- Daley Thompson
Francis Morgan Thompson, CBE (born July 30, 1958 in Worcester Park), known commonly as Daley Thompson, is a former decathlete from England. He won the decathlon gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984, and broke the world record for the event four times. Thompson is of Nigerian and Scottish heritage. Thompson's best score in the decathlon was 8847 points, set in the 1984 Olympic competition – a world record that stood until 1992, … - Steve Ovett
Stephen Michael James ("Steve") Ovett (born October 9, 1955), is a former middle distance runner from England. He was gold medalist in the 800 m at the 1980 Olympic Games, and set world records for 800 m, 1500 m and 1 mile. To this day, he holds the UK record for 2 miles, which he set in 1978. Born in Brighton and educated at Varndean Grammar School, Steve Ovett was an outstandingly talented teenage athlete. - Alberto Juantorena
Alberto Juantorena Danger (born 3 December, 1950) is a former Cuban track athlete. At the 1976 Summer Olympics, "White Lightning" became the first athlete to win both the 400 and 800 m. Born in Santiago de Cuba, Juantorena first played basketball, until he was discovered by a Polish track coach, Zygmunt Zabierzowski, who convinced him to start running. Only a year later, Juantorena was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 400 m event at the Munich Olympics (1972). - Miruts Yifter
Miruts Yifter (born January 1, 1938 or May 15, 1944) is a former Ethiopian athlete, winner of two gold medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics. His name is also sometimes spelled as Muruse Yefter. Born in Adigrat, in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia, Miruts Yifter spent early parts of his youth working in different factories and as a carriage driver. His talent as a long-distance runner was noticed when he joined the Ethiopian Air Force. - Steve Cram
Steve Cram MBE (born October 14 1960) is an English former athlete who vied with fellow English athletes Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett during their domination of middle distance running in the 1980s. He was the first man to run under 3 minutes and 30 seconds for the 1500 metres. Nicknamed "The Jarrow Arrow", he set world records in the 1500 metres, 2000 metres, and the mile, within 19 days in the summer of 1985. - Nellie Kim
Nellie Vladimirovna Kim (b. July 29 1957) is a retired Soviet gymnast who won three gold medals and a silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, and two gold medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics. She was the first woman in Olympic history to earn a perfect 10 score on the vault and the first one to earn it on the floor exercise, rivaling with Nadia Comaneci, Ludmilla Tourischeva and other strong competitors in the 1970s. - Allan Wells
Allan Wipper Wells (born May 3, 1952) is a former Scottish athlete who became Olympic Champion in the 100 m at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. - Yelena Davydova
Yelena Victorovna Davydova, is a Russian (formerly, Soviet) gymnast, winner of the Olympic all-around title in Gymnastics at the 1980 Summer Olympics. - Władysław Kozakiewicz
Władysław Kozakiewicz is a Polish pole vault jumper. Kozakiewicz was born to a Polish family in Šalčininkai (Polish: Sołeczniki) near Vilnius, in the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. Kozakiewicz broke the world record three times, was European Indoor Champion in 1977 and 1979, Polish Champion ten times, and won a gold medal during the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. In 1984 he defected to West Germany, where he won the national title twice, in 1986 and 1987. - Leonid Taranenko
Leonid Arkad'evich Taranenko (born June 13 1956 in Malaryta, Byelorussian SSR) is a former Soviet weightlifter. Taranenko trained at VSS Uradzhai in Minsk. His first major success took place at the 1980 Olympics, when, competing for the USSR, he won the gold medal in the 110 kilogram class with a 422.5 kg total. He was unable to compete in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles due to the Soviet boycott. - David Rigert
David Adamovich Rigert (born March 12 1947 in village Nagornoye, Kokchetav Oblast, Kazakh SSR) was an Olympic weightlifter for the USSR. Rigert became one of the greatest weightlifter in history of the sport. Rigert began practicing weightlifting on his own in 1966, training by Arkady Vorobyov's book. Two years later, while serving in the Soviet army, Rigert earned the title Master of Sports of the USSR. After demobilization he lived and trained in Armavir. - Sultan Rakhmanov
Sultan Saburovich Rakhmanov (July 6 1950 in Turtkul, Karakalpak ASSR - May 5 2003 in Dnepropetrovsk) was an Olympic weightlifter for the USSR. He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour after the 1980 Summer Olympics. - Duncan Goodhew
Duncan Alexander Goodhew MBE (born May 27, 1957) is one of the most respected and instantly recognisable UK swimming athletes. He was an Olympic gold and bronze medallist at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Goodhew attended Millfield school (Walton House). He was the England swimming team captain, and multi-Olympics champion. His congenitally bald head made him instantly recognisable. He in fact has "alopecia universalis" (total lack of hair, not just on head), … - Bengt Baron
Bengt Baron (born March 6, 1962) was a backstroke swimmer from Sweden. He won the 100 m Backstroke at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and was a member of the bronze winning team from Sweden in the 4x100m Freestyle at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. An undergraduate student from the University of California, Baron was named into its Hall of Fame in 1999. In the years 1979-1985 he won a total number of 33 Swedish titles. - Viktor Saneyev
