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| XIII Olympic Winter Games | |
 The emblem is a line that forms the Adirondacks, |
|
| Host city | Lake Placid, New York, USA |
|---|---|
| Nations participating | 37 |
| Athletes participating | 1072 (840 men, 232 women) |
| Events | 38 in 6 sports |
| Opening ceremony | February 14 |
| Closing ceremony | February 23 |
| Officially opened by | Walter Mondale |
| Athlete's Oath | Eric Heiden |
| Judge's Oath | Terry McDermott |
| Olympic Torch | Charles Gugino |
| Stadium | Lake Placid Equestrian Stadium |
The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in February 13 through February 24, 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, United States of America. This was the second time the upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932. The only other candidate city to bid for the Games was Vancouver-Garibaldi, British Columbia, Canada; they withdrew before the final vote. (Vancouver will host the Games in 2010).
The mascots of the Games were "Roni" and "Ronny", the raccoon. The natural mask on a raccoon recalls the goggles and hats worn by many athletes in winter sports.
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Highlights
- An upstart United States ice hockey team, made up primarily of collegiate players, won the gold medal, defeating the heavily favored Soviet team and then Finland in the medal round. Their defeat of the Soviet team became known as the "Miracle on Ice" in the US press. The win captured the hearts of Americans during a time of Cold War tensions, even though it was the win against Finland that captured the gold medal americanhistory.si.edu. A film about the event, called Miracle, was released in 2004.
- Lake Placid 1980 marked the first use of artificial snow in Olympic competition.
- Although they did not get any medals, the People's Republic of China entered the Olympics Games for the first time after the IOC agreed to designate the Republic of China "Chinese Taipei".
- Ingemar Stenmark won both the giant slalom and the slalom.
- Hanni Wenzel won the women's giant slalom and slalom, making Liechtenstein the smallest country to produce an Olympic champion. Sweden's Ingemar Stenmark medalled in both the men's giant slalom and slalom.
- Ulrich Wehling of East Germany and Irina Rodnina of the USSR won their respective events for the third time.
- Aleksandr Tikhonov of the USSR earned his fourth straight gold medal.
- Nikolay Zimyatov of the USSR earned three gold medals in cross-country skiing.
- Eric Heiden won 5 gold medals in speedskating (500m, 1,000m, 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m), setting 4 Olympic records and 1 world record (10,000m) in the process. Heiden was the first to win 5 individual gold medals at one Games.
- Robin Cousins won gold for Great Britain in the men's ice skating
- East Germany won the most medals overall (23) but had fewer golds (9) than the USSR (10).
- In possibly the most dramatic duel of the games, Sweden's Thomas Wassberg edged Finland's Juha Mieto in the 15 km cross-country skiing by 0.01 seconds, the closest margin of victory ever in Olympic cross-country skiing. This led the International Ski Federation (FIS) to time all events to the nearest 1/10th second in the future.
Medals awarded
See the medal winners, ordered by sport:
Venues
- Bobsleigh and luge track (separate facilities)
- Olympic Center (now known as Herb Brooks Arena)--ice hockey, figure skating
- Olympic Jumping Complex
- Olympic Sports Complex
- Whiteface Mountain
- Mirror Lake-award ceremonies
Critics decried poorly planned transportation which left spectators waiting for hours in freezing weather, and some athletes complained about lousy accommodations at the Olympic village, where the dorms would later be turned into a prison. The supply and demand for event tickets never merged, as would-be buyers were unable to buy unsold tickets because only those who already had a ticket could enter ticket-sales areas at venues.[1] Unsold tickets are still being sold as souvenirs at several local tourist shops, including the Olympic Regional Development Association's gift shop at the Olympic Arena.
Medal count
(Host nation highlighted)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Soviet Union |
10 | 6 | 6 | 22 |
| 2 |  East Germany (GDR) |
9 | 7 | 7 | 23 |
| 3 |  United States |
6 | 4 | 2 | 12 |
| 4 |  Austria |
3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 5 |  Sweden |
3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 |  Liechtenstein |
2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 |  Finland |
1 | 5 | 3 | 9 |
| 8 |  Norway |
1 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
| 9 |  Netherlands |
1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 10 |  Switzerland |
1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
- Further information: 1980 Winter Olympics medal count
Participating nations
37 NOCs participated. United States President Jimmy Carter had already called for the boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, leading to a great deal of tension at the Games. Nevertheless, the USSR and its allies participated. Taiwan boycotted the Games over the continuing struggle over recognition with China.[2]
See also
External links
- IOC Site on 1980 Winter Olympics
- Lake Placid Olympic Regional Development Authority
- Highlights from US vs USSR ice hockey match
- Personal travelogue of the Games
- The program of the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics
References
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