The
Men's 20 km Race Walk at the
1980 Summer Olympics
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 commo ...
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 ...
,
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 nationa ...
had an entry list of 34 competitors. Seven athletes were disqualified and two did not finish in the final, which was held on Thursday, 24 July 1980.
The race occurred on a very hot and humid day in the Grand Arena of Central Lenin Stadium. The defending champion of the
Montreal summer games,
Daniel Bautista
Daniel Bautista Rocha (born August 4, 1952) is a Mexican former track and field athlete and Olympic champion. He was born in El Salado, San Luis Potosí, El Salado, San Luis Potosí.
In his relatively short career, Bautista dominated t ...
of
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, led along with Soviet
Anatoly Solomin for the majority of the race. However, Bautista was disqualified less than two kilometres from the finish and Solomin a few 100 metres later. There were a total of 136 caution flags and seven disqualifications during the course of the race.
In what was considered a major upset,
Maurizio Damilano
Maurizio Damilano (born 6 April 1957 in Scarnafigi, Italy) is an Italian former race walking, race walker. He won 15 individual medals (22 also with team events), at senior (athletics), senior level, at the International athletics championships a ...
of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
won the gold with a finishing time of 1-23:35.5, over a minute faster than silver medalist
Pyotr Pochinchuk of
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
, competing for 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 nationa ...
.
Roland Wieser Roland Wieser (born 6 May 1956, in Zschopau) is an East German racewalker who won the bronze medal in the 20 kilometer walk during the 1980 Summer Olympics with a time of 1:25:59 hours. During his active career he measured 1.86 meters in height and ...
took the bronze for
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 its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
, the country with the second highest medal total at these Olympics after the USSR.
Also notable was the 18-year-old 25th place finisher,
Thipsamay Chanthaphone, who was competing for
Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
in its first Olympic appearance. Chanthaphone completed the 20 kilometres in 2:20:22.0, finishing during the medal ceremony almost 57 minutes after Damilano's win and 31 minutes after 24th place.
Thipsamay Chanthaphone at Sports Reference
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Medalists
Results
See also
* 1982 Men's European Championships 20 km Walk (Athens)
* 1983 Men's World Championships 20 km Walk (Helsinki)
* 1986 Men's European Championships 20 km Walk (Stuttgart)
References
External links
*
Results
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics At The 1980 Summer Olympics - Men's 20 Km Walk
1
Racewalking at the Olympics
Men's events at the 1980 Summer Olympics