1980 Summer Olympics

Games of the XXII Olympiad
Nations participating	80
Athletes participating	5,217 (4,093 men, 1,124 women)
Events	203 in 21 sports
Opening ceremonies	July 19, 1980
Closing ceremonies	August 3, 1980
Officially opened by	Leonid Brezhnev
Athlete's Oath	Nikolay Andrianov
Judge's Oath:	Aleksandr Medved
Olympic Torch	Sergey Belov

Table of contents

1 Highlights 2 Medals awarded 3 Medal count 4 References 4.1 Internal links 4.2 External links 4.3 Bibliography

Highlights

• On March 21, 1980, following the 1979 Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, American president Jimmy Carter announced a boycott of the Moscow Olympics. The United States are joined by some 50 other countries - including Japan, West Germany and Canada - and many individual athletes from participating nations. Absence of a further 15 nations leads to only 80 nations competing, the lowest number since 1956. The boycott severely affects a great number of events, and even in events where the top athletes are present, the fields are small. A movement to boycott the Olympics had been building since January.
• Soviet gymnast Aleksandr Dityatin wins a medal in each of the eight gymnastics events, including three titles.
• Vladimir Salnikov (USSR) wins three gold medals in the swimming pool. His time in the 1500 m freestyle was the first below 15 minutes.
• Ethiopian Muruse Yefter wins the 5000 m and 10000 m double, emulating Lasse Virén's 1976 performance
• Waldemar Cierpinski of East Germany wins his second consecutive marathon gold.
• Women's field hockey is Olympic for the first time, but all major nations boycott the tournament, leaving only the Soviet team. The team of Zimbabwe is invited just a week before the start of the Games, but it wins the nation's first gold medal.
• East Germany dominates rowing, as they bring home eleven of the available fourteen titles.
• Téofilo Stevenson of Cuba becomes the first boxer to win three consecutive Olympic titles.

• Archery
• Athletics
• Basketball
• Boxing
• Canoeing
• Cycling
• Diving
• Equestrianism
• Fencing
• Football
• Gymnastics
• Handball
• Hockey
• Judo
• Modern Pentathlon
• Rowing
• Shooting
• Swimming
• Volleyball
• Water Polo
• Weightlifting
• Wrestling
• Yachting

Internal links

• Olympic Games
• Summer Olympic Games
• International Olympic Committee
• WikiProject Sports Olympics
• IOC country codes

• IOC Site on 1980 Summer Olympics