1980 Winter Olympics
The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from February 13 to February 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932. The only other candidate city to bid for the Games was Vancouver-Garibaldi, British Columbia, Canada, which withdrew before the final vote
The mascot of the Games was "Roni", a raccoon. The mask-like rings on a raccoon's face recall the goggles and hats worn by many athletes in winter sports. The sports were played at the Olympic Center, Whiteface Mountain, Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Bobsled Run, the Olympic Ski Jumps, the Cascade Cross Country Ski Center, and the Lake Placid High School Speed Skating Oval.
Host selection
The selection process for the 1980 Winter Olympics consisted of one bid, from Lake Placid, New York, United States. It was selected at the 75th International Olympic Committee Session in Vienna on October 23, 1974.Highlights
Notable highlights included:- The United States men's ice hockey team, composed mostly of collegiate players and not predicted to advance beyond group play, won the gold medal. The United States team's 4–3 win over the veteran and professional Soviet team, which came into the 1980 Games having won four consecutive Olympic gold medals, became known as the "Miracle on Ice" in US culture. The win captured the hearts of Americans, even though it was the win against Finland that secured the gold medal.
- Eric Heiden of the United States won gold in the 500m, 1000m, 1500m, 5000m, and 10,000m speed skating events, setting four Olympic records and one world record in the process and delivering 83% of the American gold medals. Heiden became the first person to win all five speed skating events, the first of only three to win five gold medals in individual events at a single Games, and is still the only athlete to win five gold medals at one Winter Games.
- Sweden's Ingemar Stenmark won both the giant slalom and the slalom.
- Hanni Wenzel won the women's giant slalom and slalom, making Liechtenstein the smallest country to produce an Olympic champion.
- Ulrich Wehling of East Germany and Irina Rodnina of the USSR won their respective events for the third time, Wehling in Nordic combined and Rodnina in pairs figure skating.
- Aleksandr Tikhonov of the USSR earned his fourth straight gold medal as part of the 4 x 7.5 km biathlon relay team.
- Nikolay Zimyatov of the USSR earned three gold medals in cross-country skiing.
- Robin Cousins won gold for Great Britain in the men's singles figure skating.
- East Germany won the most medals overall but had fewer golds than the USSR.
- In possibly the most dramatic duel of the games, Sweden's Thomas Wassberg edged Finland's Juha Mieto in the 15 km cross-country skiing by 0.01 seconds, the closest margin of victory ever in Olympic cross-country skiing.
- Although they did not get any medals, the People's Republic of China entered the Olympic Games for the first time after the IOC agreed to designate the Republic of China "Chinese Taipei".
- Lake Placid 1980 marked the first use of artificial snow in Olympic competition.
- Lake Placid 1980 was the last Olympics to be opened by the Vice President of the United States, as 1980 was a Presidential election year.
Sports
Venues
- Intervales Ski-Hill – Nordic combined, Ski jumping
- Lake Placid Equestrian Stadium – Opening Ceremony
- Lake Placid Olympic Sports Complex Cross Country Biathlon Center – Biathlon, Cross-country skiing, Nordic combined
- Mt. Van Hoevenberg Bob and Luge Run – Bobsleigh, Luge
- Olympic Center – Figure skating, Ice hockey, Closing ceremonies
- James B. Sheffield Speed Skating Oval – Speed skating
- Whiteface Mountain – Alpine skiing
The site was considered ideal for the available infrastructure from the 1932 Winter Olympics, most notably the Bobsleigh run. However, the local Olympic committee needed congressional approval for funding to build the Olympic Village. Congress required an after use contract for facilities, and it was agreed that the Olympic Village would be built in accordance to Federal Bureau of Prisons needs. Following the Olympic Games, it was repurposed for Federal Correctional Institution, Ray Brook.
Medal count
These are the top ten nations that won medals at the 1980 Winter Games.Participating nations
37 NOCs participated.Cyprus made their Olympic debut at the games. The People's Republic of China and Costa Rica both made their Winter Olympic debut. The Republic of China refused to attend the Games over the IOC's recognition of the People's Republic of China as "China", and its request for the Republic of China to compete as "Chinese Taipei". The PRC, on the other hand, returned to the Olympics for the first time since 1952 and made its Winter Olympic debut.
| Participating :Category:Nations at the 1980 Winter Olympics|National Olympic Committees |