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The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commonly known as Moscow 1980 (russian: link=no, Москва 1980), were an international
multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...
held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, Soviet Union, in present-day Russia. The games were the first to be staged in an
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
country, as well as the first Olympic Games and only Summer Olympics to be held in a
Slavic language The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic, spoken during the Ea ...
-speaking country. They were also the only Summer
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...
to be held in a self-proclaimed
communist country A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...
until the
2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...
held in China. These were the final Olympic Games under the IOC Presidency of
Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, (30 July 1914 – 25 April 1999) was an Irish journalist, author, sports official, and the sixth President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He succeeded his uncle as Baron Killanin in the Peer ...
before he was succeeded by
Juan Antonio Samaranch Juan Antonio Samaranch y Torelló, 1st Marquess of Samaranch (Catalan: ''Joan Antoni Samaranch i Torelló'', ; 17 July 1920 – 21 April 2010) was a Spanish sports administrator under the Franco regime (1973–1977) who served as the seventh P ...
, a Spaniard, shortly afterwards. Eighty nations were represented at the Moscow Games, the smallest number since
1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...
. Led by the United States, 66 countries
boycotted A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...
the games entirely, because of the
Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...
. Several alternative events were held outside of the Soviet Union. Some athletes from some of the boycotting countries (not included in the list of 66 countries that boycotted the games entirely) participated in the games under the
Olympic Flag The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags and symbols to elevate the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competition—such as the flame, fanfare and theme—as well as those used througho ...
. The Soviet Union later boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
won the most gold and overall medals, with the USSR and
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...
winning 127 out of 203 available golds.


Host city selection

The only two cities to bid for the 1980 Summer Olympics were Moscow and Los Angeles. The choice between them was made at the 75th
IOC Session This is the list of International Olympic Committee (IOC) meetings. Olympic Congresses IOC Sessions There has been a session during all Olympic Games except the 1900, 1904 and 1908 Summer Olympics and the 1924, 1928 and 1932 Winter Olympics ...
in Vienna, Austria on 23 October 1974. Los Angeles would eventually host the
1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...
.


Participation overview and boycott

Eighty nations were represented at the Moscow Olympics, the smallest number since
1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...
. Of the eighty participating nations, seven National Olympic Committees made their first appearance at these Games:
Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...
,
Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...
,
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...
,
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
,
Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist s ...
,
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
and
Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...
. None of these nations won a medal. Although approximately half of the 24 countries that boycotted the
1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...
(in protest against the IOC not expelling New Zealand who sanctioned a rugby tour of
apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
South Africa) participated in the Moscow Games, the 1980 Summer Olympics were disrupted by another, even larger, boycott led by the United States in protest of the 1979
Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...
. The Soviet invasion spurred President
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
to issue an ultimatum on 20 January 1980, which stated that the U.S. would boycott the Moscow Olympics if Soviet troops did not withdraw from Afghanistan within one month. 65 countries and regions invited did not participate in the 1980 Olympics. Many of these followed the United States' boycott initiative, while others cited economic reasons for not participating.
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, under
Ayatollah Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
hostile to both superpowers, boycotted when the
Islamic Conference Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or ''Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ma ...
condemned the invasion. Many of the boycotting nations participated instead in the Liberty Bell Classic, also known as the "Olympic Boycott Games", in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
. However, the nations that did compete had won 71 percent of all medals, and similarly 71 percent of the gold medals, at the
1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...
in Montreal. This was in part due to state-run doping programs that had been developed in the Eastern Bloc countries. As a form of protest against the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, fifteen countries marched in the Opening Ceremony with the
Olympic Flag The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags and symbols to elevate the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competition—such as the flame, fanfare and theme—as well as those used througho ...
instead of their national flags, and the Olympic Flag and
Olympic Hymn The Olympic Hymn ( el, Ολυμπιακός Ύμνος, ), also known as the Olympic Anthem, is a choral cantata by opera composer Spyridon Samaras (1861–1917), with lyrics by Greek poet Kostis Palamas. Both poet and composer were the choice of ...
were used at medal ceremonies when athletes from these countries won medals. Competitors from
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
,
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
, and
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
competed under the flags of their respective
National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...
s. Some of these teams that marched under flags other than their national flags were depleted by boycotts by individual athletes, while some athletes did not participate in the march. The boycott impacted the competitiveness of swimming, track and field, boxing, basketball, diving, field hockey and equestrian sports. Whilst competitors from 36 countries became Olympic medalists, the great majority of the medals were taken by the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
and
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...
in what was the most skewed medal tally since
1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library syst ...
.


