The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad and officially branded as Moscow 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russia. The games were the first to be staged in an Eastern Bloc country, as well as the first Olympic Games and only Summer Olympics to be held in a Slavic language-speaking country. They were also the only Summer Olympic Games to be held in a self-proclaimed communist country until the 2008 Summer Olympics held in China. These were the final Olympic Games under the IOC Presidency of Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin before he was succeeded by Juan Antonio Samaranch, a Spaniard, shortly afterward.
A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek ἑπτά and ἄθλος. A competitor in a heptathlon is referred to as a heptathlete.
Jacqueline Joyner-Kersee is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in both the heptathlon and long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals at four different Olympic Games. Joyner-Kersee was also a four-time gold medalist at the world championships. Since 1988, she has held the world record for heptathlon.
Glynis Leanne Nunn-Cearns OAM is a former Australian heptathlete, the first Olympic champion in the event. Born in Toowoomba, Queensland, she began competing in athletics at age 9, when she was a student at Toowoomba South State School.
The United States of America (USA) competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. 527 competitors, 332 men and 195 women, took part in 230 events in 27 sports. The United States finished outside of the top two in the overall medal count for the first time and in the gold medal count for only the second time. That was mainly caused by the extensive state-sponsored doping programs that were developed in these communist countries to fulfil their political agenda on an international stage.
Alfrederick Joyner is an American track and field coach and former athlete. He was born in East St. Louis, Illinois. He is the 1984 Olympic gold medalist in the triple jump. He was also the coach and husband of the late four-time Olympic medalist Florence Griffith Joyner and is the brother of six-time Olympic medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
The 1984 Friendship Games, or Friendship-84, was an international multi-sport event held between 2 July and 16 September 1984 in the Soviet Union and eight other Eastern Bloc states which boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Sabine John is a retired East German heptathlete. She broke the world record in 1984 with a score of 6946 points, and won silver medals at the 1983 World Championships, and the 1988 Olympic Games.
The Women's Long Jump at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea had an entry list of 32 competitors, with two qualifying groups before the final (12) took place on Thursday September 29, 1988.
These are the official results of the Women's Heptathlon competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. There were a total number of 32 entrants, with three non-starters. The competition was held on September 23, 1988, and September 24, 1988.
The 1998 Goodwill Games was the fourth edition of the international sports competition the Goodwill Games, which were created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. The competition was held in and around New York City in the United States from July 19 to August 2, 1998. Approximately 1,500 athletes from more of 60 countries participated, competing in 15 sports.
The 1986 Goodwill Games was the inaugural edition of the international multi-sport event created by Ted Turner, which was held from 5 – 20 July 1986. The main stadium was the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. The Games were a response to the Olympic boycotts of the period, which saw the United States refuse to attend the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, and the Soviet Union refusing to attend the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Soviet athletes dominated the competition, winning 118 gold medals and 241 medals overall. The United States finished in second place, with 42 golds and 142 medals in total.
The 1990 Goodwill Games was the second edition of the international multi-sport event created by Ted Turner, which was held between July 20 and August 5, 1990. Following an inaugural edition in Moscow, the second games took place in Seattle, United States, highlighting the competition's role in fostering good Soviet–U.S. relations. The games were opened at the University of Washington's Husky Stadium with a speech by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, as well as an address by Arnold Schwarzenegger and performances by the Moody Blues and Gorky Park. The top three nations in the medal table remained the same as in the previous edition: the Soviet Union won 66 gold medals and a total of 188 medals, the United States was a close runner-up with 60 gold medals and 161 medals overall, while East Germany was a distant third with 11 golds.
At the 1986 Goodwill Games, the athletics competition was held in July 1986 at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Soviet Union. A total of 42 events were contested, of which 23 by male and 19 by female athletes.
At the 1994 Goodwill Games, the athletics events were held in July at the Petrovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia. A total of 44 events were contested, of which 22 were by male and 22 by female athletes. The marathon event was dropped for the 1994 edition and racewalking events took place on the track, making the entire athletics programme a track-and-field-onlyaffair. The United States won the most gold medals (18) in the athletics competition, but Russia had the greatest total medal haul, winning 41 medals, 10 of which were gold. Cuba, Great Britain and Kenya were the next best achievers in the medal count.
At the 1998 Goodwill Games, the athletics events were held at the Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, New York, United States from 19 to 22 July. The programme consisted of 44 track and field events, of which 22 were contested by male athletes and 22 by female athletes. With the introduction of the women's hammer throw and mile run, the men's and women's programmes achieved equivalent parity for the first time. The United States topped the athletics medal table for a third consecutive edition winning 17 gold medals and 55 medals in total. Russia were the next best performing nation, with 11 golds and 21 medals. Kenya, Cuba and Jamaica rounded out the top-five countries.
Shana L. Williams is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in the long jump. She is a two-time Olympian, having competed in her event at the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics. Williams won the silver medal at the 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Maebashi. Her personal best of 7.01 m ranks her as the fifth best American in the long jump on the all-time lists. She is a two-time USA Indoor champion and also won the gold medal at the 1998 Goodwill Games.
Kelly Blair LaBounty is a retired American track and field Olympic athlete.
Natalya Mikhaylovna Shubenkova is a Russian former Soviet heptathlete. As of 2019, she ranks as the 12th highest all-time female scorer in the heptathlon, based on a score of 6859 she achieved in 1984. That ended up being the second highest score in 1984, bested only by Sabine John, and stood as the Soviet record for six years. She was unable to participate in the 1984 Olympics due to the 1984 Summer Olympics boycott.
Combined events at the Summer Olympics have been contested in several formats at the multi-sport event. There are two combined track and field events in the current Olympic athletics programme: a men's decathlon and a women's heptathlon.
