Roni is the Olympic mascot of the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, created by Don Moss. The mascot is a raccoon, which is a familiar animal from the mountainous region of the Adirondacks where Lake Placid is situated. The name Roni comes from the word racoon in Iroquoian, the language of the native people from the region of the State of New York and Lake Placid, and was chosen by Lake Placid school children.[1]
Part of his face and the black-and-white mask around his eyes are a nod to the sunglasses and hat worn by competitors. There are different versions of Roni, practising different sports and the five colours of the Olympic rings can be found on some versions.[1]
Lake Placid had a live four-legged mascot, a raccoon called Rocky. Before the Games started he was controversially replaced by a costumed human mascot renamed Roni.[1]
Serving as the face of the XIII Olympic Winter Games, Hawaiian-American Kriss Lambert performed as Roni Raccoon attired head-to-toe inside a 2-meter (6'6") raccoon outfit. Kriss was filmed doing every event - except ski jump - prior to the Olympic Games, with the taped footage televised during the Games to introduce each event. Lambert also popularly represented the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics at major events such as the Macy's Day Parade, Super Bowl XIV, etc. in lead-up to the Olympic Games.[2] He was rinkside generating excitement during the men's ice hockey medal-round game between four-time defending gold medalists USSR and hosts USA which the USA won 4-3 (the so-called "Miracle on Ice" - an iconic highlight of the Games).
The Winter Olympic Games, also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in Chamonix, France. The modern Olympic Games were inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from 776 BCE to 394 CE. The Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 1,500 years later in 1894, leading to the first modern Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority. The original five Winter Olympic Sports were bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing, and skating. The Games were held every four years from 1924 to 1936, interrupted in 1940 and 1944 by World War II, and resumed in 1948. Until 1992, the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games were held in the same year. A decision to change this was made in 1986, when during the 91st International Olympic Committee session, IOC members decided to alternate the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games on separate four-year cycles in even-numbered years. Also, at that same congress it was decided that 1992 Winter Olympics would be the last to be held in the same year as the Summer Games and that to change the rotation, the games that would be held in 1996 would be brought forward by two years, being scheduled to 1994. After those games, the next were to be held in 1998 when the four-year Olympic Cycle resumed.
The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States.
The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Sarajevo '84, were a winter multi-sport event held between 8 and 19 February 1984 in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. It was the first Winter Olympic Games held in a Slavic language-speaking country, as well as the only Winter Olympics held in a communist country before the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. It was the second consecutive Olympic Games held in a communist country, after the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. In 2020, its population was 2,205.
The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lake Placid 1932, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February 4 and closed on February 13. It was the first time the Winter Games were held outside of Europe and the first of four Winter Olympics held in the United States; Lake Placid hosted again in 1980.
The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from February 4 to 15, 1976. The games were awarded to Innsbruck after Denver, the original host city, withdrew in 1972. This was the second time the Tyrolean capital had hosted the Winter Olympics, having first done so in 1964.
The "Miracle on Ice" was an ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. It was played between the hosting United States and the Soviet Union on February 22, 1980, during the medal round of the men's hockey tournament. Though the Soviet Union was a four-time defending gold medalist and heavily favored, the United States upset them and won 4–3.
Michael Anthony Eruzione is an American former ice hockey player. He is best known as the captain of the 1980 Winter Olympics United States national team that defeated the Soviet Union in the famous "Miracle on Ice" game, in which he scored the game-winning goal. He is the author, with Neal E. Boudette, of the national bestseller, The Making of a Miracle: The Untold Story of the Captain of The Gold Medal-Winning 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, published by HarperCollins.
The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event held in Lake Placid, New York, United States, from February 13 to 24. A total of 1,072 athletes from 37 nations participated in 38 events from 10 different sports.
The men's ice hockey tournament at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, United States, was the 14th Olympic Championship. Twelve teams competed in the tournament, which was held from February 12 to 24, 1980. The United States won its second gold medal, including a win over the heavily favored Soviet Union that became known as the "Miracle on Ice".Games were held at the Olympic Fieldhouse (8,000) and the Olympic Arena (2,500).
Neal LaMoy Broten is an American former professional ice hockey player. A member of the 1980 US Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal at Lake Placid in 1980, Broten was inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000 having appeared in 1,099 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season games from 1981 to 1997 with the Minnesota North Stars, Dallas Stars, New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings. He is the older brother of Aaron and Paul Broten.
Alpine Skiing at the 1980 Winter Olympics consisted of six alpine skiing events. The races were held February 14–23 at Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington, New York, northeast of host Lake Placid.
Speed skating at the 1980 Winter Olympics, was held from 9 February to 18 February. Nine events were contested at James B. Sheffield Olympic Skating Rink.
The James C Sheffield Olympic Skating Rink is an outdoor artificial ice track for speedskating in Lake Placid, New York, United States (US). The arena hosted the speedskating events at both the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. During the time between the two Olympics events, the rink hosted Lake Placid High School football games.
Christopher Fogt is a United States Army Major, three time USA Olympian, and Olympic Silver medalist. He won a Silver Medal at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi as a member of the famed Team Night Train, in the four-man event. He also competed in the two-man Bobsled event in Sochi, earning 12th place with pilot, Cory Butner. He competed in the 2010 Vancouver Games as a member of USA-2, in the four-man event with pilot John Napier. After taking three years off after the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, he returned to the Sport in 2017 with long time friend and teammate Steve Langton earning a spot on his third USA Winter Olympic Team to compete in PyeongChang, 2018. He competed in PyeongChang with pilot Justin Olsen in the four-man event.
The United States of America has sent athletes to every celebration of the Winter Olympic Games. The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee for the United States.
The Olympic Center is a sports complex in Lake Placid, New York that acted as the Olympic Park for both the 1932 and the 1980 Winter Olympics. The venues inside this area is the main complex of the 2023 Winter World University Games.
The men's tournament marked the second Olympic Games where the National Hockey League took a break to allow all its players the opportunity to play.
The Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games, commonly known as Lake Placid 2023, was a collegiate multi-sport winter sports held between January 12 to January 22, 2023 and had Lake Placid, New York, United States, as main host city. Alongside Lake Placid, events were also hosted by neighbouring cities of Wilmington, Saranac Lake, Potsdam and North Creek also located at the New York state. The event is also known as the 31st Winter Universiade as administered by the International University Sports Federation (FISU).
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