Events, records and drug tests overview

There were 203 events – more than at any previous Olympics. 36 world records, 39 European records and 74 Olympic records were set at the games. In total, this was more records than were set at Montreal. New Olympic records were set 241 times over the course of the competitions and world records were beaten 97 times. Though no athletes were caught doping at the 1980 Summer Olympics, it has been revealed that athletes had begun using
testosterone Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondary sexual characteristi ...
and other drugs for which tests had not been yet developed. According to British journalist Andrew Jennings, a KGB colonel stated that the agency's officers had posed as anti-doping authorities from the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...
(IOC) to undermine doping tests and that Soviet athletes were "rescued with hesetremendous efforts". A 1989 report by a committee of the
Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. There are a t ...
claimed that "there is hardly a medal winner at the Moscow Games, certainly not a gold medal winner...who is not on one sort of drug or another: usually several kinds. The Moscow Games might well have been called the Chemists' Games". A member of the IOC Medical Commission, Manfred Donike, privately ran additional tests with a new technique for identifying abnormal levels of testosterone by measuring its ratio to
epitestosterone Epitestosterone, or isotestosterone, also known as 17α-testosterone or as androst-4-en-17α-ol-3-one, is an endogenous steroid and an epimer of the androgen sex hormone testosterone. It is a weak competitive antagonist of the androgen receptor ...
in
urine Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and in many other animals. Urine flows from the kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder. Urination results in urine being excreted from the body through the urethra. Cellul ...
. Twenty percent of the specimens he tested, including those from sixteen gold medalists would have resulted in disciplinary proceedings had the tests been official. The results of Donike's unofficial tests later convinced the IOC to add his new technique to their testing protocols. The first documented case of "
blood doping Blood doping is a form of doping in which the number of red blood cells in the bloodstream is boosted in order to enhance athletic performance. Because such blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs to the muscles, a higher concentration in the blo ...
" occurred at the 1980 Summer Olympics as a runner was transfused with two pints of blood before winning medals in the 5000 m and 10,000 m.


Media and broadcasting

Major broadcasters of the 1980 Games were USSR State TV and Radio (1,370 accreditation cards),
Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pri ...
(31 countries, 818 cards) and Intervision (11 countries, 342 cards).1980 Summer Olympics Official Report from the Organizing Committee
, vol. 2, p. 379
TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Comp ...
with 68 cards provided coverage for Japan, while OTI, representing Latin America, received 59 cards, and the
Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...
provided coverage for Australia (48 cards).
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
, which had intended to be another major broadcaster, canceled its coverage in response to the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Games, and became a minor broadcaster with 56 accreditation cards, although they did air highlights and recaps of the Games on a regular basis. ABC aired scenes of the opening ceremony during its ''
Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News' late-night television news program broadcast on ABC in the United States with a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. Created by Roone Arledge, the prog ...
'' program, and promised highlights each night, but later announced that they could not air any highlights as NBC still had exclusive broadcast rights in the US. The
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the governmen ...
(CBC) almost canceled their plans for coverage after Canada took part in the boycott, and was represented by nine cards. The television center used 20 television channels, compared to 16 for the Montreal Games, 12 for the Munich Games, and seven for the Mexico City Games. This was also the first time North Korea was watching, as KCTV (Korea Central Television) broadcast it as their first satellite program.


Spectators and commemoration

The Games attracted five million spectators, an increase of 1.5 million from the Montreal Games. There were 1,245 referees from 78 countries. A series of commemorative coins was released in the
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...
in 1977–1980 to commemorate the event. It consisted of five platinum coins, six
gold coin A gold coin is a coin that is made mostly or entirely of gold. Most gold coins minted since 1800 are 90–92% gold (22karat), while most of today's gold bullion coins are pure gold, such as the Britannia, Canadian Maple Leaf, and American Buf ...
s, 28
silver coin Silver coins are considered the oldest mass-produced form of coinage. Silver has been used as a coinage metal since the times of the Greeks; their silver drachmas were popular trade coins. The ancient Persians used silver coins between 612–33 ...
s and six
copper-nickel Cupronickel or copper-nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese. The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent. (Monel is a nickel-copper alloy that contains a minimu ...
coins.


Budget

According to the Official Report, submitted to the IOC by the
NOC A network on a chip or network-on-chip (NoC or )This article uses the convention that "NoC" is pronounced . Therefore, it uses the convention "a" for the indefinite article corresponding to NoC ("a NoC"). Other sources may pronounce it as an ...
of the
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...
, total expenditures for the preparations for and staging of the 1980 Games were US$1,350,000,000, total revenues being US$231,000,000.


Cost

''The Oxford Olympics Study'' established the outturn cost of the Moscow 1980 Summer Olympics at US$6.3 billion in 2015 dollars. This includes sports-related costs only, that is, (i) ''operational costs'' incurred by the organizing committee for the purpose of staging the Games, e.g., expenditures for technology, transportation, workforce, administration, security, catering, ceremonies, and medical services, and (ii) ''direct capital costs'' incurred by the host city and country or private investors to build, e.g., the competition venues, the Olympic village, international broadcast center, and media and press center, which are required to host the Games. Indirect capital costs are ''not'' included, such as for road, rail, or airport infrastructure, or for hotel upgrades or other business investment incurred in preparation for the Games but not directly related to staging the Games. The cost for Moscow 1980 compares with costs of US$4.6 billion for Rio 2016 (projected), US$40–44 billion for Beijing 2008 and US$51 billion for Sochi 2014, the most expensive Olympics in history. Average cost for the Summer Games since 1960 is US$5.2 billion.


Opening ceremony


Highlights of the different events


Archery

*
Tomi Poikolainen Tomi Jaakko Poikolainen (born 27 December 1961) is a retired Finnish archer who competed in five consecutive Olympics from 1980 to 1996. He won an individual gold medal in 1980 and a team silver in 1992, placing fifth individually in 1984. Betwe ...
of Finland, who had not finished any of the previous three days' shooting higher than fourth, came from fourth on the last day to win the men's archery competition, scoring 2455 points. He won gold just three points ahead of a Soviet athlete. * The women's archery gold was won by Ketevan Losaberidze (USSR), who was also the European, Soviet and world champion. * The women's archery silver was won by Natalia Butuzova (USSR), who had set nine national records and three world records in 1979. * The U.S. archery team was one of the strongest ever fielded, but due to the boycott, the team never had a chance to prove itself. This team held every record and featured 1976 Olympic champion Darrell O. Pace, who was averaging 100 points more than the winning score in Moscow at the time.


