2. The 1980 Olympics were the XXII edition of
the Olympic Games, celebrated in Moscow,
capital of the Soviet Union, between July
19 and August 3.
The Moscow Olympics are remembered
for the division of the Olympic
world. 5217athletes participated (4043 males
and 1,124 females) from 81
countries competing in 21 sports and
204 specialties.
3. This games were influenced by the political
situation. Socialism was the opposition to
capitalism, and socialist and
capitalist states had faced decades in the
called Cold War.
In blue and grey, states that boycotted the Games in 1980.
4. United States, arguing that the Soviet military
presence in Afghanistan, was an invasion
and violation of international law, decided not
to go to the games, only six months before
they started.
U.S. President Jimmy Carter threatened
to remove the passport to any American
athlete to try to go.
5. This decision was joined by several of its
allies, such as West
Germany, Canada, Argentina, Japan, Turkey
and Norway. Some U.S. allies like the
United Kingdom and Australia, given free
choice to their athletes, who competed under
the Olympic flag. The Republic of
China, faced with the Soviet Union, was
not at the Moscow Games.
In total only 80 countries participated in the
Games, the lowest since the 1956 Olympics -
but even so, they broke many records, even
more than in the previous Games in Montreal.
6.
7. British highlights include Allan Wells winning the
100m and Coe and Ovett winning the 1500m and
800m respectively.
In the swimming pool Duncan Goodhew, won the
100m breaststroke. He later went on to be an
outstanding sports ambassador.
9. Daley Thompson won gold in the
Decathlon.
He would win again in 1984.
His arch rival, Jurgen
Hingsen, was so much bigger
it seemed unfair. Hingsen's best for the
individual events was better than
Thompson's yet in ten head-to-head
competitions Daley Thompson won every
time. This leads Will and Guy to think that
even among Olympians, we doubt if
any were more dedicated, single minded
or just plain determined to win than
Daley Thompson.
