The XXII Summer Olympic Games were held in Moscow from July 19 to August 3, 1980. During this time, 36 world and 74 Olympic records were set, but the Moscow Olympics were remembered not only for sports achievements.
The 1980 Olympics were unique not only for the USSR, but for the whole world - for the first time the Olympic Games were held in a socialist country. In honor of this event, the Soviet Union opened its doors to foreign citizens, but not everyone was able to come.
On January 20, 1980, US President Jimmy Carter announced a boycott of the Moscow Olympics and called on other countries to do so. The reason for the boycott was the introduction of Soviet troops into Afghanistan. Such a move by Carter was largely dictated by his desire to add votes to himself on the eve of the elections: many US citizens accused the president of being excessively liberal towards the Soviet Union. Another 63 states, including Canada, Germany, Japan and Austria, responded to the call for a boycott of the Olympic Games in Moscow. The situation was aggravated by the political confrontation between the Warsaw Pact countries and the NATO countries. In the United States, it was expected that the absence among the participants
The Olympics of athletes from the leading countries of the West and China will make the Moscow Games a second-class event.
Three days before the opening of the Olympics, the then President of the International Olympic Committee, Juan Antonio Samarancha, held negotiations and persuaded Italy, Great Britain, Spain to send their athletes to the Games in Moscow. From many countries taking part in the boycott, for example, from France, Great Britain, Greece, athletes came individually and performed under the Olympic flags. Despite all efforts, the Games in the USSR had the smallest number of participants since the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne.
The XXII Olympic Games of the Year proved once again that the Olympics are not only sports competitions, but also a political struggle between countries. Unfortunately, dozens of athletes from different countries of the world suffered from this struggle, who dreamed of competing at the Olympic Games, but were never able to demonstrate their sporting achievements. Four-time Olympic champion Lisa Leslie commented: "Politicians from Washington have ruined the fate of many great athletes: some still regret losing four years of their lives, while others consider their medals to be not entirely complete." Later, as expected, the USSR and its allies announced a boycott of the 1984 Olympics, which took place in the United States. This decision influenced the fate of many Soviet athletes, and soon the USSR team lost its leading positions.