Athletics

* Ethiopian Miruts Yifter won the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres athletics double, emulating
Lasse Virén Lasse Artturi Virén (born 22 July 1949) is a Finnish former long-distance runner, winner of four gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. Virén recaptured the image of the " Flying Finns" promoted by runners like Hannes Kolehmainen, ...
's 1972 and 1976 performances. * "I have a 90% chance of winning the 1,500 metres," wrote
Steve Ovett Stephen Michael James Ovett, (; born 9 October 1955) is a retired British track athlete. A middle-distance runner, he was the gold medalist in the 800 metres at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, and set 5 world records for 1500 metres and t ...
in an article for one of Britain's Sunday papers just before the start of the Olympics. After he won the 800 metres Olympic gold, beating world-record holder
Sebastian Coe Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British politician and former track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, including 1500 metres gold medal ...
, Ovett stated he would not only win the 1,500 metres race, but would beat the world record by as much as four seconds. Ovett had won 45 straight 1,500 metres races since May 1977. In contrast, Coe had competed in only eight 1,500 metres races between 1976 and 1980. Coe won the race, holding off Ovett in the final lap, who finished third. * Aided by the absence of American opposition,
Allan Wells Allan Wipper Wells (born 3 May 1952) is a Scottish former track and field sprinter who became the 100 metres Olympic champion at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Within a fortnight of that, he also took on and beat America's best sprinters ...
beat Cuban
Silvio Leonard Silvio Leonard Sarría also known as Silvio Leonard Tartabull (born September 20, 1955 in Cienfuegos) is a former sprinter from Cuba. Career Leonard first announced his talent when he set a new Cuban 100 metres national junior record in 197 ...
to become the first Briton since 1924 to win the Olympic 100 metres race. *
Gerd Wessig Gerd Wessig (, ; born 16 July 1959 in Lübz, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) was an East German high jumper who won the gold medal in the 1980 Summer Olympics, the first man ever to set a world record in the high jump at the Olympics. Early lif ...
, who had made the East German team only two weeks before the Games, easily won the gold medal with a high jump. This was 9 cm higher than he had ever jumped before. * In the 1980 Olympic women's long jump competition, Soviet jumper
Tatiana Kolpakova Tatyana Alekseyevna Kolpakova (Abbyasova) (russian: Татьяна Алексеевна Колпакова (Аббясова)) (born October 18, 1959 in village Alamedin, Kyrgyz SSR) is a retired long jumper who represented the USSR. Kolpakov ...
bested her compatriots and other competitors by setting a new Olympic record of . * Poland's
Władysław Kozakiewicz Władysław Kozakiewicz (born 8 December 1953) is a retired Poland, Polish athlete who specialised in the pole vault. He is best known for winning the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow and the bras d'honneur gesture which he showe ...
won the pole vault with a jump of – only the second pole vaulting world record to be established during an Olympics. The previous time had been at the Antwerp Olympics 1920. * In the long jump competition, three women beat for the first time ever in one competition. *
Waldemar Cierpinski Waldemar Cierpinski (born 3 August 1950) is a former East German athlete and two time Olympic Champion in the marathon. He lives in Halle an der Saale. Career He was born to Polish parents who had moved to Germany in 1945, in Neug ...
of the
German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...
(
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...
) won his second consecutive
marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
gold. *
Bärbel Wöckel Bärbel Wöckel ( Eckert; born 21 March 1955 in Leipzig) is a retired East German sprinter. She never ran a world record in the individual disciplines. However, she ran several world records as part of relay teams with Doris Maletzki ...
, also of the GDR, winner of the 200 metres in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
, became the first woman to retain the title. *
Tatiana Kazankina Tatyana Vasilyevna Kazankina (russian: Татья́на Васи́льевна Каза́нкина; born 17 December 1951 in Petrovsk, Saratov Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union) is a Soviet/Russian former runner who set ...
(USSR) retained the 1,500m title that she had won in Montreal. * In the women's pentathlon, Soviet Nadiya Tkachenko (present day-
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
) scored 5,083 points to become the first athlete to exceed 5,000 points in the event during Olympic competition, winning gold. * For the first time in Olympic history, all eight male participants in the long jump final beat the mark of . *
Lutz Dombrowski Lutz Dombrowski (born 25 June 1959) is a former German track and field athlete and Olympic champion. Early life Dombrowski was born in 1959 in Zwickau. Wilhelm Pieck, who at the time of Dombrowski's birth was president of East Germany, wa ...
(GDR) won the long jump gold. His was the longest jump recorded at sea level and he became only the second ever to jump further than . * In the triple jump final, Viktor Saneyev (USSR; present day-
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
), who won gold at Mexico, Munich and Montreal, won silver behind
Jaak Uudmäe Jaak Uudmäe (born 3 September 1954) is an Estonian former triple jumper and long jumper who competed for the Soviet Union. He was the gold medalist at the 1980 Summer Olympics. He set a personal best of in his Olympic victory – a mark which ...
(USSR; present day-
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...
) and ahead of Brazil's world record holder João Carlos de Oliveira. Both de Oliveira and Australia's Ian Campbell produced long jumps, but they were declared fouls by the officials and not measured; in Campbell's case, his longest jump was ruled a "scrape foul", with his trailing leg touching the track during the jump. Campbell insisted that he had not scraped, and it was alleged the officials intentionally threw out his and de Oliveira's best jumps to favor the Soviets, similarly to a number of other events. * Yuriy Sedykh (USSR) won gold in the hammer throw event. Four of his six throws broke the world record of 80m. No hammer thrower in the world had ever achieved this before. As in Montreal, the USSR won gold, silver and bronze in this event. *
Evelin Jahl Evelin Jahl ( Schlaak and later Herberg, born 28 March 1956 in Annaberg-Buchholz, Saxony, East Germany) is a German former discus thrower, who won two Olympic gold medals representing East Germany. In 1976 she won the women's discus throwing e ...
(GDR), the 1976 Olympic champion, won discus gold again. She won with a new Olympic record – – having been undefeated since Montreal. * Cuba's María Caridad Colón won the women's javelin, setting a new Olympic record. *
Sara Simeoni Sara Simeoni (born 19 April 1953) is an Italian former high jumper, who won a gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics and twice set a world record in the women's high jump. Biography Sara Simeoni was born in Rivoli Veronese, in the province of V ...
of Italy won the women's high jump, setting a new Olympic record. She had won a silver in the 1976 Games and would go on to win a silver in the 1984 Games. * In track-and-field, six world records, eighteen Olympic records and nine best results of the year were registered. * In women's track and field, events alone either a world or Olympic record was broken in almost every event. * Daley Thompson of
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...
won the gold in the Decathlon. He won gold again at the Los Angeles Olympics. * Soviet Dainis Kula won gold in the men's javelin. He also had the best sum total of throws, showing his consistency. He finished ahead of his teammate Alexander Makarov. * Polish gold medallist
pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the M ...
er
Władysław Kozakiewicz Władysław Kozakiewicz (born 8 December 1953) is a retired Poland, Polish athlete who specialised in the pole vault. He is best known for winning the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow and the bras d'honneur gesture which he showe ...
showed an obscene
bras d'honneur A (), Iberian slap,, ; pt, manguito; ca, botifarra, . forearm jerk, Italian salute,, . or Kozakiewicz's gesture, or . is an obscene gesture that communicates moderate to extreme contempt, and is roughly equivalent in meaning to " fuck you", " ...
gesture in all four directions to the jeering Soviet public, causing an international scandal and almost losing his medal as a result. There were numerous incidents and accusations of Soviet officials using their authority to negate marks by opponents to the point that
IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...
officials found the need to look over the officials' shoulders to try to keep the events fair. There were also accusations of opening stadium gates to give Soviet athletes advantage, and causing other disturbances to opposing athletes.


