Olympics 1980

Moscow 1980

Games of the XXII Olympiad

A U.S.-led boycott reduced the number of participating nations to 80, the lowest number since 1956. Aleksandr Dityatin earned medals in every man’s gymnastics event to become the only athlete ever to win eight medals in one Olympics. Super-heavyweight Teófilo Stevenson became the first boxer to win the same division three times. Gerd Wessig became the first male high jumper to break the world record at the Olympics and swimmer Vladimir Salnikov broke the 15-minute barrier for the 1,500m. In dramatic confrontation, runners Steve Ovett and Sebastian Coe split the 800 and 1,500m.

Participating Nations: 80

Participants: 5,179 athletes (1,115 women, 4,064 men)

Events: 203

Winner

The top three winners were: USSR, German Democratic Republic and Bulgaria

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