XXII Olympiad

Roberta Conlon

Description

The Olympics are meant to be a celebration of sportsmanship and fellowship among nations, but they have sometimes fell short of that goal. XXII Olympiad, the twentieth volume in The Olympic Century series, begins with the story of one of the most politicized Games ever held: Moscow 1980.In December 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, prompting the United States to lead a 65-nation boycott of the Moscow Games. In spite of the absence of many of the world's great athletes, Moscow still produced legendary Olympic champions, like the great Cuban heavyweight Teofilo Stevenson, who became the first boxer to win three consecutive gold medals; and the Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, who added two golds and two silvers in Moscow to take her personal medal total to 12. The absence of many top athletes also opened the door for others to make history, like sprinter Allan Wells, who won the first gold medal in the 100 metres for Great Britain since 1924.The book then turns its focus to the 1984 Winter Games of Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. It profiles the most dominant athlete of those Games, Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi of Finland, who won all three individual golds in cross-country skiing. Sarajevo also saw the British ice dancing pair Torvil and Dean post perfect scores for artistic impression in their gold-medal performance, a feat never duplicated; as well as the participation of the first black African Olympic skier, Lamine Gueye of Senegal.Juan Antonio Samaranch, former President of the International Olympic Committee, called The Olympic Century, "The most comprehensive history of the Olympic games ever published".

Informations

• Publié par: Warwick Press Inc.
• Date de parution: 18 novembre 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781987944198
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 14 Mo

Extrait

THE OLYMPIC CENTURY THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE MODERN OLYMPIC MOVEMENT VOLUME 20
THE XXII OLYMPIAD
MOSCOW 1980 SARAJEVO 1984
by Roberta Conlan
W
Warwick Press Inc. Toronto
Copyright 1996 WSRP
The Olympic Century series was produced as a joint effort among the International Olympic Committee, the United States Olympic Committee, and World Sport Research Publications, to provide an official continuity series that will serve as a permanent on-line Olympic education program for individuals, schools, and public libraries.
Published by:
Warwick Press Inc., Toronto
www.olympicbooks.com
1st Century Project: Charles Gary Allison
Publishers: Robert G. Rossi, Jim Williamson, Rona Wooley
Editors: Christian D. Kinney, Laura Forman
Art Director: Christopher M. Register
Picture Editors: Lisa Bruno, Debora Lemmons
Digital Imaging: Richard P. Majeske
Associate Editor, Research: Mark Brewin
Associate Editor, Appendix: Elsa Ramirez
Designers: Kimberley Davison, Diane Myers, Chris Conlee
Staff Researchers: Brad Haynes, Alexandra Hesse, Pauline Ploquin
Copy Editor: Harry Endrulat
Venue Map Artist: Dave Hader, Studio Conceptions, Toronto
Fact Verification: Carl and Liselott Diem Archives of the German Sport University at Cologne, Germany
Statistics: Bill Mallon, Walter Teutenberg
Memorabilia Consultants: Manfred Bergman, James D. Greensfelder, John P. Kelly, James B. Lally, Ingrid O Neil
Office Staff: Diana Fakiola, Brian M. Heath, Edward J. Messier, Brian P. Rand, Robert S. Vassallo, Chris Waters
Senior Consultant: Dr. Dietrich Quanz (Germany)
Special Consultants: Walter Borgers, Dr. Karl Lennartz, Dr. Dietrich Quanz, Dr. Norbert Mueller (Germany), Ian Buchanan (United Kingdom), Wolf Lyberg (Sweden), Dr. Nicholas Yalouris (Greece).
International Contributors: Jean Durry (France), Dr. Fernand Landry (Canada), Dr. Antonio Lombardo (Italy), Dr. John A. MacAloon (U.S.A.), Dr. Jujiro Narita (Japan), C. Robert Paul (U.S.A.), Dr. Roland Renson (Belgium), Anthony Th. Bijkirk (Netherlands), Dr. James Walston (Ombudsman)
International Research and Assistance: John S. Baick (New York), Matthieu Brocart (Paris), Alexander Fakiolas (Athens), Bob Miyakawa (Tokyo), Rona Lester (London), Dominic LoTempio (Columbia), George Kostas Mazareas (Boston), Georgia McDonald (Colorado Springs), Wendy Nolan (Princeton), Alexander Ratner (Moscow), Jon Simon (Washington, D.C.), Frank Strasser (Cologne), Val ry Turco (Lausanne), Laura Walden (Rome), Jorge Zocchi (Mexico City)
All rights reserved. No part of The Olympic Century book series may be copied, republished, stored in a retrieval system, or otherwise reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means whatsoever without the prior written consent of the IOC, the USOC, and WSRP.
eBook Conversion: eBook Partnership, United Kingdom
ISBN 978-1-987944-24-2 (24 Volume Series)
ISBN 987-1-987944-19-8 (Volume 20)
CONTENTS
I BOYCOTT
II THEY CAME THE CONQUERED
III A QUIET REVOLUTION
IV BALKAN BATTLES
Appendix
Acknowledgments
Photo Credits
Bibliography
Index