Basketball

* Basketball was one of the hardest hit sports due to the boycott. Though replacements were found, five men's teams including the defending Olympic Champion United States withdrew from the competition in addition to the US Women's team. * In the women's competition, the host Soviet Union won the competition beating Bulgaria for gold, Yugoslavia won bronze. * The men's competition featured only the second instance of the US Men's Basketball team not winning gold with the first one being in
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...
. Yugoslavia took home the gold beating Italy in the final. The hosts, Soviet Union, winners in 1972, won the bronze.


Boxing

*
Teófilo Stevenson Teófilo Stevenson Lawrence (29 March 1952 – 11 June 2012) was a Cuban amateur boxer who competed from 1966 to 1986. He won the Val Barker Trophy (1972) and was honored with the Olympic Order (1987). Stevenson is one of only three boxers to w ...
of Cuba became the first boxer to win three consecutive Olympic titles in heavyweight, and indeed the only boxer to win the same event in three Games. ( László Papp from Hungary was the first boxer to win three titles). In boxing, Cuba won six gold, two silvers and two bronzes. * The
Val Barker Trophy The Val Barker Trophy is presented every four years to the most "outstanding boxer" at the Olympic Games. In theory, the award goes to the top "pound for pound" boxer in the Olympics. The winner is selected by a committee of International Boxing ...
is presented by the AIBA to the competitor adjudged to be the best stylist at the Games. The winner was Patrizio Oliva of Italy, who won gold at light-welterweight.


Canoeing

*
Uladzimir Parfianovich Vladimir Vladimirovich Parfenovich ( be, Уладзімір Парфяновіч; russian: Владимир Владимирович Парфенович, ; born 2 December 1958) is a retired Belarusian sprint canoer and politician. Sport Parfe ...
of the
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...
won three gold medals in
canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other act ...
. * Apart from the boycotted Los Angeles Olympics, Birgit Fischer of
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...
won medals in each Olympics from 1980 to 2004. In the 500 metres kayak singles, she won gold in Moscow, silver in
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...
, gold in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
.


Cycling

* Lothar Thoms of
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...
won the 1,000-metre individual pursuit cycling gold, breaking the world record by nearly four seconds. * The winner of the bronze in that race was Jamaica's
David Weller David Weller (born 11 February 1957) is a retired Jamaican track cyclist. Weller won a bronze medal in 1000 metres time trial at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐs ...
who also broke the sixteen-year-old world record. * In the 4,000-metre team pursuit qualifying heats, new world indoor records were set eight times. * The 189-kilometer individual road race gold was won by
Sergei Sukhoruchenkov Sergei Nikolaevich Sukhoruchenkov (russian: Серге́й Николаевич Сухорученков, born 10 August 1956) is a former Soviet and Russian cyclist and Olympic Champion. He won the gold medal at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow ...
(
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...
). * The cycling team road race was won by the Soviet team as they had done in
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...
and
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
. * In cycling, world records were toppled 21 times.


