Olympic Games

Moscow, 1980

These were the first Games to be held in a communist country.
Due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, President Carter called upon the U.S. Olympic Committee to boycott the Games. The Olympic Charter requires such committees to "resist all pressures of any kind whatsoever, whether of a political, religious or economic nature," but theory and practice diverge.
The Americans stayed home, and in total 62 countries including West Germany and Japan refused to attend. In all, 80 nations participated in the Games, down from 122 nations in Munich.
The USSR won 195 medals, but allegations of cheating tainted this astonishing result.

Nadia Comaneci won two more gold medals.
Aleksandr Ditiatin of the Soviet Union earned 8 Gold medals in gymnastics at the 1980 games.
Soviet athlete Aleksandr Dityatin wins a record eight medals in gymnastics.
Super-heavyweight Teófilo Stevenson of Cuba becomes the first boxer to win in the same weight division three times in a row.