PROTEST MARCH
MOSCOW 1980
It has become traditional for every Game s organizing committee to create an opening ceremony that reflects the culture of the host nation, while also paying homage to ancient Greece and bowing to modem Olympic protocol. The Moscow celebration had all of that, plus some very deliberate reflections of Cold War politics. The continuity with ancient Greece came at the beginning of the ceremony when a group of costumed charioteers galloped into the stadium. The drivers led their horses on a spirited lap around the track, then moved in position to lead the Greek delegation, which entered the stadium to start the march of athletes. There was nothing unusual about the Greek athletic delegation, but there was no mistaking that this Parade of Nations was a far cry from the norm. It was much smaller than at previous Games since 65 countries were boycotting the event, most obviously West Germany, Japan, and the United States. And some of the participants, like Great Britain and New Zealand, showed their solidarity with the absentees by all too obvious demonstrations. The British team didn t appear at all--only a placard bearer marched in the athletes place. The Kiwis walked behind a black flag emblazoned with the symbol of the New Zealand Olympic Association rather than the national standard.
Protests notwithstanding, the Soviets were still prepared to put on a show. A cast of thousands of gymnasts formed a sun on the infield, followed by a parade of youths in folkloric outfits of the peoples of the 15 Soviet republics. These gave way to more gymnasts, who formed themselves into five multi-tiered Olympic rings.
The grand finale was a picture stunt carried out by organized spectators sitting in the east end of the stadium. Using a combination of different colored shirts, hats, and cards, a series of grandstand-sized images were formed, creating a tableau of Soviet history. It was a thrilling finish that received a standing ovation and inspired all who watched and, no doubt, would have impressed a world audience, except for the fact that much of the world had chosen not to watch.

BOYCOTT
On the evening of December 27, 1979, the inhabitants of Kabul, Afghanistan, felt the ground tremble not from an earthquake but from the thundering passage of armored tanks. Soon the tremors were punctuated by the roar of mortar and artillery fire as the tanks joined in a coordinated attack on key government sites. The communications center and the presidential place were immediate targets. Gunfights erupted in several parts of the capital. The next day, the official Kabul radio announced that Afghan president Hafizullah Amin had been deposed and executed for crimes against the state. It was the third such presidential execution since April 1978, when Marxists, backed by the Soviet Union, had taken over the government in Kabul. Western news media reported that Afghanistan s northern neighbor apparently was behind the latest coup as well. In the two days before Amin was overthrown, the Soviets had conducted an around-the-clock airlift, increasing combat forces on the ground in Kabul from 1,500 to about 6,000. At the same time, Soviet strength at the Afghan border, already at the divisions, had ballooned to five a total of about 50,000 troops. Newly installed as president of Afghanistan was Babrak Karmal, a former deputy premier who had been living in exile in Eastern Europe and who seemed to have arrived on the heels of the Soviet army.
In the United States, President Jimmy Carter condemned the Russian military intervention as a blatant violation of international rules of behavior and a grave threat to peace. Moscow declared that it was only responding to an urgent request for help from a friendly government language, Western analysts noted, that was strikingly similar to Soviet declarations when Russian tanks had rolled into Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968. True, Kabul had been struggling ever since the Marxist takeover to quell nearly a dozen rebel groups throughout the country, most of them Muslim tribesmen who perceived the regime to be anti-Islamic. But while the insurgency was a matter of some concern to the USSR, it may also have been a convenient excuse to gain access to the Persian Gulf.
Below: Afghanistan Prime Minister Hafizullah Amin (far right) initiated a reign of tenor in 1979 to solidity his power base in his country. His actions alarmed Soviet leaders, who viewed neighboring Afghanistan as a strategic ally in the Cold War with the United States. Claiming they were invited for security reasons, Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan in December of that year, assassinated Amin, and installed Babrak Karmal (right) in his place .

In early November, Moscow apparently had expected Washington to take military action against Iran, where 52 Americans were being held hostage in Tehran. Anxious to be strategically located in the event of a U.S. strike, the Soviets quickly moved troops to their border with Afghanistan. They also asked then-President Amin for the exclusive use of an air base in west-em Afghanistan, near the Iranian border. Amin wouldn t agree to the air base, nor would he agree to invite the Soviets to help put down the internal rebellion in his own country. As weeks passed and the United States still took no military action against Iran, the Soviet troops were caught in mountainous country with winter fast approaching. The USSR needed to shift those forces south before snow closed the passes. The December coup gave the Kremlin a more compliant ally. In his first speech, Karmal welcomed Soviet military aid. By January 1, 1980-less than seven months before Moscow was due to host the Summer Games of the XXII Olympiad-some 50,000 Soviet troops had crossed into Afghanistan, fanning out with helicopters, tanks, and the full array of modem warfare against a primitively armed foe.
Below: The loudest voice against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was American president Jimmy Carter, who implemented a grain embargo against the Soviets and threatened a boycott of the upcoming 1980 Olympic Games .

The United States and its western allies responded with strong words and economic sanctions. On January 4, President Carter announced, among other things, a partial embargo on grain, restrictions on the sale of high technology equipment, and curtailment of fishing privileges in U.S. waters. Then, aiming directly at Soviet pride, Carter warned the USSR that its continued aggression will endanger both the participation of athletes and the travel to Moscow by spectators who would normally wish to attend the Olympic Games. Two days later, Saudi Arabia protested the Soviet attack on a Muslim nation by becoming the first country to withdraw from the Moscow Games.
The boycott of the 1980 Games in Moscow would sorely test the Olympic movement, triggering a bitt