Diving

* As Aleksandr Portnov waited to do a 2 and 1/2 reverse somersault in the springboard final, cheers broke out in the adjoining swimming pool during the closing stages of
Vladimir Salnikov Vladimir Valeryevich Salnikov (russian: Владимир Валерьевич Сальников; born 21 May 1960) is a Russian former freestyle swimmer who competed for the Soviet Union and set 12 world records in the 400, 800 and 1,500 mete ...
's world record breaking 1,500m swim. The diver delayed his start until the noise had subsided but, as he took his first steps along the board, even greater cheers broke out as Salnikov touched in under 15 minutes. Under the rules, Portnov, having started, could not stop before take-off. On protest to the Swedish referee G.Olander, he was allowed to repeat the dive, and went ahead again of Mexico's Carlos Girón. Later protests by Mexico against the re-dive and by
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...
that their
Falk Hoffmann Falk Hoffmann (born 29 August 1952 in Chemnitz) is a retired diver from East Germany, who won the gold medal in the men's 10 m platform event at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union. He competed in three consecutiv ...
wanted to re-dive after allegedly being disturbed by photographic flashlights were both turned down by
FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...
. FINA President Javier Ostas stated that the decision taken by the Swedish referee was the "correct one". FINA assessed all the Olympic diving events and considers the judging to have been objective. Portnov remained the winner, with Giron taking silver and Cagnatto of Italy bronze. * Martina Jaschke (
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...
) was fourth after the preliminary high dives, but came back to win gold on the second day of competition. * Irina Kalinina (
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...
) won gold in the springboard final. As a result of her ten dives in the preliminaries, she amassed a unique number of points: 478.86. In the previous four years, no diver had scored so many. * In this final, the Mexican judge A. Marsikal allowed
Karin Guthke Karin Guthke (born 23 November 1956) is a German diver. She won a bronze medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in the 3 metre springboard event. She also participated in the 1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The Internat ...
(
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...
) to re-take a dive.


Equestrian

* In the individual show jumping event, Poland's
Jan Kowalczyk Jan Kowalczyk (18 December 1941 – 24 February 2020) was a Polish show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are co ...
and the USSR's
Nikolai Korolkov Nikolay Pavlovich Korolkov (russian: Николай Павлович Корольков; born 28 November 1946, in Rostov-on-Don) is an equestrian and Olympic champion from Russia. He won a gold medal in show jumping with the Soviet team and ...
each had 8 faults, but Kowalczyk won gold as his horse completed the course the quicker. Poland won the last of the 203 gold medals contested. * The oldest medalist at the Moscow Olympics was
Petre Rosca Petre is a surname and given name derived from Peter. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Petre * Charles Petre Eyre (1817–1902), English Roman Catholic prelate * Ion Petre Stoican (circa 1930–1990), Romanian vi ...
(Romania) in the dressage at 57 years 283 days.


Fencing

* France took four gold medals in fencing. * In the team sabre fencing final, for the fifth Olympics in a row, Italy and the USSR met. The USSR won as they did in Tokyo, Mexico and Montreal, while Italy's silver was its only medal in fencing.


Football

* The USSR won bronze.
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
won the gold medal beating German Democratic Republic (East Germany) 1:0 in the final. * The matches were played in Moscow and Leningrad, and in Kyiv and Minsk, in the
Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
and
Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...
respectively.


Gymnastics

* Soviet gymnast Alexander Dityatin won a medal in each of the eight gymnastics events, including three titles. He was the first athlete to win eight medals at an Olympics. He scored several 10s, the first perfect scores in men's gymnastics since
1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hold ...
. *
Nikolai Andrianov Nikolai Yefimovich Andrianov (russian: Никола́й Ефи́мович Андриа́нов; 14 October 1952 – 21 March 2011) was a Soviet and Russian gymnast. He held the record for men for the most Olympic medals at 15 (7 gold medals ...
, who had won gold on floor at both Munich and Montreal, was pipped this time by Roland Bruckner of East Germany. Andrianov retained the vault title he had won in Montreal. *
Zoltán Magyar Zoltán Magyar (born 13 December 1953) was the world's leading pommel horse gymnast in the 1970s. In this event he won two Olympic, three world, three European and two World Cup titles. Magyar had two moves named after him, the Magyar spindle ...
(Hungary) retained the Olympic title on pommel horse that he had won in Montreal. He was also a three-time world champion and three-time European champion on this piece of apparatus. * In the team competition, the USSR won the gold medal for the eighth consecutive time, continuing the "gold" series that started in 1952. * In the women's gymnastics event finals, a Romanian gymnast medals on each piece of apparatus for the first time: ** Balance Beam –
Nadia Comăneci Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner (born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian retired gymnast and a five-time Olympic gold medalist, all in individual events. In 1976, at the age of 14, Comăneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10 ...
(gold) ** Floor –
Nadia Comăneci Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner (born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian retired gymnast and a five-time Olympic gold medalist, all in individual events. In 1976, at the age of 14, Comăneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10 ...
(gold) ** Uneven Bar –
Emilia Eberle Gertrúd Emilia Eberle (; born 4 March 1964) is a retired Romanian gymnast of German-Hungarian descent.Emilia ...
(silver) &
Melita Ruhn Melita Ruhn (later Fleischer, born 19 April 1965) is a retired Romanian artistic gymnast who represented Romania at the 1980 Summer Olympics. She belongs to the German minority in Romania. She won three Olympic medals (team, vault, uneven bars) ...
(bronze) ** Vault –
Melita Ruhn Melita Ruhn (later Fleischer, born 19 April 1965) is a retired Romanian artistic gymnast who represented Romania at the 1980 Summer Olympics. She belongs to the German minority in Romania. She won three Olympic medals (team, vault, uneven bars) ...
(bronze) * Before the Los Angeles Olympics, the United States gymnastics federation proposed a change in the rules so that a head judge cannot interfere and meddle in the scoring of competitors.