Viktor Danilovich Saneyev (born October 3, 1945, Sukhumi, Georgian SSR) is a retired Russian triple jumper, who competed internationally for the USSR and won four Olympic medals; three golds (1968, 1972 and 1976) and one silver (1980). He dominated the event during the late 1960s and 1970s. Saneyev trained in Sukhumi and later in Tbilisi at Dynamo. Saneyev began athletics in 1956, training in the Gantiadi boarding school, his first coach was Akop Kerselyan. - Gerd Wessig
Gerd Wessig was an East German athlete who won a gold medal in the 1980 Summer Olympics. Wessig, a professional chef, trained with the SC Traktor Schwerin (Trainer: Bernd Jahn). He attended the John Brinckmann School in Goldberg. Shortly before the 1980 Olympics, he surprisingly became GDR master with a personal best result of 2.3 metres in the high jump and was subsequently nominated for the GDR team. - Sara Simeoni
Sara Simeoni (born April 19, 1953) is an Italian former high jumper, who won a gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics and twice set a world record in the women's high jump. Sara Simeoni was born in Rivoli Veronese, in the province of Verona. She soon took up athletics, specialising in the high jump. Her first international result was at the 1971 European Championships in Helsinki, where she ended 9th with a 178 cm jump. - Patrizio Oliva
Patrizio Oliva (born January 28, 1959 in Naples) was an Italian boxer, who won the Light Welterweight Silver medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics. He was the winner of the Val Barker Trophy for Outstanding Boxer at the 1980 Olympic Games. - Nikolay Sidorov
Nikolay Aleksandrovich Sidorov is a former Soviet athlete, winner of the gold medal in the 4x100 m relay at the 1980 Summer Olympics. At the Moscow Olympics, Nikolay Sidorov was eliminated in the semifinal of the 200 m and ran the second leg in the gold medal winning Soviet 4x100 m relay team. At the 1982 European Championships, Sidorov was fifth in the 100 m and won the gold medal as a member of the Soviet 4x100 m relay team. - Viktor Markin
Viktor Fyodorovich Markin (born February 23, 1957 in the village of Oktyabrsky, Ust-Tarksky District, Novosibirsk Oblast) is a former Soviet athlete, winner of two gold medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics. After graduating from a secondary school he went to Novosibirsk, where he entered the Faculty of Pediatrics of the Institute of Medicine. Markin started athletics only at age 19 in the athletics section by the institute, coached by Aleksandr Bukhasheyev. - Evelyn Ashford
Evelyn Ashford (born April 15, 1957 in Shreveport, Louisiana) is an American athlete, the 1984 Olympic champion in the 100 m. Arguably the greatest female sprinter ever, with a career that spanned an unprecedented five Olympic Games. She has with automatic timing run under the 11 second barrier over 30 times and was the first to run under 11 seconds in an Olympic Games. As a 19-year-old, Ashford finished 5th in the 100 m event at the 1976 Summer Olympics. - Neil Brooks
Neil Brooks (born on July 27, 1962) is a former Australian Olympic swimmer and Olympic gold medal winner. He was a member of the Australian team that won the 4 x 100m medley relay at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. Four years later, at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, he was a member of the relay team that won the silver medal in the 4 x 100 m freestyle. - Alexander Dityatin
Aliexander Nikolaievich Dityatin is a Soviet gymnast, three-time Olympic Champion, "Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR". Winning eight medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics he set the Olympic record for the most medals at one Games. As of 2007 he still holds this record, now along with Michael Phelps, who tied it at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Dityatin competed for the Leningrad Dinamo sports society. - Nadezhda Olizarenko
Nadezhda Olizarenko (born 28 November 1953) is a retired athlete who competed mainly in the 800 metres. She represented the Soviet Union. She competed for Soviet Union in the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow, Russia in the 800 metres where she won the gold medal ahead of country women Olga Mineyeva and Tatyana Providokhina for a Soviet clean sweep of the medals. This added to the bronze medal she won in the 1500m at the same games - Adolfo Horta
Adolfo Horta (born March 10, 1957 in Camaguey) is a retired boxer from Cuba, who won the silver medal in the Featherweight division (57 kg) at age 22 at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. In the final he was beaten by East Germany's Rudi Fink on points (1-4). Two years earlier he won the world title at the second World Championships in Belgrade. He prolongued his champions belt twice, first in Munich (1982), West Germany, then in Reno (1986). - Petra Schneider
Petra Schneider (born January 11 1963 in Karl-Marx-Stadt) was a medley and freestyle swimmer from East Germany in the 1970s and 1980s, and was a leading member of the East German swimming team. She won an Olympic gold medal in the 400m individual medley at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and set five world records in swimming. She was named by Swimming World magazine as World Swimmer of the Year in 1980 and 1982, … - Michelle Ford
Michelle Jan Ford MBE (born July 15 1962 in Sydney) was an Australian long distance freestyle and butterfly swimmer of the 1970s and 1980s, who won a gold medal in the 800 m freestyle at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. She was the only non Soviet bloc female swimmer to win an individual gold medal at the boycott-marred games. She also set two world records in her career, … - Peter Evans
