When Soviet forces moved into Afghanistan, in the dying days of 1979, US president Jimmy Carter decided to boycott the Moscow Games. Margaret Thatcher was right behind Carter, but the British Olympic committee voted to go to Moscow.
Canada and West Germany supported the boycott, as did Israel and much of the Islamic world. In the end, 81 nations participated, 62 stayed away.
Goodhew comes good
As a child, Duncan Goodhew struggled with alopecia and dyslexia. He escaped to the pool and dreamed of Olympic glory. This dream came true when he won the gold in the 100m breaststroke in Moscow.
Wells sprints to glory
It was a major surprise when Allan Wells edged past Silvio Leonard to win the 100m title. The Scot was the first British runner to claim this blue-riband event since Harold Abrahams in 1924 and, at 28, the oldest Olympic 100m champion in history.
Enter Daley Thompson
Daley Thompson, one of the greatest natural competitors in decathlon history, received a rare standing ovation from Soviet fans when he took gold in Moscow. He was the first British athlete to win the event.
The Coe vs Ovett duel
The Moscow Games’ most dramatic duel was between Great Britain’s Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett. After Coe finished second to Ovett in the 800 metres, he said: ‘’I committed every cardinal sin.” He atoned in the 1,500m, leaving East Germany’s Jurgen Straub trailing and Ovett in third.
India regain hockey glory
Vasudevan Baskaran led India to victory in the Olympics. India defeated Spain 4-3 in a thrilling final to regain the hockey gold after 16 years. It was India’s eighth gold in the world’s greatest sporting extravaganza. Forward Surinder Singh Sodhi’s 16 goals in Moscow is the highest tally by an Indian in the Olympics. He beat the record of Udham Singh (15 goals) in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.
Yifter emulates viren
Ethiopian Miruts Yifter won the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres double, emulating Lasse Viren’s 1972 and 1976 performances.
Kozakiewicz vaults to record
Poland’s Wladyslaw Kozakiewicz won the pole vault with a jump of 5.78m (18’11.5”) — only the 2nd pole vaulting world record to be established during an Olympics. The previous time had been at the Antwerp Olympics 1920.
Super Sedykh
Yuriy Sedykh (USSR) won gold in the hammer throw. Four of his six throws broke the world record of 80m. No hammer thrower in the world had achieved this before. As in Montreal the USSR win gold, silver and bronze.
Stevenson’s hat-trick
Teófilo Stevenson of Cuba became the first boxer to win three consecutive Olympic titles in the heavyweight category and the only boxer to win the same event in three Games. (László Papp from Hungary was the first boxer to win three titles).
Salnikov breaks barrier
Vladimir Salnikov (USSR) won three gold medals in swimming. He became the first man in history to break the magic 15-minute barrier in the 1,500 metres freestyle — swimming’s equivalent of breaking the 4-minute mile. Salnikov also won gold in the 4x200m relay and the 400m freestyle. In the 400m freestyle, he set a new Olympic record which was just eleven-hundreths of a second outside his world record.
Dityatin’s super feat
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 the 1924 Paris Olympics.