Handball

* In the men's event, East Germany beat the USSR 23–22 in the handball final. * In the women's tournament, the USSR won all its matches and retained the Olympic handball title. Yugoslavia and East Germany gained silver and bronze medal respectively.


Field hockey

* Six countries competed in the women's field hockey:
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, India,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
,
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
,
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...
, and
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
. The gold medal was won by the team of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe did not learn it would get a place in the tournament until 35 days before the Games began, and chose its team only the weekend before the opening ceremony. None of their players had prior playing experience on an artificial surface. Soviet Union won bronze. * India won a record eighth title in men's field hockey. The Soviet Union won bronze.


Judo

* In Japan's absence, the USSR won five medals.


Modern Pentathlon

* In the modern pentathlon, George Horvath (Sweden) recorded a perfect score in the pistol shoot. It had been achieved only once before in
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
.


Rowing

*
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...
dominated
rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...
, winning eleven of the fourteen titles. The East German men won seven out of eight events, foiled from achieving a clean sweep by
Pertti Karppinen Pertti Johannes Karppinen (born 17 February 1953) is a retired Finnish rower noted for his three consecutive Olympic gold medals in single sculls in 1976, 1980 and 1984. Biography Karppinen won the world titles in 1979 and 1985 and once held ...
of Finland (who defended his Olympic title from
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
). East German women won four of their six events. * In the rowing eights with coxswain, the British team won silver just 0.74 seconds behind East Germany.


Sailing

* The sailing event was held in
Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...
, Soviet-occupied
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...
. * Soviet sailor
Valentyn Mankin Valentyn Grigoryevich Mankin (russian: Валентин Григорьевич Манкин; 19 August 1938 – 1 June 2014) was a Soviet/Ukrainian sailor from Kyiv, three times Olympic champion for the USSR team. Life Mankin was Jewish. He ...
won a gold medal in "Star" class. He won Olympic champion titles in " Finn" and "
Tempest Tempest is a synonym for a storm. '' The Tempest'' is a play by William Shakespeare. Tempest or The Tempest may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''The Tempest'' (1908 film), a British silent film * ''The Tempest'' (1911 film), a ...
" classes before, and remains the only sailor in Olympic history to win gold medals in three different classes .


Shooting

* The three-day skeet shooting marathon was won by
Hans Kjeld Rasmussen Hans Kjeld Rasmussen (born 10 November 1954 in Glostrup, Hovedstaden) is a Danish sport shooter and Olympic champion. He won a gold medal in skeet shooting at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, ...
of Denmark. * In the smallbore rifle, prone event, Hungarian
Károly Varga Károly Varga (born 28 September 1955 in Budapest) is a Hungarian sport shooter and Olympic champion. He won a gold medal in the 50 metre rifle prone event at the 1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Ол ...
captured the gold and equalled the world record.


Swimming

*
Vladimir Salnikov Vladimir Valeryevich Salnikov (russian: Владимир Валерьевич Сальников; born 21 May 1960) is a Russian former freestyle swimmer who competed for the Soviet Union and set 12 world records in the 400, 800 and 1,500 mete ...
(USSR) won three gold medals in swimming. He became the first man in history to break the 15-minute barrier in the 1500 metre freestyle, swimming's equivalent of breaking the four-minute mile. He missed the 1984 Games because of the boycott but won gold again in this event at Seoul 1988. * Salnikov also won gold in the 4 × 200 m relay and the 400m freestyle. In the 400m freestyle, he set a new Olympic record which was just eleven-hundredths of a second outside his own world record. * In the Montreal final of the 400m freestyle, the seventh and eighth place finalists finished in over four minutes. In Moscow sixteen swimmers finished in under four minutes and eight of them did not make the final. * Duncan Goodhew of Great Britain won the 100 metres breaststroke. * Sweden's
Bengt Baron Bengt Baron (born 6 March 1962) is a business leader and former backstroke swimmer from Sweden. Baron won the 100 m backstroke at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and was a member of the bronze winning team from Sweden in the 4×100 m f ...
won gold in the 100 meter backstroke. * In the men's 4 × 100 metres medley relay, each of the eight teams taking part in the final broke its country's national record. * The first Australian gold since 1972 came in the 4 × 100 men's medley relay, with
Neil Brooks Neil Brooks (born 27 July 1962) is an Australian former sprint freestyle swimmer best known for winning the 4 × 100 m medley relay at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow as part of the '' Quietly Confident Quartet''. Brooks was as m ...
swimming the final leg, the Australians swam the second-fastest time in history. * East German women dominated the swimming events, winning nine of eleven individual titles, both the relays and setting 6 world records. They also won all three medals in six different races. In total they won 26 of the available 35 medals. As it was revealed later, their results were aided by the state-sponsored doping system. *
Barbara Krause Barbara Krause (later Wanja, born 7 July 1959 in East Berlin) is a former freestyle swimmer from East Germany. She was a three-time Olympic gold medalist and eight-time world record holder. At the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Krause won gol ...
(East Germany) became the first woman to go under 55 seconds for the 100 m freestyle. * Backstroker Rica Reinisch (East Germany) was 20th in the world rankings for 100m in 1979 and not in the top 100 for the 200 m. At the Olympics she broke the world records in both distances winning golds. * In the 100m butterfly, Caren Metschuck (East Germany) beats her more experienced teammate
Andrea Pollack Andrea Pollack (later Pinske; 8 May 1961 – 13 March 2019) was a butterfly swimmer from East Germany who won three Olympic gold medals. Pollack was born in 1961 in Schwerin. She was a member of SC Dynamo Berlin. She who won two gold medals a ...
to win gold. *
Petra Schneider Petra Schneider (born 11 January 1963 in Karl-Marx-Stadt, now Chemnitz) is a former medley and freestyle swimmer from East Germany in the 1970s and 1980s. She won an Olympic gold medal in the 400 m individual medley at the 1980 Summer Ol ...
(East Germany) shaved three seconds off the world record in the 400m medley. * As in Montreal, the Soviet women made a clean sweep of the medals in the 200m breaststroke. The title in this event was won by Lina Kačiušytė. *
Michelle Ford Michelle Jan Ford (born 15 July 1962) is an Australian former long-distance freestyle and butterfly swimmer of the 1970s and 1980s, who won a gold medal in the 800-metre freestyle, bronze in the 200-metre butterfly, and 4th in the 400-metres ...
(Australia) won the 800m freestyle more than four seconds ahead of her East German rivals. * In swimming, 230 national, 22 Olympic and ten World records were set. * The youngest male gold medallist of these Olympics was Hungarian backstroke swimmer
Sándor Wladár Sándor Wladár (born 19 July 1963 in Budapest) is a Hungarian retired male swimmer. He won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow in 200 m backstroke. Wladár was a swimmer of Központi Sportiskola (1972–1980), Újpesti ...
at 17 years old.