Peter Evans (born August 1, 1961) was an Australian breaststroke swimmer of the 1980s, who won four medals in Olympics competition, including a gold in the 4x100m medley relay at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. He also won two medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Evans was again selected for the 1980 Olympics in Moscow as a 100m breaststroke simmer. Along with Neil Brooks, Mark Tonelli and Mark Kerry, Evans swam the breaststroke leg, … - Volker Beck
Volker Beck (born June 30, 1956 in Nordhausen, Thuringia) is a former East German athlete, winner of 400 m hurdles at the 1980 Summer Olympics. With the best 400 m hurdler in the late 1970s and early 1980s Edwin Moses missing due the boycott, the best chance of winning the Olympic gold had Volker Beck, the East German 400 m hurdles champion in 1980, 1981 and 1983. In Moscow, Beck won the 400 m hurdles easily, … - Barry McGuigan
Finbar Patrick "Barry" McGuigan MBE (born February 28, 1961 in Clones, County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland), nicknamed "The Clones Cyclone", is a former professional boxer who became a world Featherweight champion. McGuigan, who is the son of the late Pat McGuigan, a famous singer in Ireland, fought for Northern Ireland in the 1978 Commonwealth Games and represented his native country at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. - Rudi Fink
Rudi Fink (born June 6, 1958 in Cottbus) is a retired boxer from Germany, who won the gold medal in the Featherweight division (57 kg) for East Germany at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. In the final he defeated Cuba's Adolfo Horta on points (4-1). As an amateur he boxed 180 matches, with 155 wins, five draws and ten defeats. - Pierluigi Marzorati
Pierluigi Marzorati is a basketball player from Italy, who won the silver medal with his national team at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Yugoslavia turned out to be too strong for Italy in the final: the match ended 77-86. He eventually played 278 matches for Italian national team scoring 2209 points. He was one of the key players of the Pallacanestro Cantù team, winning 2 Italian league titles, 2 European Basketball Champions' Cups, 4 Korac Cups, … - Silvio Leonard
Silvio Leonard (born September 20, 1955) is a former sprinter from Cuba. He was the second athlete to run the 100 metres in less than 10 seconds with electronic timing, running in 9.98 seconds on August 11, 1977 in Guadalajara. The first was 1968 Olympic champion Jim Hines. At the 1980 Summer Olympics Leonard won a silver medal in 100 metres, finishing behind Allan Wells of Great Britain. Here is the video of the 1980 race in which he got a silver medal, … - Baron Coe
Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, KBE, (born 29 September 1956 in Chiswick, London) is a politician and former top-level athlete from England. In his athletics career as a middle distance runner, Coe won the 1500 m gold medal at the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984, and set eight outdoor and three indoor world records. Following his retirement from athletics, he served as a Conservative Party Member of Parliament from 1992-97, and became a life peer in 2000. - Jeremy Wariner
Jeremy Wariner (born January 31, 1984 in Irving, Texas) is an American track athlete. He is a graduate of Lamar High School in Arlington, Texas. Height: 1.83m (approx. 6') He won the gold medal in 400 meters the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, heading an American clean sweep. The USA also won the gold medal in the 4x400m with Jeremy Wariner running the third leg. He is known for wearing sunglasses for all of his races, regardless if it is sunny or not. - Rica Reinisch
Rica Reinisch is a German (GDR) woman swimmer born in Seifhennersdorf, Saxony on April 6th, 1965. She is 5'9" tall and weighs 132 lbs., and is a specialist in backstroke, setting four world records in the Moscow Games (three in 100 m backstroke: 1'1"51, 1'1"50 and 1'0"86; one in 200 m backstroke 2'11"77), at the age of fifteen. She won gold medals in the 100 m and 200 m backstroke and as a member of the 4 x 100 medley relay team. - Mark Kerry
Mark Kerry (born August 4, 1959) is a former Australian backstroke swimmer of the 1970s and 1980s, who won three medals in Olympics competition, including a gold in the 4x100 m medley relay at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Kerry's international career appeared to be in disarray when along with two teammates, Mark Tonelli and Joe Dixon, he was expelled from the Australian team for the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, … - Viktor Miroshnichenko
Viktor Miroshnichenko (born December 1, 1959) is a retired boxer, who represented the USSR at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union. There he won the silver medal in the flyweight division (51 kg), after being defeated in the final by Bulgaria's Petar Lesov. Two years later he captured the silver medal at the World Championships in Munich, West Germany. Miroshnichenko trained at Dynamo in Donetsk. - Krzysztof Kosedowski
Krzysztof Kazimierz Kosedowski (born December 12, 1960 in Tczew) is a retired boxer from Poland, who won the bronze medal in the featherweight division (57 kg) at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union. In the semifinals he was beaten by eventual silver medalist Adolfo Horta of Cuba after walk-over. - Hugh Russell
Hugh Russell (b. December 15 1959, Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a former Irish boxer. Russell won a Flyweight Bronze medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics. Two years earlier, Russell also won a Bronze medal, this time representing Northern Ireland in the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton.
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