the marathon for the second time in a row.

Basketball

Main article: Basketball at the 1980 Summer Olympics

Basketball was affected by a boycott, with several teams not participating. The Soviet Union won the women's competition, and Yugoslavia won the men's competition, with the Soviet Union taking bronze.

Boxing

Main article: Boxing at the 1980 Summer Olympics

Teófilo Stevenson of Cuba won his third consecutive Olympic gold in heavyweight boxing. Patrizio Oliva of Italy won gold in light-welterweight.

Canoeing

Main article: Canoeing at the 1980 Summer Olympics

Uladzimir Parfianovich of the USSR won three gold medals in canoeing. Birgit Fischer of East Germany won medals in each Olympics from 1980 to 2004.

Cycling

Main article: Cycling at the 1980 Summer Olympics

Lothar Thoms of East Germany won the 1,000-metre individual pursuit. Sergei Sukhoruchenkov of the USSR won the individual road race. The Soviet team won the team road race.

Diving

Main article: Diving at the 1980 Summer Olympics

Irina Kalinina of the USSR won gold in the springboard final. Martina Jaschke of East Germany won gold in the high dive.

Equestrian

Main article: Equestrian at the 1980 Summer Olympics

Poland's Jan Kowalczyk won gold in individual show jumping. Petre Rosca of Romania was the oldest medalist at the Olympics.

Fencing

Main article: Fencing at the 1980 Summer Olympics

France won four gold medals in fencing. The USSR won the team sabre event.

Football

Main article: Football at the 1980 Summer Olympics

The USSR won bronze in football. Czechoslovakia won gold, beating East Germany in the final.

Gymnastics

Main article: Gymnastics at the 1980 Summer Olympics

Soviet gymnast Alexander Dityatin won medals in all eight gymnastics events, a first at the Olympics. Nadia Comăneci of Romania won gold on balance beam and floor.

Handball

Main article: Handball at the 1980 Summer Olympics

East Germany beat the USSR in the men's handball final. The USSR won the women's tournament.

Field hockey

Main article: Field hockey at the 1980 Summer Olympics

Zimbabwe won the women's field hockey gold. India won the men's field hockey gold for the eighth time.

Judo

Main article: Judo at the 1980 Summer Olympics

The USSR topped the judo medals table. France came second, and East Germany third.

Modern pentathlon

Main article: Modern pentathlon at the 1980 Summer Olympics

George Horvath of Sweden recorded a perfect score in the pistol shoot.

Rowing

Main article: Rowing at the 1980 Summer Olympics

East Germany dominated rowing, winning eleven of the fourteen titles.

Sailing

Main article: Sailing at the 1980 Summer Olympics

The sailing event was held in Tallinn, Estonia. Soviet sailor Valentyn Mankin won a gold medal in the "Star" class.

Shooting

Main article: Shooting at the 1980 Summer Olympics

Hans Kjeld Rasmussen of Denmark won the skeet shooting marathon. Károly Varga of Hungary won the smallbore rifle event.

Swimming

Main article: Swimming at the 1980 Summer Olympics

Vladimir Salnikov of the USSR won three gold medals, including breaking the 15-minute barrier in the 1500 metre freestyle. East German women dominated the swimming events, winning many medals and setting world records.

Volleyball

Main article: Volleyball at the 1980 Summer Olympics

The USSR won gold in both men's and women's volleyball.

Water polo

Main article: Water polo at the 1980 Summer Olympics

Hungary won a bronze medal in water polo.

Weightlifting

Main article: Weightlifting at the 1980 Summer Olympics

Yurik Vardanyan of the USSR won gold in the middleweight class. Soviet weightlifters won five gold medals.

Wrestling

Main article: Wrestling at the 1980 Summer Olympics

Soviet wrestlers won 12 gold medals.

Closing ceremony

Because many countries, including the United States, chose not to attend the games, some usual parts of the closing ceremony were changed. Instead of raising the United States flag, the flag of the city of Los Angeles was raised. The Olympic Anthem was played instead of the national anthem of the United States. Normally, there is a special ceremony where the Olympic flag is passed from one city to the next, but this time the flag stayed in Moscow until the next games in 1984. Also, there was no presentation about the next host city.

Both the opening and closing ceremonies were shown in a film by Yuri Ozerov called Oh, Sport – You Are The World!.

Venues

Main article: Venues of the 1980 Summer Olympics

The 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow used many different places for the sports events. Some of the main spots included the Central Lenin Stadium area for big ceremonies and athletics, the Olympiysky Sports Complex for basketball and swimming, and the CSKA Sports Complex for wrestling and fencing.

Other venues were spread around Moscow and nearby cities, like the Dynamo Central Stadium for football and field hockey, the Krylatskoye Sports Complex for canoeing and cycling, and stadiums in Leningrad, Minsk, Kiev, and Tallinn for more football and sailing events. Some places were built just for the Olympics, while others were updated from existing facilities.

Sports

The 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow had many different sports for athletes to compete in. There were 21 sports with a total of 203 events. Some of the sports included diving, swimming, water polo, archery, athletics, basketball, boxing, canoeing, cycling, equestrian, fencing, football, gymnastics, handball, field hockey, judo, modern pentathlon, rowing, sailing, shooting, volleyball, weightlifting, and wrestling. Each sport had its own set of events, making the Olympics a big and exciting competition for everyone.

Calendar

All times are in Moscow Time (UTC+3)

Medal count

This section shows which countries won medals at the 1980 Olympics. The host nation was the Soviet Union.

List of participating countries and regions

This list shows how many athletes from each country took part in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Some countries are shown in italics because they competed under the Olympic flag or their own National Olympic Committee flags, like New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain.

Number of athletes by National Olympic Committees