Volleyball

* The prominent nation in both volleyball competitions was the USSR; its teams won both golds.


Water polo

* Hungary won a bronze medal in water polo. This continued their run of always winning a medal in this event since 1928.


Weightlifting

* The standard of weightlifting was the highest in the history of the Olympics. There were eighteen senior world records, two junior world records, more than 100 Olympic records and 108 national records set. * The oldest of weightlifting's Olympic records – the snatch in the lightweight class set in 1964 – was bettered thirteen times. * Yurik Vardanyan (USSR) became the first middleweight to total more than 400 kg, he won gold. * In the super heavyweight class,
Vasily Alexeyev Vasily Ivanovich Alekseyev (russian: Василий Иванович Алексеев; 7 January 1942 – 25 November 2011) was a Soviet weightlifter. He set 80 world-records and 81 Soviet records in weightlifting and won Olympic gold medals at ...
(USSR) Olympic champion at Munich and Montreal, eight-time world champion, who in his career set 80 world records, failed to medal. * Soviet weightlifters won 5 golds. * The new category in weightlifting – up to 100 kg – was won by
Ota Zaremba Ota Zaremba (born 22 April 1957) is a Czechoslovak weightlifter, Olympic champion and world champion. He won gold medal in the heavyweight I class at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. After he ended his career, Zaremba admitted he used doping ...
of Czechoslovakia.


Wrestling

* In Greco-Roman wrestling,
Ferenc Kocsis Ferenc Kocsis (born 8 July 1953) is a retired welterweight Greco-Roman wrestler from Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to th ...
of Hungary was declared the winner of the 163 pound class when the defending champion Anatoly Bykov was disqualified for passivity. * Soviet wrestlers won 12 golds.


Closing ceremony

Because of the U.S. boycott, changes were made to the traditional elements of the closing ceremony that represent the handover to the host city of the next Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Among them, the flag of the city of Los Angeles instead of the United States flag was raised, and the
Olympic Anthem french: Hymne Olympique, italic=no , alt_title = , en_alt_title_2 = , image = Olympic Hymn title.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = , prefix = Official , country = the Olympic Games and ...
instead of the
national anthem of the United States "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...
was played. There was also no "Antwerp Ceremony", where the ceremonial Olympic flag was transferred from the Mayor of Moscow to the Mayor of Los Angeles; instead the flag was kept by the Moscow city authorities until 1984. Furthermore, there was no next host city presentation. Both the opening and closing ceremonies were shown in Yuri Ozerov's 1981 film ''Oh, Sport – You Are The World!'' (russian: link=no, О спорт, ты – мир!).


