Friendship Games 84
The Friendship Games 84 was an international multi-sport event in the Soviet Union and other socialist states as an alternative to the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
The event was held between 2 July and 16 September 1984 in the Soviet Union, with eight other socialist states which had boycotted the 1984 LA Olympics.
Athletes from about 50 nations took part in the competition. While the Olympic boycotting countries were represented by their strongest athletes, other nations sent mostly athletes who failed to qualify for the games in LA. There were some athletes who participated in both events.
Events were hosted by nine countries: Bulgaria, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, North Korea, Mongolia, Poland, and the Soviet Union. Although the events spanned before and after the LA Olympics, all except the equestrian jumping event were held outside of the Olympic Games period.
Sporting competitions were held in 22 of the Olympic disciplines at the time (all except football and synchronized swimming), and also the non-Olympic sports of table tennis, tennis, and sambo wrestling.
Trivia
- Just like the Olympic Games, there was an opening ceremony, and a torch bearer carried the flame into the stadium and lit the cauldron which had been built for the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
- Comparisons of the results of the Friendship Games with the Olympic Games showed athletes from the Eastern Bloc surpassed the Olympic winners in 20 of the 41 athletics events.
- In the equestrian individual dressage event, Ukrainian Yuri Kovshov won both the gold and silver medals, riding two different horses.
Related Pages
- Alternative Olympic Games — events organized in response to boycotts or sanctions by the IOC as an alternative to the Olympic Games.
- 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles
- Complete List of Multi-Sport Events from around the world.
- Discontinued International Multi-Sport Events
- About International Multi-Events
- About Sport in the Soviet Union
- World sports calendar
- Multi-Sport Events (Games) Calendar
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