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 afterwards.
Jeannie Longo is a French racing cyclist, 6-time French champion and 13-time world champion. Longo began racing in 1975 and was active in cycling through 2012. She was once widely considered the best female cyclist of all time, although that reputation is now clouded by suspicion of doping throughout her career. She is famous for her competitive nature and her longevity in the sport — when she was selected to compete for France in the 2008 Olympics, it was her seventh Olympic Games; some of Longo's competitors that year had not yet been born when she took part in her first Olympics in 1984. She had stated that 2008 would be her final participation in the Olympics. In the Women's road race, she finished 24th, 33 seconds behind winner Nicole Cooke, who was one year old when Longo first rode in the Olympics. At the same Olympics, she finished 4th in the road time trial, just two seconds shy of securing a bronze medal. She is currently number two on the all-time list of French female summer or winter Olympic medal winners, with a total of four medals including one in gold, which is one less than the total number won by the fencer Laura Flessel-Colovic.
Czechoslovakia competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, USSR. 209 competitors, 162 men and 47 women, took part in 114 events in 21 sports.
Cycling has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics, at which a road race and five track events were held. Mountain bike racing entered the Olympic programme at the Atlanta Olympics, followed by BMX racing in 2008 and freestyle BMX in 2020. Before the 2020 Summer Olympics, all events were speed races, but the 2020 programme featured BMX freestyle for the first time.
Connie Carpenter-Phinney is an American retired racing cyclist and speed skater who won four medals in World Cycling Championship competitions in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She was a three-time overall winner of the Coors International Bicycle Classic. She also won the gold medal in the cycling road race at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, as well as twelve U.S. national championships. She remains the youngest American woman to compete at the Winter Olympics.
Czechoslovakia competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 163 competitors, 125 men and 38 women, took part in 79 events in 16 sports.
Ronald Alexander Kiefel is a former professional road bicycle racer from the United States. Kiefel is a seven-time Tour de France racer, Olympic bronze medalist and member of the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame.
Czechoslovakia competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. 121 competitors, 94 men and 27 women, took part in 66 events in 14 sports.
Gregor Braun is a retired track cyclist and road bicycle racer from Germany, who was a professional rider from 1977 to 1989 and who became a multiple Olympic Gold medaillist and track world champion. his profession was a locksmith.
Kelly-Ann Way is a Canadian retired track cyclist and road bicycle racer.
Paul Curran is a former professional English racing cyclist from Thornaby, North Yorkshire.
Peter David Latham is a New Zealand former professional racing cyclist. He competed in the team pursuit at the 2004 Summer Olympics, where New Zealand finished tenth. In 2005, Latham won the bronze medal in the Under 23 Individual Time Trial at the Road World Championships in Madrid. He competed at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne where along with Tim Gudsell, Hayden Godfrey and Marc Ryan he won a bronze medal in the Team pursuit.
Jan Jankiewicz is a retired Polish cyclist. In 1979 he won two silver medals in the road race at the World Cycling Championships, individually and with the Polish team. He competed at the 1976 and 1980 Summer Olympics in four events in total. In 1976, he finished in tenth and fifth place in the 4000 m pursuit, individually and with the Polish team, respectively. In 1980, he was fourth in the road race, but failed to reach the finish in the 100 km time trial.
Bernd Drogan is a retired East German cyclist who was active between 1971 and 1987. In 1979 he won a gold and a bronze medal in the road race at the World Cycling Championships, with the German team and individually. Next year he won a silver medal in the 100 km team time trial at the 1980 Summer Olympics.
Alipi Kostadinov is a retired cyclist from Czechoslovakia who specialized in road racing. He won a bronze medal in the 100 km time trial at the 1980 Summer Olympics and at the 1981 UCI Road World Championships.
Vlastibor Konečný is a retired cyclist from Czechoslovakia. At the 1980 Summer Olympics he won a bronze medal in the 100 km time trial and finished in 17th place in the individual road race. He missed the 1984 Summer Olympics due to their boycott by Czechoslovakia and competed in the Friendship Games instead, winning a bronze medal in the team road race. He won the race of Lidice in 1975 and the Sealink Race in 1978.
Martin Penc is a retired cyclist from Czechoslovakia. He finished in eighth and third place in the 4000 m individual and team pursuit, respectively, at the 1980 Summer Olympics. He missed the 1984 Summer Olympics due to their boycott by Czechoslovakia and competed in the Friendship Games instead, winning a silver medal in the individual points race. He won three medals at world championships in 1981, 1985 and 1989 in the team pursuit and points race.
Falk Boden is a retired German cyclist. He had his best achievements in the 100 km team time trial, in which he won a silver medal for East Germany at the 1980 Summer Olympics, as well as three gold and one silver medals at the world championships in 1979, 1981, 1989 and 1990. He missed the 1984 Summer Olympics due to their boycott by East Germany and competed in the Friendship Games instead, winning a gold medal. He won the German National Road Race in 1991.
Ian Hallam, is a retired British international cyclist, a dental surgeon, and the owner of two award-winning clinics, Meon Dental and Meon Face.
Jamie Whitmore Cardenas is a former American triathlete turned para-cyclist. Whitmore began her sports career competing in the XTERRA Triathlon throughout the 2000s. As a XTERRA triathlete, she won over thirty events and was the XTERRA world champion in 2004. After being diagnosed with spindle cell sarcoma in 2008, Whitmore moved to para-cycling in the 2010s and competed in championships held by the Union Cycliste Internationale.