Venues

* Central Lenin Stadium area ** Grand Arena2 – opening/closing ceremonies, athletics, football (final), equestrian (jumping individual) **
Minor Arena The Luzhniki Small Sports Arena (formerly, the Minor Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium; russian: Малая спортивная арена Лужники) is an 8,700-seat indoor arena that is part of the Luzhniki Sports Complex in Moscow, Russ ...
2 – volleyball **
Swimming Pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...
2 – water polo **
Sports Palace Palace of Sports or Sports Palace (russian: Дворец спорта) is a generic name of comprehensive indoors sports venues introduced in the Soviet Union (compare with Palace of Culture) of big size that includes various sports halls and aux ...
2 – gymnastics, judo **
Druzhba Multipurpose Arena The Druzhba Multipurpose Arena (russian: Универсальный спортивный зал "Дружба") is an indoor arena in Moscow, Russia, part of the Luzhniki Sports Complex. It was built in 1979, and the first competition held there ...
1 – volleyball ** Streets of Moscow – Athletics (20 & 50 km walk, marathon) * Olympiysky Sports Complex ** Indoor Stadium1 – basketball (final), boxing **
Swimming Pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...
1 – swimming, diving, modern pentathlon (swimming), water polo (final) * CSKA ( Central Sports Club of the Army) Sports Complex ** CSKA Athletics Fieldhouse, Central Sports Club of the Army1 – wrestling ** CSKA Football Fieldhouse, Central Sports Club of the Army1 – fencing, modern pentathlon (fencing) ** CSKA Palace of Sports1 – basketball * Venues in metropolitan Moscow ** Dynamo Central Stadium, Grand Arena2 – football preliminaries ** Dynamo Central Stadium, Minor Arena2 – field hockey **
Young Pioneers Stadium The Young Pioneers Stadium () was a sports complex built in the Soviet Union, intended exclusively for children and youth training, the largest in Europe of this kind. It was located in Moscow. First built at the location in 1926 was a football stad ...
2 – field hockey (final) ** Dynamo Palace of Sports1, Khimki-Khovrino – handball **
Trade Unions' Equestrian Complex The Trade Unions' Equestrian Complex (now Equestrian Complex «Bitsa» ) is an equestrian venue located near the Bitsa Park in the South District of Moscow city, Russia. During the 1980 Summer Olympics, it hosted the riding and running portions o ...
1 – equestrian, modern pentathlon (riding, running) ** Izmailovo Sports Palace1 – weightlifting ** Sokolniki Sports Palace2 – handball (final) **
Dynamo Shooting Range The Dynamo Shooting Range is a firing range located in Mytishchi in the then Eastern Planning Zone of Moscow, Russia. Constructed in 1957 and renovated in 1979, it hosted the shooting and the shooting part of the modern pentathlon events for the 19 ...
2, Mytishchi – shooting, modern pentathlon (shooting) * Krylatskoye Sports Complex ** Krylatskoye Sports Complex Canoeing and Rowing Basin2, Krylatskoye – canoeing, rowing **
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1, Krylatskoye – cycling (track) **
Krylatskoye Sports Complex Cycling Circuit The Krylatskoye Sports Complex Cycling Circuit is a cycling circuit constructed next to the velodrome used for the track cycling events for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, ...
– cycling (individual road race) **
Krylatskoye Sports Complex Archery Field The Krylatskoye Sports Complex Archery Field is a sports venue located in Moscow, Russia. Located near the Canoeing and Rowing Basin, it hosted the archery competitions for the 1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летн ...
1, Krylatskoye – archery * Venues outside Moscow ** Moscow-Minsk Highway – cycling (road team time trial) ** Kirov Stadium2,
Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
,
Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
– football preliminaries ** Dinamo Stadium2,
Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative stat ...
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Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...
– football preliminaries ** Republican Stadium2,
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...
,
Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
– football preliminaries **
Tallinn Olympic Yachting Centre Tallinn Olympic Yachting Centre ( et, Tallinna Olümpiapurjespordikeskus, abbreviated TOP; also ''Pirita Yachting Centre'') is a sport complex in Pirita, Tallinn, Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Ba ...
1,
Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...
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Estonian SSR The Estonian SSR,, russian: Эстонская ССР officially the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic,, russian: Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика was an National delimitation in ...
– sailing 1 New facilities constructed in preparation for the Olympic Games. 2 Existing facilities modified or refurbished in preparation for the Olympic Games.


Medals awarded

The 1980 Summer Olympic programme featured 203 events in the following 21 sports: *Aquatics ** ** ** * * * * * * **Road (2) **Track (4) * **Dressage (2) **Eventing (2) **Show jumping (2) * * * * * * * * * * * * * **Freestyle (10) **Greco-Roman (10)


Calendar

:''All times are in
Moscow Time Moscow Time (MSK, russian: моско́вское вре́мя) is the time zone for the city of Moscow, Russia, and most of western Russia, including Saint Petersburg. It is the second-westernmost of the eleven time zones of Russia. It has b ...
(
UTC+3 UTC+03:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +03:00. In areas using this time offset, the time is three hours later than the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Following the ISO 8601 standard, a time with this offset would be wr ...
)''


Medal count

This is a list of all nations that won medals at the 1980 Games.


List of participating countries and regions

In the following list, the number in parentheses indicates the number of athletes from each nation that competed in Moscow. Nations in italics competed under the Olympic flag (or, in the cases of New Zealand, Portugal and Spain, under the flags of their respective National Olympic Committees):


See also

* Use of performance-enhancing drugs in the Olympic Games – 1980 Moscow


Notes


References


External links

*
Official Report from the Organizing Committee (3 volumes)The 1980 Summer Olympics Newsreels
– Net-Film Newsreels and Documentary Films Archive (in Russian)

– lyrics and links to MP3 files


Further reading

* John Goodbody, ''The Illustrated History of Gymnastics'', 1982, . * Bill Henry, ''An Approved History of the Olympic Games'', . * ''The Olympic Games'', 1984, Lord Killanin and John Rodda, . * Stan Greenberg, Whitakers Olympic Almanack, 2004 . * ''Olympics 1984'', produced by Philips International B.V. * ''Chronicle of the Olympics'', . * Peter Arnold, ''The Olympic Games'', * ''Official British Olympic Association Report of the 1980 Games'', published 1981, ISSN 0143-4799


Boycott

* * Evelyn Mertin, ''The Soviet Union and the Olympic Games of 1980 and 1984: Explaining Boycotts to their Own People''. In: S. Wagg/D. Andrews (Eds.) East plays West. Sport and the Cold War, 2007, Oxon: Routledge, pp. 235–252, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Summer Olympics,1980 1980 in Soviet sport 1980 in Moscow
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – In ...
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – In ...
Sports competitions in Moscow
Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – In ...
July 1980 sports events in Europe August 1980 sports events in Europe