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.
Duncan Alexander Goodhew, is an English former competitive swimmer. After swimming competitively in America as a collegian at North Carolina State University, he was an Olympic swimmer for Great Britain and won Olympic gold and bronze medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. He also swam at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
West Germany competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 290 competitors, 233 men and 57 women, took part in 163 events in 20 sports.
Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 242 competitors, 176 men and 66 women, took part in 148 events in 17 sports. British athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games.
Athletes from East Germany competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. 297 competitors, 231 men and 66 women, took part in 161 events in 18 sports.
Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. 257 competitors, 213 men and 44 women, took part in 127 events in 18 sports. In 1952, they achieved their only gold medal during the last event of the last day of competition in Helsinki. Along with 1904 and 1996, this is Great Britain's lowest gold medal count.
Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. 204 competitors, 160 men and 44 women, took part in 124 events in 17 sports. British athletes have competed and won at least one gold medal in every Summer Olympic Games. Future Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell represented Britain at the 200m.
Australia competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. Australian athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games. 128 competitors, 104 men and 24 women, took part in 105 events in 16 sports.
Australia was the host nation for the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. However, due to Australian quarantine restrictions the equestrian events were held in Stockholm, Sweden. 294 competitors, 250 men and 44 women, took part in 140 events in 18 sports.
Peter Maxwell Evans is an Australian breaststroke swimmer of the 1980s who won four Olympic medals, including a gold in the 4×100 m medley relay at the 1980 Moscow Olympics as part of the Quietly Confident Quartet. He also won consecutive bronze medals in the 100 m breaststroke at the 1980 Olympics and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
The United States competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. 297 competitors, 251 men and 46 women, took part in 139 events in 18 sports.
The United States competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. 286 competitors – 245 men and 41 women – took part in 133 events in 18 sports. They won 76 medals, including 6 podium sweeps; the highest number of medal sweeps in a single Olympiad by one country since World War II and still a record.
Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. 253 competitors, 206 men and 47 women, took part in 130 events in 17 sports. British athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games.
Athletes from East Germany and West Germany competed together as the United Team of Germany for the last time at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. 337 competitors, 275 men and 62 women, took part in 159 events in 19 sports.
Athletes from West Germany competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. It was the first time that East Germany and West Germany sent separate teams to the Summer Olympic Games. 275 competitors, 232 men and 43 women, took part in 154 events in 17 sports for West Germany. As the country hosted the next Olympics in Munich, the West German flag was raised at the closing ceremony.
The Quietly Confident Quartet was the self-given name of the Australian men's 4 × 100 metres medley relay swimming team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The United States boycotted the Moscow Olympics in protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and, through the 2016 Olympics, the Australian victory remains the only occasion the United States has not won the event at Olympic level since its inception in 1960. The quartet consisted of backstroker Mark Kerry, breaststroker Peter Evans, butterflyer Mark Tonelli, and freestyler Neil Brooks. The team was nominally led by its oldest member Tonelli, who was 23 and was also a spokesperson for the Australian athletes' campaign for their right to compete at the Olympics against the wishes of the Fraser government. The team was seen as an unlikely prospect to win; all four of the swimmers had clashed with swimming authorities over disciplinary issues and three experienced suspension or expulsion from the Australian team during their careers.
The men's 800 metres was an event at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union. There were a total number of 41 participating athletes from 28 nations, with six qualifying heats, three semifinals, and the final held on Saturday July 26, 1980. The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by 0.5 seconds by Steve Ovett of Great Britain, the nation's first gold medal in the men's 800 metres since winning four in a row from 1920 to 1932. It was Great Britain's sixth overall title in the event.
The men's 4 × 100 metre medley relay event at the 1980 Summer Olympics was held in Moscow, Soviet Union on 24 July 1980 in the Olympiski Sports Complex. A total of 13 teams participated in the event. These were split over two heats held in the morning of that day, and the eight fastest teams qualified for the finals held in the evening of the same day.
The 1980 UK Athletics Championships was the national championship in outdoor track and field for the United Kingdom held at Crystal Palace Athletics Stadium, London. Three events were contested separately at Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh – the women's 1500 metres and men's 800 metres and 5000 metres. This set of events served as the British Olympic Team Trials for the 1980 Summer Olympics. Two new events were contested for the first time: a men's 10,000 metres track walk and a women's 5000 metres track walk.
